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Priority Pass is continuing to expand in the US. Just last month, Alaska added three more of its lounges to Priority Pass. Now, Lufthansa is the newest airline to add more lounges to Priority Pass.
Limitations still apply, but getting a Priority Pass membership is becoming more of a sweet deal — especially now that international travel is starting to recover.
Lufthansa Priority Pass Lounges
In October 2018, Lufthansa (Germany's largest airline) added its Detroit Business Lounge to Priority Pass. Now, Lufthansa has added three more of its 5 US lounges to Priority Pass.
- The Lufthansa Business Lounge New York (JFK) — accessible from 11:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Located airside after the security checkpoint on the left-hand side. International and in-transit flights only. Maximum stay of 3 hours. Complimentary luggage storage is available inside the lounge.
- The Lufthansa Business Lounge Newark (EWR) — accessible from 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, and from 2:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday-Sunday. Located airside before gates 60 – 68. Maximum stay of 3 hours.
- The Lufthansa Business Lounge Washington Dulles (IAD) — accessible from 2 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. every day. Located airside near gate B50. Maximum stay of 3 hours. Complimentary luggage storage is available inside the lounge.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions at this time, only complimentary snacks and drinks are available within the lounges. There are no open buffets. Masks must be worn at all times (except when eating). Masks made of fabric are not allowed.
These additions leave Lufthansa's Boston lounge as the only US Lufthansa lounge not yet accessible to Priority Pass members.
More on Priority Pass
Priority Pass is not just for North American lounges. The pass gives you access to over 1,300 lounges and airport experiences (including restaurants) around the world.
In the past, airlines were reluctant to allow Priority Pass members access to their lounges due to overcrowding. Now with so few passengers, that limitation is no longer necessary. Whether Lufthansa's lounges will remain accessible to Priority Pass members after the volume of flights picks back up is yet to be seen.
If you don't already have a Priority Pass, memberships start at $99 a year. With this membership, you pay $32 per person to access each lounge. Or for $429 a year, all your lounge visits are free.
However, it usually makes much more sense to get a complimentary Priority Pass membership through one of the following credit cards:
| Credit Card | Complimentary Cardholder Access | Number of Free Guests | Digital Priority Pass Card | Card Annual Fee | Authorized User Lounge Access | Authorized User Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Unlimited lounge access | 2 guests | Yes | $550 | Yes | $75 |
| The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card | Unlimited lounge access | 2 guests | Yes | $450 | Yes | $0 |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | Unlimited lounge access - No F&B credits at non-lounge restaurants, bars, and eateries | 2 guests | Yes | $550 - Rates & Fees | Yes | $175 total for first 3 AU's then $175 each - Rates & Fees |
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express | Unlimited lounge access - No F&B credits at non-lounge restaurants, bars, and eateries | 2 guests | Yes | $595 - Rates & Fees | Yes | $300 - Rates & Fees |
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | Unlimited lounge access | 2 guests | Yes | $450 | No | $0 |
| Citi Prestige® Card | Unlimited lounge access | 2 guests or immediate family | Yes | $495 | Yes | $50 |
| Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card | Unlimited lounge access for the primary cardholder and one additional member. | $32 per guest | Yes | $400 | Can gift access to one other person - doesn't have to be AU | |
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card | 10x free passes then $27 per person | $27 per guest | Yes | $95 | No | N/A |
| U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card | 4x free passes then $27 per visit | 1 guest free for first 4 visits, then $27 per visit | No | $400 | No | $0 |
Our Take
Having access to lounges is particularly important these days with so much uncertainly around flights. I personally arrived at the airport three hours before my recent international flight in case there was additional paperwork or questions I had to take care of. My concerns were unfounded, and I then had a 3-hour wait for my flight which could have been spent working in the airport lounge.
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.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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.
This is exciting news, EWR needed more (and better) Priority Pass lounges!
A little good news.
Lately I’ve taken less flights than usual.
The use of Priority Pass has been almost insistent considering that a lot of lounges are currently closed.
Can’t wait to try one of these out!
It is good news. Let’s hope that the pandemic will not interfere with the work of these lounges, and we will receive a full service.
excellent – we will have a long IAD layover upcoming
Kudos to Priority Pass for improving the program! In Canada, Priority Pass is widely available through multiple premium credit cards. I have been using PP for almost a decade and am very grateful for their hard work.
This will be a nice upgrade for IAD. IAD has been a Priority Pass lounge desert outside the weirdest hours.
Excellent. I really can’t wait to be able to travel again …
This is nice! Thanks for this update
With my flying very much reduced due to Covid-19 I think it will be very much harder to maintain status in the future form flying. The lounges offered by Priority Pass will became even more important going forwards.
Nice to see that Priority Pass is adding new lounges.
This is awesome. Love seeing more benefit to my priority pass too.
Once you open a card, say Amex Biz Plat, do you know how long you have to sign up for complementary Priority Pass?
There is no time limit. You can contact Amex any time after your account is opened to enroll in Priority Pass.
Better than nothing I guess, but I sure don’t see this lasting very long once travel rebounds post-pandemic. Best we can hope for is they will stick around with severely reduced hours and substandard fare between the hours when Lufthansa flights are departing.
Great to see a new lounge at Newark, I used to frequent the Art & Lounge but it looks like it’s not listed in Priority Pass anymore?
Say it ain’t so! Thanks to the pandemic, I haven’t flown since 4Q2019, but before then I frequented EWR’s Art & Lounge. I’d hoped to keep doing so when I resumed flying.
Anyway, Priority Pass has been losing access at many lounges, so I’m glad Lufthansa Business Lounges were added at EWR and JFK.
That seems to be a very strong position to take re specific mask types in a lounge, although I suppose it makes sense to align with whatever is required on their planes.
Does Lufthansa have a lounge in IAH too?
I don’t believe so. https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/lounges
This is exciting! I just wish that I was traveling to take advantage of the new lounges. I wonder how long it’ll last. Since PP lost a good option in some lounges I hope they can convince AS and LH to remain.
It is unfortunate that “real” food will not be served a the lounges anytime soon.
Always a win when good lounges are addd to priority pass!
Ok, it is down to German beer, soft drinks, liquor, peanuts, hard pretzels and Haribo gummy bear at the lounges. That’s sad.
The Aspire doesn’t give restaurant credits either.
Hmm, excited to see Dulles on here but it’s a United hub and this is in the wrong concourse. Oh well. They’re only offering water and snacks anyway.
Great News!!!! I used to travel to NYC twice a year so next time i will try this lounge club by using my priority pass card!!!
Lufthansa + Priority Pass = what perfect match that is!
Used to have Priority Pass through Amex CC. Nice to see that they are adding more properties.
Good news at last for Priority Pass users. With so many news of VIP lounges leaving the alliance, I welcome this decision by Lufthansa.
It is great to see some new lounges being added to Priority Pass. These Lufthansa lounges look like a really useful addition.
2 guests means cardholder plus 2 guests or 2 total?
Cardholder plus 2 guests = 3 total people can enter the lounge.
Though the hours are limited, more options are still a good thing. I’m a bit confused about the restriction of “masks made of fabric are not allowed“. Aren’t all masks made of fabric? Obviously I’m not understanding what the word fabric means in this context.
Lufthansa requires passengers to wear medical-style masks: “This includes masks of the standard FFP2, KN95 and N95, or surgical masks. Masks made of fabric, visors or masks with a valve are not permitted.” So, it seems that Lufthansa is expanding this to include lounge guests as well.
Wow! Ultra strict mask rules there. I certainly won’t be going.