Revealed: Which Plaza Premium lounges are leaving Priority Pass & LoungeKey

From 1 July, Plaza Premium lounges will no longer admit Priority Pass & LoungeKey members- with a few exceptions.

The Plaza Premium Group will be finalizing its divorce with the Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks on 1 July 2021, a major blow to two of the largest lounge membership programs on earth.ย 

Plaza Premium issued the following statement back in April (emphasis mine):

โ€œIn view of the rapidly changing travel environment and staying true to our mission in Making Travel Better, we have reassessed our product and service offerings in the hope of creating a comprehensive airport hospitality experience to reach more travellers globally.

As a result, it is with regret that we have decided not to renew our contract with Priority Pass and LoungeKey, effective 1 July 2021 except for a small number of lounges which are still under review.โ€

You’ll notice the caveat that a handful of Plaza Premium lounges will remain on the Priority Pass/LoungeKey networks from 1 July (both are run by The Collinson Group, so I’ll just refer to them collectively as Priority Pass from now on).ย 

Further details have come to light, and we now know that almost 60 Plaza Premium lounges will be leaving the Priority Pass network, although 11 in India plus a couple elsewhere will be remaining.

Which Plaza Premium lounges are leaving/staying?

Library Lounge by Aerotel, Guangzhou Airport

Plaza Premium has published a list of lounges that will be leaving and staying in the Priority Pass network.ย 

To make the list more complete, I’ve taken the liberty of adding Plaza Premium lounges that were never Priority Pass facilities in the first place (e.g. Plaza Premium Dallas Forth Worth), as well as lounges not mentioned but remaining with Priority Pass nonetheless (e.g Blossom Lounge Changi Terminal 4).ย 

All lounges with a โŒ are unavailable from 1 July 2021 unless otherwise stated.

Americas

Airport Lounge Status
Dallas Fort Worth
(DFW)
PPL Terminal E (Dom.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Rio de Janeiro
(GIG)
PPL T2 (Intl.) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
PPL T2 (Dom.) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
PPL T2 (Arr.) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
Edmonton
(YEG)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
PPL (US Dep.) โŒ
Vancouver
(YVR)
PPL Pier C (Dom.) โŒ
PPL (Dom.) โŒ
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
PPL (US Dep.) โŒ
Winnipeg
(YWG)
PPL (Dep.) โŒ
Toronto Pearson
(YYZ)

PPL T1 (Dom.) โŒ
PPL T3 (Dom.) โŒ
PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ
PPL T3 (Intl.) โŒ
PPL T1 (US Dep.) โŒ
PPL T3 (US Dep.) โŒ
Wellbeing T3 (US Dep.) โŒ

Asia Pacific

Airport Location Status
Brisbane
(BNE)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
Wellness Spa (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Jakarta
(CGK)
Sapphire-PPL T3 (Intl.) โœ…
Melbourne
(MEL)
PPL T2 (Intl.) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
Phnom Penh
(PNH)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
Siem Reap
(REP)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
Kuala Lumpur
(KUL)
PP First (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
PPL Satellite (Intl.) โŒ
PPL KLIA2 (Intl.) โŒ
PPL gateway@klia2 (Intl.) โŒ
Wellness Spa Satellite (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Wellness Spa KLIA2 (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Kuching
(KCH)
PPL (Dom.) โŒ
Penang
(PEN)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
PPL (Dom.) โŒ
Langkawi
(LGK)
PPL (Landside) โŒ
(30 Jun 21)
Cebu
(CEB)
PPL T2 (Intl.) โŒ
PPL T1 (Dom. Arr.) โŒ
Singapore
(SIN)
PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ
Blossom Lounge T4 (Intl.) โœ…
Sydney
(SYD)

PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
SkyTeam Lounge operated by PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)

China- Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan

Airport Location Status
Hong Kong
(HKG)
PP Firstย  โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
PPL T1 (Gate 1) โŒ
PPL T1 (Gate 35) โŒ
PPL T1 (Gate 60) โŒ
Macau
(MFM)
PPL โŒ
Taipei
(TPE)
PPL T2 (Zone A) โŒ
PPL T2 (Zone A1) โŒ
PPL T1 (Zone C) โŒ
PPL T1 (Zone D) โŒ
Guangzhou
(CAN)
Library Lounge by Aerotel Guangzhou (Intl. Dep., T2) โŒ
(15 Sep 21)
Beijing
(PKX)
Library Lounge by Aerotel Beijing (NE Pier Airport Terminal) โŒ
Shanghai Pudong
(PVG)
No. 77 China Eastern PPL (Intl. Dep., T2) โŒ
Shanghai Hongqiao
(SHA)
V01 VIP Intl. Lounge (Intl. Dep., T1) โŒ
(1 Oct 21)

Europe

Airport Location Status
Geneva
(GVA)
PPL T1 (Dep.) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Helsinki
(HEL)
PPL T2 (Non-Schengen) โŒ
(30 Jul 21)
Rome
(FCO)
PPL T3 (Non-Schengen) โŒ
London Heathrow
(LHR)

PPL T2 (Dep.) โŒ
PPL T2 (Arr.) โŒ
PPL T3 (Arr.) โŒ
PPL T4 (Dep.) โŒ
PPL T4 (Arr.) โŒ
PPL T5 (Dep,) โŒ
(Never a Priority Pass facility)
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen
(SAW)
PPL (Dom.) โŒ
(20 Jul 21)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
(20 Jul 21)

Middle East

Airport Location Status
Salalah
(SLL)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
Dammam
(DMM)
PPL (Intl.) โŒ
Riyadh
(RUH)
PPL T1 (Intl,) โŒ
(1 Aug 21)
Dubai
(DXB)
PPL T3 (Intl.) โŒ
Abu Dhabi
(AUH)
Al Reem Lounge by PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ
Al Dhabi Lounge by PPL T1 (Intl.) โŒ

India

Airport Location Status
Delhi
(DEL)

PPL T1 (Dom.) โœ…
PPL T2 (Dom.) โœ…
PPL Lounge A T3 (Intl.) โœ…
PPL Lounge B T3 (Intl.) โœ…
PPL T3 (Dom.) โœ…
PPL T3 (Intl.) โœ…
PPL T3 (Dom. Arr.) โœ…
PPL T3 (Intl. Arr.) โœ…
Hyderabad
(HYD)
PPL (Intl.) โœ…
PPL (Dom.) โœ…
Chandigarh
(IXC)
PPL T1 (Dom.) โœ…

As you can see, only the 11 Plaza Premium lounges in India will be remaining in the Priority Pass network, plus a handful of co-managed lounges like the Sapphire-PPL facility in Jakarta.ย 

In the case of Singapore, the Plaza Premium lounge in Terminal 1 will no longer be available to Priority Pass members, a real shame since it was a very decent facility.

Plaza Premium Lounge Singapore
Plaza Premium Lounge Terminal 1 Changi

Fortunately, there’s no shortage of alternative facilities here. Priority Pass members can still access the following lounges at Changi:

Terminal Lounge
Jewel
  • Changi Lounge
1
  • Dnata Lounge
  • Plaza Premium Lounge
  • SATS Premier Lounge
3
  • Ambassador Transit Lounge
  • Marhaba Lounge
  • SATS Premier Lounge
4
  • Blossom Lounge

Note in particular the Blossom Lounge in Terminal 4 (jointly run by SATS & Plaza Premium) will remain on the Priority Pass network.ย 

What alternative facilities are available?

Oriental Club Lounge Taipei, an alternative facility for Priority Pass members

The Collinson Group has created a webpage listing alternative amenities at affected airports. Quite a few of the alternative facilities are not lounges per se, they’re airport experiences like sleep pods or restaurants.

Bar Pulpo at Melbourne Airport

For example, Priority Pass members in Vancouver can access the Stanley Park Taphouse, while those in Melbourne can access Bar Pulpo. The typical arrangement is that members will get a fixed credit (C$37 in Vancouver, A$36 in Melbourne) off the bill. While some may prefer a cooked-to-order meal over the heat lamp stuff in lounges, others may mourn the loss of privacy (insofar as a lounge is more private than a restaurant).ย 

Moreover, there are some airports tagged as “pipeline being developed”, which is a fancy way of saying “go fish”. Until further notice, there will be no facilities whatsoever for Priority Pass and LoungeKey members at the following airports:

  • Cebu (CEB)
  • Edmonton (YEG)
  • Guangzhou (CAN)
  • Hong Kong (HKG)
  • Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
  • Kuching (KCH)
  • Langkawi (LGK)
  • London Heathrow Terminal 2 (LHR)
  • Macau (MFM)
  • Penang (PEN)
  • Phnom Penh (PNH)
  • Siem Reap (REP)
  • Taipei Terminal 1 (TPE)
  • Winnipeg (YWG)

Which credit cards will retain access?

If you hold one of the following credit cards, you’ll still be able to access Plaza Premium lounges from 1 July as per normal:

Card Lounge Network Free Visits
(Per Year)
Principal Supp.
Income Requirement S$30-50K
ICBC Global Travel Mastercard^ DragonPass 6* N/A
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend Plaza Premium 4 N/A
Income Requirement โ‰ฅS$120K
BOC Visa Infinite Plaza Premium 2 N/A
CIMB Visa Infinite DragonPass 3 N/A
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card DragonPass 4 N/A
OCBC VOYAGE Plaza Premium โˆž โˆž
AMEX Platinum Charge Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, AMEX & Centurion Lounges, Delta SkyClubs โˆž + 1-2 guests โˆž + 1-2 guests
Priority Banking Customers
OCBC PB Visa Infinite Plaza Premium 2 2
^Also available on ICBC Horoscope Credit Card, ICBC Chinese Zodiac Credit Card and ICBC Unionpay Dual Currency Credit Card
*Cap applied by calendar year. All other caps refer to membership year

Plaza Premium’s pivot away from Priority Pass coincides with its cozying up to DragonPass. A new partnership has been signed which will allow DragonPass members to continue accessing Plaza Premium lounges, and more excitingly, those with Plaza Premium access will soon be able to visit the wider DragonPass network too.ย 

Conclusion

The vast majority of the Plaza Premium network will disappear from Priority Pass & Lounge Key come 1 July, leaving them with major coverage gaps at certain airports. If your credit card comes with a Priority Pass, you’ll definitely want to take note of this when travel resumes- especially if it’s the Hong Kong ATB.ย 

My guess is that Priority Pass will try and work out restaurant access in these airports as a stopgap solution, though it’s hard to see what they can do in airports where Plaza Premium is the only game in town (like Langkawi).ย 

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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D K

Sorry Aaron, but does icbc still have lounge benefit? Went to their website and cannot find the benefit listed.