AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
Update: That was short-lived! As of July 24, 2021, all Alaska Airlines lounges have (once again) left the Priority Pass program, and they haven't returned since.
If you're a Priority Pass member, you can once again access all but one Alaska Lounge. This is great news for travelers flying through Los Angeles (LAX), New York JFK, Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX), and Anchorage (ANC).
Alaska Lounges Rejoin Priority Pass
In 2018, Alaska Airlines withdrew its Seattle lounges from Priority Pass due to overcrowding. A year later, Alaska withdrew its lounges in Anchorage and Portland, leaving only the lounges in Los Angeles and New York accessible to Priority Pass members.
With the pandemic slashing the number of passengers, Alaska brought Anchorage and Portland back into Priority Pass. Now, Alaska has announced that its flagship lounge in Seattle has also rejoined Priority Pass.
Alaska opened its flagship lounge in Seattle Sea-Tac's North Satellite terminal in 2019. The lounge covers over 15,000 square feet and has beautiful views and a huge fireplace to relax or work by as you wait for your flight.
Please note that at the time of this writing, the lounge in JFK and in Concourse C at Sea-Tac are closed — but remain part of Priority Pass. The lounge in Concourse D at Sea-Tac remains open but is not currently available to Priority Pass members.
Accessing Priority Pass Lounges with Credit Cards
If you're not familiar with Priority Pass, it's a subscription service to access airport lounges, get meal vouchers, and a range of other benefits. Memberships start at $99 a year, after which you pay $35 to access each lounge. For $429 a year, all your lounge visits are free.
However, there are several credit cards that offer a “Priority Pass Select Membership.” Most of these memberships give you and two guests unlimited, free visits to airport lounges, while a couple of the cards give you some free visits. Unfortunately, the Amex cards no longer offer food and beverage credits. The cards which provide the Priority Pass membership are:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
- Citi Prestige® Card
- U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Our Take
Alaska probably withdrew its lounges from Priority Pass due to overcrowding, but that's no longer an issue. As Priority Pass pays airlines each time a member uses one of their lounges, it's another way that Alaska and other airlines can recoup some of their lost revenue at this time. Whether Alaska will keep its lounges in Priority Pass after the volume of passengers recovers is yet to be seen.
Please note that being a member of Priority Pass does not guarantee access to an airport lounge. Airlines have the right to deny entry at any time due to overcrowding or other reasons.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
