How to use Priority Pass restaurants and non-lounge credits

What counts as a non-lounge visit

Priority Pass defines a Merchant as a third-party provider of services "including but not limited to dining, spa, retail, or Third Party Platform" that is available to programme customers, and the programme is described as giving access to lounge and merchant locations through a means of access such as a membership card, digital card, eligible payment card, QR code or barcode. [2] A restaurant, a bar, an airport spa and a retail unit therefore all fall under the same umbrella definition, but they are not run to one rule. [2]

Three arrangements are described separately in the Conditions of Use. First, ordinary lounge and merchant access, charged per person and per visit. [2] Second, Discount Offers — dining, spa and retail offers typically built around a discount the merchant funds, in the form of money off or a percentage off, where you pay the merchant directly and the merchant is merchant of record; the means of access there is a QR or alphanumeric code generated for that offer, and the discount is applied by the merchant after your transaction is settled. [2] Third, services accessed through a Third Party Platform, which may be free or discounted because you hold the membership, with each merchant's own service terms governing the use. [2]

The contracting entity depends on where you are. Priority Pass Limited covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Priority Pass, Inc. covers North America, Latin America and South America outside Brazil and Peru; Priority Pass (A.P.) Limited covers Asia Pacific outside India and Taiwan Region of China; separate Collinson entities cover India, Brazil and Peru, and Priority Pass (Asia) Pte. Ltd. covers Taiwan Region of China. [2] That matters mostly when something goes wrong, because complaints and charges follow the entity that supplied the access. [2]

How the charge works at the venue

Where charging applies — which the Conditions of Use tie to the membership plan — visits, including those by accompanying guests, are debited to your payment card either by Priority Pass or by the card provider or other organisation behind your membership, at the rates and on the terms that body has notified. [2] If you hold more than one membership, you must present the correct means of access for the one you intend to use, and only one membership may be used per visit. [2] The same rules also let Priority Pass, a card provider or another organisation cap how many times you may use your means of access in a given period and at the same arrival or departure location; where a card provider sets that cap, it is the provider that notifies you. [2]

Presentation matters more than it does in a shop. Where a payment card is used as the means of access, no point-of-sale transaction takes place, and a charge may be made later according to the terms of the benefit your card provider offers. [2] Not all lounges and merchants can accept a payment card at all, and at those locations you must show the Priority Pass card or digital membership card, so it is worth carrying that as well as the card you enrolled with. [2]

Expect paperwork. Staff will scan or imprint your means of access and may issue a "Record of Visit" voucher or make a log entry, and you are responsible for checking that the record shows the right number of people, since the per-visit charge for you and any guests is based on what the venue submits. [2] Guests must register and enter at the same time as you. [2] When several people in a group each hold their own membership, the advised practice is for each to show their own means of access and sign separately so nobody is billed for someone else's guest. [2]

Checking whether your membership includes it

Work in two directions. Start with the location itself: each lounge and merchant has its own specific terms set out in its description on the programme website or app, and by using the location you accept those terms. [2] That description is where the practical detail sits — opening hours, whether a payment card is accepted, what children are entitled to, and whether drinks are limited. [2] The Priority Pass programme page and the lounge access checklist are useful companions before you travel.

Then check the issuer. The Conditions of Use allow rates to be notified by the payment card provider or other organisation rather than by Priority Pass, and they state that the provider is responsible for advising you of any usage limit it sets. [2] Priority Pass may also amend lounge or merchant charges or the programme on 30 days' notice, and where the membership comes through a card provider, that notice goes to the provider, which is responsible for telling you. [2] In practice, the issuer's benefit terms decide what your version of the membership covers, not the general programme terms. [2]

For a concrete card example: the US American Express Platinum Card page lists Priority Pass membership, enrollment required, within its Global Lounge Collection, and describes that collection as more than 1,550 airport lounges as of 01/2026, with an annual fee of $895 for a Basic Card. [3] Members should read the benefit terms supplied with their own card rather than assume a restaurant allowance applies. [2] [3]

Arrive with the right documents: admittance is conditional on a valid means of access, a valid boarding pass and any additional identification the venue asks for, such as a passport, national identity card or driving licence, and a photograph of the means of access is not accepted in its place. [2] Some European locations sit inside designated Schengen areas, where access is only provided to travellers moving between Schengen countries. [2]

Exceptions and limits

• No guaranteed seat at the table. Lounges and merchants are owned and operated by third parties, and holding a means of access does not guarantee admission or continued access; capacity restrictions, opening times, how long you may stay and any extra charges are outside Priority Pass's control. [2]
• Drinks are discretionary. Alcoholic drinks are provided at each venue's discretion, may be limited or unavailable where local law allows them at all, and you pay the venue directly for additional consumption or premium drinks. [2]
• Children are a local decision. Whether children may use a lounge or merchant, and on what basis, varies by location and rests at that location's discretion. [2]
• Sometimes you pay on top. Access to specific lounges may require a payment in addition to your entitlement, managed by the lounge itself. [2]
• Billing disputes have a route. Priority Pass is not responsible for charges a merchant makes, and complaints about a Discount Offer go to the merchant, within 30 days of using it. [2]
• Scope. These rules are Priority Pass's own Conditions of Use; individual card issuers' benefit terms and other lounge programmes are separate documents and may differ. [2]

Related pages

Programme: Priority Pass. Comparisons: Priority Pass vs DragonPass and Priority Pass vs LoungeKey. Terms: Priority Pass Select and the glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. The sources cover Priority Pass's own Conditions of Use and one US card page; other card issuers' Priority Pass benefit terms, and other lounge programmes, are not covered here.

1. Priority Pass Conditions of Use, checked 18 October 2026
2. American Express Platinum Card benefits page (US), checked 18 October 2026