Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Reminder that all Canadian Plaza Premium lounges leave Priority Pass and LoungeKey tomorrow

 
A follow up here to the several posts we've already had on this topic as we wanted to remind our readers that as of tomorrow you will no longer be able to access the 13 Plaza Premium lounges in Canada with your Priority Pass or LoungeKey memberships. The lounges remain accessible by paying for access online withe Plaza Premium, at the lounge entrance, or by using another lounge access program such as Dragon Pass or American Express.
Here are links to our past articles on this topic if you want more background info:

Priority Pass confirmed in their June Update the list of Plaza Premium lounges that will no longer be part of their programs and unfortunately that list is pretty heavy on Canadian locations. You can view the entire list of 57 lounges here.

What this means is that as of July 1st there will only be eight lounges plus some restaurant options open to Priority Pass members.

Here are those eight lounge options:

Calgary

  • WestJet Elevation Lounge
  • Aspire Lounge International Departures
  • Aspire Lounge Transborder Departures

Montreal

  •  National Bank Lounge

Ottawa

  •  Aspire Salon Lounge

Quebec City

  • Salon VIP Lounge

Toronto

  • Air France KLM Lounge Terminal 3

Vancouver

  • SkyTeam Lounge International Departures 

Priority Pass does state they have development in the pipeline to replace some of those lounges lost but some of those airports like Winnipeg and Edmonton have no other options other than Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges which would be hard pressed to become part of Priority Pass.

Depending on your card or Priority Pass membership you could get free access or pay to access Plaza Premium lounges. The same went for LoungeKey however both programs had discounted rates from what Plaza Premium normally charges (US$32 vs. US$50-$65) so technically you can still access these lounges but now you'll be paying a lot more to do so. 

Plaza Premium is currently offering a deal on buying multiple lounge visits. Called the Plaza Premium Lounge Pass you can buy anywhere from 2 to 6 visits for US$75 to US$198 respectively and you have 12 months to use up those visits. At the 6 visit level you end paying US$33 per visit. Learn more about Plaza Premium lounge pass here

Recommended reading: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access 

This will affect those people who buy Priority Pass memberships and those who get access via their credit cards such as the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite and the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card. It also affects all World Elite Mastercards in Canada as their Mastercard Airport Experiences are provided by LoungeKey (owned by the same company as Priority Pass) which means cards like the BMO World Elite Mastercard, HSBC World Elite Mastercard and WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard will lose access to these lounges. However all these cardholders will still have their Priority Pass access to the various restaurant options the program has partnerships with.

If your Priority Pass comes from an issuer other than Amex or you buy the Priority Pass membership directly from Priority Pass you can still use your membership at the following airport restaurants: 

Montreal

  • Bistrot Montreal-Trudeau
  • Houston Avenue Bar & Grill
  • Pork & Pickle

Toronto

  • Bar 120
  • The Caplanskys Deli
  • Twist by Roger Mooking 
  • LEE Kitchen by Susur Lee

Vancouver

  • Stanley Park Taphouse

It's another story for American Express cardholders - namely those with the Platinum Card. Amex has a separate agreement with Plaza Premium so those cardholders will still be able to access all of the Canadian Plaza Premium lounges

Recommended reading: The Platinum Card from American Express just became more valuable for your future travels

Wrapping it up

This has ended up being a big hit to the Priority Pass and LoungeKey program here in Canada and it really affects the value of this benefit that is provided to so many credit card holders. Yes, you still have lots of lounge access options outside of Canada but where it matters most - within our borders - it's a different story. Priority Pass says they have developments in the pipeline but for many of our Canadian airports there are no other real options than these Plaza Premium lounges. The only development that I think would work for Priority Pass/LoungeKey will be when WestJet opens up more of their lounges in other Canadian cities. However we haven't heard a peep from WestJet as to when we may even see that as the pandemic has changed a lot of plans. As well Montreal airport was planning on opening their own lounge in 2020 (read our Jan 31, 20 update) which of course has been delayed due to the pandemic but I assume that lounge will be part of Priority Pass. This still doesn't help Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver or Winnipeg out! Only time will tell what will happen but for the near future these two lounge access programs have just lost a lot value here in Canada.


No comments:

Post a Comment