That didn't take too long at all! Over the past few months we here at Rewards Canada have been providing you with coverage of how Priority Pass and LoungeKey would be losing access to all Plaza Premium lounges in Canada and how that affects some of our credit cards. And then only a few days ago we posed the question as to who would be the first Canadian card issuer to drop Priority Pass/LoungeKey and move to a different program like Dragon Pass. The great news is we have a partial answer to that question and it is not just one issuer but a select few that offer Visa cards. Before we give you the details let's give a big thanks to our reader Raffaele F. for alerting us to this news!
Here are links to our past articles on this topic if you want more background info:
- Reminder that all Canadian Plaza Premium lounges leave Priority Pass and LoungeKey tomorrow
- Sorry for the bad news - It is now confirmed that Canadian Plaza Premium lounges are leaving Priority Pass & LoungeKey
- Major News: Priority Pass and LoungeKey losing access to most Plaza Premium lounges worldwide
- A look at the Canadian airport lounges that may be left for Priority Pass and LoungeKey come July
Let me start this off by saying these cards aren't dropping Priority Pass as we posed in our question but they have struck a deal with Dragon Pass and Plaza Premium to provide access to all Plaza Premium lounges Worldwide including those in Canada for the next year until June 30, 2022. That's right, at this moment this is a limited time benefit being added to these cards and that's why it is over and above the card's existing Priority Pass benefit! There is no enrollment required, you simply present your eligible Visa card at participating Plaza Premium Lounges for access! Access does vary based on the card you have and for the most part is very similar to the Priority Pass option already offered on these cards. This means you don't have to pay an annual membership fee and then depending on which card you have you'll receive discounted access to the lounges along with four to six complimentary visits.
Visa Infinite Privilege Cards
All Canadian Visa Infinite Privilege Cards will receive six (6) complimentary visits that can be used by the cardholder and accompanying guests. Once those six visits are used up cardholders and guests can pay a discounted rate of US$32 to access any of the Plaza Premium lounges. That matches the standard fee we see from Priority Pass and LoungeKey.
These are the cards that receive this benefit
- BMO® eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
- CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
- CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
- Desjardins Odyssey® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
- RBC® Avion® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
- RBC® Avion® Visa Infinite Privilege* for Private Banking
- TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card
- Vancity enviro™ Visa Infinite Privilege* card
Other Visa Cards
The following Visa Cards issued here in Canada also receive the complimentary lounge access (that is you don't have to pay an annual fee) with several receiving complimentary lounge visits:
Card Name |
Complimentary Lounge Access |
# Complimentary Lounge Visits |
Additional Notes |
 |
4 |
||
|
|
4 |
||
|
|
N/A |
||
|
|
6 |
This benefit is only for the primary cardholder. |
|
|
|
6 |
This benefit is only for the primary cardholder. |
|
|
|
N/A |
||
|
|
N/A |
As you can see the benefit does vary based on the card you have - CIBC and Scotia get complimentary visits while RBC and Vancity are simply waiving any annual fee you would have to pay for membership.
Wrapping it up
This is great news for those travelling from the Canadian cities who lost access to Plaza Premium lounge (Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg) as this limited time offer has made it like you didn't lose access to these lounges at all! The same cannot be said for Mastercard and their Mastercard Airport Experiences by LoungeKey. Seeing how Visa has a struck a deal with DragonPass and Plaza Premium it is entirely possible we won't see Plaza Premium access return to the Mastercard program unless they can negotiate something similar. The next question we will have to ask is what will happen after June 30, 2022 when this benefit is set to end? Part of me thinks this will be a test to see how popular it is and if it proves to work out we may see these cards move to a full Dragon Pass membership instead of the Priority Pass membership that is offered.
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