Why I always shred my Amex Platinum's Priority Pass membership card — even though it's one of the card's best perks
The Amex Platinum's Priority Pass benefit is easily worth $400+ annually. And I always can't wait to throw it in the garbage.
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The Platinum Card® from American Express comes with an otherwise (very) expensive membership to Priority Pass** airport lounges.- You can visit over 1,300 lounges worldwide as often as you want — and even bring two guests for free.
- I deliberately refrain from using this super valuable benefit for one simple reason.
- Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.
You probably know that it's possible to achieve many thousands of dollars from the benefits of
Quite a few of these goodies are incredibly niche and far from useful to the average cardholder. Even still, it's relatively easy to extract $1,200 in value from the card with a small bit of strategy.
One of the card's best benefits — worth well over $400 per year to even the occasional traveler — is its Priority Pass airport lounge benefit. This gives you the magic admission ticket to 1,300+ lounges worldwide. You can enter as often as you want, and you'll (usually) have access to unlimited free alcohol and food, free Wi-Fi, comfy chairs, and sometimes even showers.
To use this benefit, you must enroll your card in Priority Pass. But get this: I immediately feed the Priority Pass membership card through the paper shredder when I receive it. Here's why.
Why I throw my Amex Platinum Priority Pass membership away
The absolute best Priority Pass lounge membership money can buy costs $429 per year. For that price tag, you'll get:
- Unlimited free visits
- Visitors cost $32 each per visit
The Priority Pass membership that comes with the
- Unlimited free visits
- Up to two guests for free per visit
In other words, the
It really is a great membership. The reason I throw it in the trash bin is that I have other credit cards that offer even better Priority Pass benefits.
Different credit cards offer varying Priority Pass benefits
Quite a few credit cards offer Priority Pass lounge membership. But the exact terms of your membership differ depending on which card you have. For example:
- The
Chase Sapphire Reserve® andCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offer unlimited visits and two free guests. You'll also get access to Priority Pass-participating restaurants, which can mean up to $30 per person in free food and drinks (capped at one guest). - The
The Platinum Card® from American Express ** andMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card ** come with unlimited access for primary cardholders and two free guests. You will not have access to Priority Pass-participating restaurants. - The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card (not available to new applicants) offers unlimited visits and does not specify a limit to the number of guests you can bring into the lounge with you. You'll also get Priority Pass-participating restaurant privileges.
- The
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card ** andThe Hilton Honors American Express Business Card ** both provide 10 free visits per year (then $32 per visit) and no access to participating Priority Pass restaurants.
Read our guide to the best credit cards with free Priority Pass airport lounge access for all the nitty-gritty stuff.
I currently hold five credit cards that come with some form of Priority Pass lounge access. With each membership, I receive a unique Priority Pass membership card. These cards do not specify the credit card from which I received them — so I adopted the habit of simply writing "Amex Platinum" or "Bonvoy Brilliant" on the back to help myself remember.
I now just throw all but my favorite membership away — the one issued by my Ritz-Carlton credit card. There's no reason to have more than one Priority Pass membership card. For example, if I accidentally grab a membership card other than the one associated with my Ritz-Carlton Card, a few things could happen:
- My Priority Pass card could be rejected when I traipse into a Priority Pass-participating restaurant (if I picked up an Amex-issued membership card).
- The check-in desk will charge me when traveling with more than two friends.
- The lounge will turn me away because I hadn't even enrolled that particular card.
Better to shred all the ones I don't use and not even worry about something going wrong.
Read more: The best credit cards with free airport lounge access of 2022
Bottom line
If you've got multiple Priority Pass lounge memberships, I recommend disposing of all but your favorite one. It can eliminate confusion and even embarrassment at the airport.
The
- Amex Centurion Lounges (widely considered to be the best domestic lounges in existence)
- Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta)
- Escape Lounges
- Plaza Premium
- Lufthansa Lounges
You can access these lounges by simply showing your