Citibank PremierMiles Visa switches lounge provider to (a watered down) DragonPass

(Edit:  I’ve clarified the matter with the Citibank Public Affairs team and they have kindly replied to my query:
“All existing and new Citibank PremierMiles Visa cardholders continue to enjoy Priority Pass membership privileges. Customers will be formally informed of the transition to Dragon Pass at a later date, and sufficient time will be provided for the transition to avoid any inconvenience to our customers.”)

Citibank has quietly updated their website with the news that the Citi PremierMiles Visa card will be switching lounge access from Priority Pass to DragonPass with effect from 1 August 2018. Holders of Priority Pass memberships obtained through the Citi PremierMiles Visa will still be able to utilize their complimentary lounge passes until 31 August 2018.

You can view the full terms and conditions governing lounge access under DragonPass that comes with the Citibank PremierMiles Visa card here.

At the moment, it seems that the Citi PremierMiles AMEX and the Citi Prestige cards will still be under the Priority Pass programs as per their product pages which is excellent news.

Register through the Citi SG app, two complimentary visits will remain

DragonPass is another affiliate lounge network which operates like Priority Pass in which they form partnerships with lounges around the world and members of these programs will be able to use these lounges on a pay-per-visit basis. Under the new DragonPass partnership, you will still be receiving two complimentary lounge passes with your Citibank PremierMiles Visa card in the DragonPass program.

In the current system, the two complimentary visits refreshed every calendar year. Under the new DragonPass membership provided by Citibank, the two complimentary lounge visits will be tagged to the anniversary date of which you created your DragonPass account.

Your Citi PremierMiles Visa card must still remain active with Citi in order for the complimentary lounge access to be granted. Here are the steps required for you to register for a DragonPass membership:

Only 84 lounges worldwide are accessible

If you look closely, the banner for DragonPass access says “Complimentary access to over one thousand lounges worldwide with DragonPass, twice a year”.

However, if you study the terms and conditions and read through Annex A you will notice that only a grand total of eighty-four lounges are available for complimentary access. 

Over in Singapore, there only three lounges which accessible under the DragonPass program under Citibank as per the terms and conditions:

1. Plaza Premium Lounge (International Departures, Terminal 1)
2. The Green Market (International Departures, Terminal 2)
3. Blossom( International Departures, Terminal 4 )

If you head over to the DragonPass website, you will notice that there are actually 12 accessible lounges under the DragonPass program in Changi Airport. So you’re getting a “watered down” version of DragonPass.

Most if not all airports in Europe are also unavailable for access with the complimentary passes provided by Citi and this situation is seen across all airports in the United States with a grand total of zero airports available for use under the complimentary lounge pass program from Citi.

This is a terrible, terrible downgrade from the plethora of Priority Pass lounges which we currently have access to. Closer to home, all partner lounges in airports of popular tourist destinations such as Bangkok and Tokyo will not be available for access under the new DragonPass program.

You can refer to the full list of lounges accessible through the DragonPass app once you have created an account. Alternatively, you can refer to Annex A of the terms and conditions for the full list of lounges available for access.

Concluding Thoughts

This is a massive step down from the Priority Pass membership which Citibank used to issue with its PremierMiles Visa card. One can only hope for Citi to finet une the terms and conditions for the complimentary lounge visit program to include more airports in the future under the new DragonPass partnership.

Thankfully, there are still several credit cards on the market which offer complimentary lounge visits through Priority Pass such as the DBS Altitude Visa. Alternatively, you can consider taking up The Platinum Card with American Express or the HSBC Visa Infinite card which comes with unlimited access to Priority Pass lounges.