Lounge Pass is a pay as you scheme for accessing airport lounges. Priority Pass is a membership scheme with 3 different levels of membership.
Deciding which is the best option for you depends on where you plan to travel, how you often you plan to use an airport lounge and if you will have a guest with you.
Read on to decide which is best for you.
What’s Best Lounge Pass or Priority Pass?
This comparison looks at the difference in costs for for both Lounge Pass and Priority Pass, by comparing the prices for using airport lounges in 3 airports.
It will help you to work out the cheapest way to access an airport lounge.
What is Priority Pass?
Priority Pass is an airport lounge membership scheme. To access airport lounges you pay a membership fee. The costs to access airport lounges depend on the membership you select.
Priority Pass has 3 different membership levels.
Standard is ÂŁ69 per year. Every member and guest visit is ÂŁ24 per person.
Standard Plus is ÂŁ229 per year. The first 10 visits for the member are included, and after that they are ÂŁ24 per person. Guest visits are ÂŁ24 per person.
Prestige is ÂŁ419 per year. All visits are free for members. All guest visits are ÂŁ24 per person.
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What is Lounge Pass?
Lounge Pass allows you to buy access to airport lounges online or through the app. There is no membership or joining fee, you simply select the lounge, pay and download your access.
It’s a pay-as-you-go way to access airport lounges.
Lounge Pass vs Priority Pass – Cost Comparison
The best way to look at the difference between the two schemes is to do a cost comparison for airport lounge access.
For this example I have compared using 3 lounges;
- My local airport lounge in Inverness
- One of the most popular airport lounges in the UK – No.1 Lounge at Gatwick Airport
- Terminal 2 at Schipol Airport
Inverness Airport Lounge Cost Comparison
Cost for 1 Visit
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ25.99 per person
Total Cost ÂŁ24
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ93
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Cost for 5 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ25.99 per person
Total cost ÂŁ129.95
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ129
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Cost For 10 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ25.99 per person
Total Cost ÂŁ259.99
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ309
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Number 1 Lounge Gatwick Cost Comparison
This is a very popular lounge and for that reason Priority Pass offers the chance to pay an extra ÂŁ6 on top of the visit fee to guarantee entry. Without paying this Priority Pass members could be turned away if the lounge is full of pre-booked guests.
Costs for 1 Visit
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ40 per person
Total cost ÂŁ40
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit plus ÂŁ6 fee
Total Cost ÂŁ99
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ235
Cost for 5 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ40 per person
Total cost ÂŁ200
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit plus ÂŁ6 fee
Total Cost ÂŁ249
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ259
Cost for 10 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ40 per person
Total cost ÂŁ400
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit plus ÂŁ6 fee
Total Cost ÂŁ369
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ289
Schipol Airport Lounge In Terminal 2 Cost Comparison
Cost for 1 Visit
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ22 per person
Total cost ÂŁ22
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ93
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Cost for 5 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ22 per person
Total cost ÂŁ110
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ189
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Cost for 10 Visits
Lounge Pass
ÂŁ22 per person
Total cost ÂŁ220
Priority Pass Standard
ÂŁ69 membership fee
ÂŁ24 per visit
Total Cost ÂŁ309
Priority Pass Standard Plus
ÂŁ229 membership fee
Up to 10 visits free
Total Cost ÂŁ229
Priority Pass vs Lounge Pass – Other Things to Consider
Guaranteed Lounge Access
At busy times Priority Pass members may not be able to gain access to airport lounges. This is because lounges will prioritise those guests that have booked directly. (With exception of No.1 lounges where members pay extra to guarantee entry.)
This may be an issue at very busy airports, at peak times or if there have been lots of flight delays or cancellations.
Lounge Pass is the equivalent to booking direct so you will be able to access the lounge.
Other Membership Benefits
Lounge Pass buys you one time access to a particular lounge, with facilities provided as per the lounge details. There are no membership benefits – it’s just a straight purchase for lounge access.
Priority Pass has membership benefits that include free spa sessions (all spas in the US) for example. They also offer discounted car transfers, and meal deals in the airport too.
Lounge Pass vs Priority Pass – Conclusion
- The best option for you depends on the number of times you plan to access a lounge and the cost of entry.
- For less than 5 visits Lounge Pass is likely to be the cheapest option – but it is always worth checking.
- Costs need to be lower than ÂŁ22.90 to beat Priority Pass Standard Plus membership – providing you are going to using all 10 visits.
You Might Also Like
If you have found this Lounge Pass or Priority Pass article useful you might also like;
Airport Lounge Membership Comparison – Find the best membership scheme for you
Priority Pass Membership – All you need to know about this popular airport lounge scheme
You can find more information on my Airport Lounges page
Author Bio
Melanie Newdick, The Professional Traveller
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Further Reading
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- Lounge Pass Vs. Priority Pass – What’s Your Best Option? âLounge Pass is a pay as you scheme for accessing airport lounges. Priority Pass is a membership scheme with 3 different levels of membership. Deciding which is the best option for you depends on where you plan to travel, how you often you plan to use an airport lounge and if you will have a ⌠Read more
- Free Priority Pass – How Do You Get It? âOk so let’s be honest from the get-go – there really isn’t a way to get completely free priority pass lounge access (unless someone buys it for you). That said you can get a free priority pass lounge access as a benefit with some travel reward credit cards and there are some other ways to ⌠Read more
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