The Amex Platinum Card is one of the strongest contenders for enhancing & luxuriously elevating your travel experience. And yes, while it comes with a more than a decent annual fee, many rave that the benefits far outweigh that cost — if you have a more than a fair share of air travel throughout the year.
Speaking of air travel, the words airports and lounges flow synonymously, and a weary traveler is almost incomplete without a dependable enough lounge to relax, rest, probably get some Wi-Fi, grab a drink or two, along with some food or even call a loved one from a quiet spot — whether commuting international or domestic.
Outside of an ideal lounge encounter expectation, the policies governing who gets access to what lounge (free or otherwise) is intricate, complex, and to a certain extent, confusing. Although, this shouldn’t come as a surprise as there are tons of airlines, tons of organizations owning a variety of lounges, and a gazillion of air travelers to market to — in order to earn their business. Yes, “The World” is a vast place.
Enter Priority Pass
Priority Pass is a happy medium in that the travelers need not necessarily have any loyalty to any airlines or purchase a business, premium, or any higher class level than the economy — to get lounge access. At least, that’s how it works with the one acquired through the Amex Platinum card.
Other than the regular airline-specific lounges, many airports only OR also have no-known-affiliation lounges, so to speak. Meaning, they aren’t associated with any airline or renowned famous third-party organizations or credit cards. In these scenarios, the chances are that being a Priority Pass Member will let you access such a lounge.
To clarify, these lounges are still exclusive, luxurious, comforting, with facilities, with some even offering spa treatments and more — just like any other high-end lounge you might have experienced. As a matter of fact, there are more than 1300 lounges globally that you have access to with Priority Pass. That stated, the type of services you can get will vary between airports — but again, not an uncommon occurrence, as this also applies to any chain of famous lounges.
How To Sign Up for Priority Pass Select — for Free — With an Amex Platinum Card
Now that you have a basic idea of what Priority Pass offers, there’s an easy way to sign up for it via a personal Amex Platinum Card.
To do so, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Log Into Your Amex Account, and Go to Benefits
Once you’ve activated your Amex Platinum Card and physically have the card with you, log into your American Express account and navigate to Rewards & Benefits > Benefits. Take a look at the screenshot below for visual reference.
Step 2: Enroll in The “American Express Global Lounge Collection” if Not Already
Being an Amex Platinum cardholder lets you in on the entire “American Express Global Lounge Collection.” This collection boasts at least seven lounge programs & partners with some additional ones. As you may have guessed, Priority Pass is one of the partners.
In any event, after you enroll in the American Express Global Lounge Collection, the system will automatically generate a Priority Pass number for you — a screenshot to follow. However, note that you would still need to activate and sign up for Priority Pass to reap the full benefits. This is covered more in Step 3 below.
Step 3: Wait for the Priority Pass To Arrive in the Mail, and Then Activate/Sign Up With Priority Pass
As your final step, you need to wait for the actual Priority Pass Membership Card to arrive in the mail. It takes a few weeks from experience.
Once you receive it, activate your Priority Pass to wholly experience what its lounges have to offer. Note that they also have an app.
As a side note: you can obviously handle all of this on the phone via an American Express customer service representative. Nonetheless, you’d still need to execute step 3 to get all of the advantages of Priority Pass.
Summarized List of Frequently Queried Questions Around Amex Platinum Priority Pass Benefit
Yes, it is. It’s part of the benefits package of being an Amex Platinum Cardholder.
This is already covered above in step 3. Nonetheless, as a refresher, once you get your physical Priority Pass Card, please head over to its website here, and finish activation. It’s a swift process.
Precisely, this is exactly the premise of this post. In short, you log into your Amex account. Then, ensure you’re enrolled in the American Express’ “Global Lounge Collection.” Finally, when your card arrives in the mail, activate it to enjoy all the benefits Priority Pass comes with immediately.
For a step-by-step guide, learn how with step 1.
The official word from Amex is 4-6 weeks. Nevertheless, from the experiences of many, it can arrive in less than a month.
You May Also Want to Check Out:
- How To Use the $189 CLEAR® Credit From Amex Platinum
- What Is the “Global Entry” Trusted Traveler Program?
- What Is Clear® at the Airports and How Does It Work?
- What Is Amex No Preset Spending Limit?
- How To Get Approved for Amex Platinum Card®
- What Is Pay With Points at Checkout by American Express
- What Are Amex Offers & Benefits?
- What Is the Amex Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit?
- Guide to Achieving Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status With Amex Platinum
- What Is the Amex Platinum Hotel Credit, and How To Use It Correctly
The Complimentary Priority Pass Membership Through Amex Platinum Is Worth It
Without the Amex Platinum Card’s complimentary Priority Pass membership, there is a fee tied to it. At the minimum, the Standard level costs $99 annually with an extra fee for a guest. On the higher end, the Prestige plan can cost up to $429.
With a Priority Pass membership achieved via an Amex Platinum, there is no additional cost. Plus, you can bring along two more guests with you at no charge — where applicable.
Source for Priority Pass membership without Amex Platinum: Priority Pass website.