ComplaintsforPriority Pass, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have had Priority Pass for a couple of years now, but lately, I find that they are incredibly inconsistent. I have called multiple times to clarify the number of lounge passes I had left because the app was telling me I had 6, and I was certain I had used some. It took 3 different calls (and 3 different customer service agents) to tell me the correct number of passes left. On April 30 2022, I went to a restaurant with another individual and wished to use ONE of my passes. They said they would do that and that the value of the pass was x amount of dollars. This surprised me, but they said that my ONE pass was equivalent to more because my guest was in attendance. Again, I confirmed that I only wanted to use one pass. Now, I receive an email stating that my payment information is incorrect and that there is a $27USD charge pending. First of all, my payment info has NOT changed; second, I was not told that my card was even charged; third, when I called on June 14 2022, they said they would transfer me to the appropriate department and instead left the line open (not even on hold) In that same phone call, the individual on the line said that Priority Pass "tells (us) to not listen to their partners" and that we need to be responsible for our own membership. When I pressed him on where we were "told" not to trust the vendors, he had no answer. I was wrongly charged. In fact, the amount I was charged doesn't even match the amount noted on the website ($32USD). This is incredibly confusing and inconsistent and I am, frankly, distrusting of the company now.

  Business response

  07/21/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/15) */ Hello ******, I apologize for the unexpected charge you received upon visiting one of our participating restaurants. The reason why the restaurants/lounges do not comment or know if you will be charged is because they do not have access to your financial account or what type of account you may have and whether or not there will be any charge. When you signed up for your Digital Card you were notified that you can only have 6 member and or guest visits per membership year. The reason you were charged is because you took a guest into Restaurant and that counted as 2 visits used on April 30th and you only had 1 remaining visit left for that membership year. As a gesture of good will, I can add 2 complimentary visits to your account that you can use in the next 12 months. Please let us know if that is acceptable and we can add the complimentary visits to your account. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/06/16) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Thank you for the explanation. The 2 visits would be acceptable to me - I appreciate it.

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello- I am writing to you because I was charged for entry to a lounge - the Pearl Lounge in Terminal 1 of Casablanca Airport in Morocco. We did not even enter. The entry date was supposed to be May 20, 2022 at maybe 2:30 pm. We came to the door, the lady asked for all people passports, even people not planning to enter. We gave them because she asked. She did not ask who was coming inside. The kids were going for sushi and they did not even go near the place. Once we realized whaat time it was we discovered we could not go in. I never went in the gate of the lounge, and nobody went inside at all except my husband walked to the hallway where he could see the inside. We did not accept any food (not that there was much of any food or drinks available as my husband saw) - we did not accept anything at all. We did not even get past the gate. The lady did not tell me she was trying to charge me for the people that were not even going inside at all she just took all the passports it seems, I really dont know. We then informed her we could not stay and turned around from the desk and did not go inside. She was INFORMED that we were not going to enter. This is easy enough to see by looking at the daily video recordings and you will see that nobody went in. Then much to my surprise I get billed $96 on my AMEX card for NOTHING. This is FRAUD. That lounge did not give me anything, or anyone that was with me and apparently charged me for people that did not even try or plan to go inside and quite possibly even someone that was not with us as there are 5 members of my family. I have no idea how it is ok to bill me for something I did not receive, and with no notification. I did not sign anything and was not told anything. This is simply stealing. I would expect this charge to be removed from my card immediately and trust me we will never go near there again after suffering such a scam.

  Business response

  07/28/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/14) */ Hello *****, I apologize for the unexpected charges you received upon visiting one of our participating lounges. The reason why the lounges do not comment or know if you will be charged is because they do not have access to your financial account or what type of account you may have and whether or not there will be any charge. When you signed up for your Digital Card you were notified that you can only take 2 guest per visit at no charge. In addition, you also accepted our Conditions of Use in particular # 4 that relates to what you are bringing up. Conditions of Use # 4 Merchant of Record: Lounge and Merchant visits are subject to a per person, per visit, charge. Where applicable (dependent upon Programme membership plan), all such visits, including those by accompanying guests, will be debited to Customer's payment card by (i) Priority Pass or (ii) the payment card provider as per the rates and terms notified by (a) Priority Pass or (b) Customer's payment card provider in respect of their Programme membership. If Customer has multiple Programme memberships, Customer is responsible for presenting the correct Means of Access to the Lounge or Merchant staff for admittance, and may only use one such Programme membership per visit. Any payment queries should be addressed with Priority Pass or the payment card provider and not the individual Lounge or Merchant. We also mailed your Welcome Kit out of our Plano, Texas office on 12/10/2021. The welcome kit would have also reiterated what Amex and our site (when you registered for Digital Membership Card) stated about possible charges. We listened to the call you made to our office on June 8th when you asked why you were charged and you stated only your husband and mother went in with you. On the call you stated you were buzzed in and let into lounge by only providing your QR code. There was no mention of boarding passes/passports being scanned for a total of 6 passengers. Also on BBB you state you did not enter or accept anything at the lounge but on the call you clearly stated you were there looked at the food and ordered Tea's for yourself and your mother as there was no Diet Coke available. We have all six names of passengers that went inside lounge that we can provide to you if needed. Again, we apologize if you were unaware that there would be charges by accessing the participating lounges but we have paid said lounges for services rendered and the charges are valid. Thank you, Priority Pass Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/06/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I asked for the vender to provide VIDEO of the inside of the lounge. We ordered tea from a different place because the lounge was unacceptable AND because we did not have time. AT NO POINT IN TIME DID MYSELF AND 4 OTHERS ENTER THE LOUNGE. YOU MUST PROVE IT. YOU CANNOT PROVE IT AND SO YOU ARE LYING TO COVER IT UP. Show me the video! It is simply that simple. You cannot and thus you are lying to cover up the theft of my money that was unauthorized. I DID NOT SIGN ANYTHING and further there are only 5 members of my family IN TOTAL. I expect your staff to show me the video of myself entering into this lounge. Anything else is simply a lie. Only my husband got far enough inside to see the shameful state of the lounge and took pictures which you can see from all the bad reviews all over the internet are true. I will be adding my bad reviews and reports of your theft to the internet if you cannot comply and continue to try to STEAL like the THIEVES you are. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/06/15) */ ***Document Attached*** Attached is a list of passengers that actually went into lounge. The lounge actually scans their boarding passes for this very reason as customers will claim that were never there or that they did not go in.

• Initial Complaint

  04/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Upon entry to your facility, I was never told that I'd be charged for visiting your lounges. Days later I see $160 in fees on my Amex. That is unacceptable and fraud.

  Business response

  05/20/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/04/21) */ Hello *******, I apologize for the unexpected charges you received upon visiting some of our participating lounges. The reason why the lounges do not comment or know if you will be charged is because they do not have access to your financial account or what type of account you may have and whether or not there will be any charge. When you signed up for your Digital Card you were notified that you would be charged for any member or guest visits. In addition, you also accepted our Conditions of Use in particular # 4 that relates to what you are bringing up. Conditions of Use # 4 Merchant of Record: Lounge and Merchant visits are subject to a per person, per visit, charge. Where applicable (dependent upon Programme membership plan), all such visits, including those by accompanying guests, will be debited to Customer's payment card by (i) Priority Pass or (ii) the payment card provider as per the rates and terms notified by (a) Priority Pass or (b) Customer's payment card provider in respect of their Programme membership. If Customer has multiple Programme memberships, Customer is responsible for presenting the correct Means of Access to the Lounge or Merchant staff for admittance, and may only use one such Programme membership per visit. Any payment queries should be addressed with Priority Pass or the payment card provider and not the individual Lounge or Merchant. We also mailed your Welcome Kit out of our Plano, Texas office on 7/1/2021. The welcome kit would have also reiterated what Amex and our site (when you registered for Digital Membership Card) stated, that you would be charged $32 for every visit made by you and your guest after your initial 10 Complimentary visits are used up. Again, we apologize if you were unaware that there would be charges by accessing the participating lounges but we have paid said lounges for services rendered and the charges are valid. Thank you, Priority Pass Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/04/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Priority Pass did not disclose that there would be a charge for my visits. They continue to try to shift the blame to me, or American Express, this is a dishonest tactic. The charges posted to my Amex are from the vendor "priority pass" not "American Express" The charges are NOT valid. Additionally, I do not recall receiving their notice in the mail, if they can provide proof of delivery that would be appreciated. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/04/26) */ Hello *******, We apologize if you did not receive your Welcome Kit that was mailed to you on 7-1-2021 via regular USPS mail (no tracking information). However, we do see that you created your online account with a username of ********** (full username not shown) and by doing so you went through the process of being alerted to your benefits as it is required for you to accept all of the information presented to you prior to successfully creating your online profile. In addition, Amex would have also informed you of your benefits in some way, via email, mail or phone (please contact them for more information). With all the information presented we find it hard to believe that you were not aware of how your membership works and that you only had 10 free visits per membership year. American Express has notified us that you have disputed the charges, so any further communication regarding the dispute will need to be directly through your credit card provider. Thank you, Priority Pass. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/04/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I reject your response and find your arrogance is offensive. You find it "hard to believe" that I don't understand how you do your billing?? Stop blaming Amex for your dishonest billing practices. The charges YOU posted to my Amex were not disclosed at time of service, and not authorized. You have no proof that they were ever disclosed or consented to. You have no signature from me authorizing these charges. This is why they are fraud. Do the right thing and refund these charges. It's not that complicated.

• Initial Complaint

  02/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Over the past week we have been trying to figure out how to utilize the IHG partner discount offered through our Prestige Priority Pass membership. "One partner where Members have the option to use their card benefits for accommodation is IHG. IHG is home to well-known brands like Crowne Plaza'(r) Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental'(r) Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo'(r), Holiday Inn'(r), Holiday Inn Express'(r) and Staybridge Suites'(r). Priority Pass cardholders are able to take advantage of impressive discounts. Taking advantage of these discounts is easy. Simply go to the IHG website, available from your Priority Pass membership portal, and supply your Priority Pass membership number. The discount will be applied to the total in the cart when checking out." Unfortunately, there is no IHG website link on our membership portal. When we called Priority Pass, on 3 different occasions, they told us they were strictly a lounge company and didn't offer an IHG discount. We emailed back and forth with infoatprioritypass.com for a week as they told us there was an IHG discount, but nobody could tell us how to obtain it. The Priority Pass Premier membership is $429 per year. We feel that someone at Priority Pass should know what they offer and how to utilize the benefits.

  Business response

  03/30/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/15) */ Contact Name and Title: Alex Contact Email: [email protected] Hello ***, So sorry to hear that you are having trouble in getting an answer to your question. I have included an email that you can contact us directly and provide your details so we can review your particular account. Please provide, email address and Priority Pass membership # when sending an email address provided. Thank you, Alex Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/02/16) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I cannot accept this response, because I've already gone the email route with Priority Pass. I have 15 email correspondences in addition to phone calls and the issue still isn't resolved. Not one representative from Priority Pass even bothered to escalate the issue when they saw it couldn't be resolved. When we called Priority Pass, every person we spoke with said "Priority Pass is strictly lounges." without even bothering to look at the website where it clearly lists the benefits of being a Priority Pass member, including the IHG partner discount. Nobody, in all of the email correspondences, even bothered to follow their own suggestions to find that there is no link to click on the personal Priority Pass home page. This is why I filed a complaint with the BBB to begin with. Now Priority Pass is asking me to email another complaint? Sorry, but that didn't work before, why would I think that it would resolve the problem now? Even if I did file a complaint at the given email address, that wouldn't resolve the problem of not having a link to access the IHG partner discount. It would simply be filing another complaint. If Priority Pass knows how to resolve the problem, why not just give a solution, rather than have their customers file more complaints? Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/02/18) */ Hello ***, The reason for the suggestion to email us directly is to keep you membership and email private as anything written on here may be shared. Currently we have no idea who you are or if you have a membership with our company. Please let us know if you would like further help emailing us at the suggested address in my previous response. Thank you and have a great day. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/02/21) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I'm not sure who's in charge of answering these BBB complaints at Priority Pass, but there's something seriously wrong with the people that are dealing with customer relations at Priority Pass. Not only did I upload several pics that include email correspondence with Priority Pass, they also include my Priority Pass membership number. Additionally, when a company has people answering the phone and stating something that 100% conflicts with what Priority Pass states on their website and with what their online Customer Support people say, you would think that would be something that they would want to resolve immediately! In this case, it appears that Priority Pass is either trying to stall, either because they simply don't have an answer and they wouldn't want people to think that they charge $429 per year for a membership with a company where that has no clue which end is up, or they really are the dumbest company I've ever dealt with. Additionally, this is not really a personal account issue. Priority Pass should certainly know what benefits they offer, in fact it states right on their website that they have a partnership with IHG Hotels and offer special discounts to members. Priority Pass should know how to access and apply the discount. This should not be a mystery. If all you are looking for is proof of my membership, simply look at the attachments. Otherwise, perhaps you could explain why there is no link to click on for an IHG discount when I login to my Priority Pass account. This is likely something that everyone who may be considering a Priority Pass membership would like to know.

• Initial Complaint

  12/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Today 2021-12-28 we received three letters for employees of Time Passion. This company moved from our address in 2019. We called and emailed Priority Pass. The call center is based on South Africa based on the accents. One person simply hung up. The second person told me he would have to call all three persons to confirm an address change. From a EU/UK privacy law perspective this makes sense. But since this is a US issue those stipulations do not apply. Please update the address to XXXXX ********* ** ** ** AVENTURAL FL XXXXX and remove our address from your systems. Please note that MLNA stickers were placed on the envelopes by us as per USPS postal service instruction. They will be returned to sender. Thank you.

  Business response

  02/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/01/12) */ Hello *****, Due to privacy laws in the USA, we are not able to discuss any account information without the proper authorization being received by our members. We recommend that you continue to reject any mail that may not be addressed to you. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Also, we do not agree with BBB being used for this type of correspondence. Thank you, Priority Pass Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/01/13) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) 1: PriorityPass should fulfill its fiduciary duty and contact the members who have not received their cards (presumably based on touch) to update the address and to send the membership cards (presumably based on touch). 2: PriorityPass should invest in address verification processes / technology. 3: PriorityPass should adopt a customer service first methodology rather than hiding behind irrelevant privacy statements. 4: It is not for PriorityPass to decide if and when a recipient of mail that should never have been sent attempts to address a valid concern through the BBB. 5: In summary: based on phone calls with ZA based CSAs it is apparent that PriorityPass does not live up to the reasonable care standard. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/01/21) */ Hello *****, We understand your frustration in receiving mail that does not belong to you. However, we cannot discuss what we have done or will be doing as a matter of Privacy for our members. We appreciate your feedback and kindly ask that BBB remove this review as you our not a customer of Priority Pass. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/01/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) PriorityPass should do the right thing instead of hiding between privacy and claiming I do not have a valid complaint. Which I obviously do.

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  3 transactions, 1 Nov 29, 2 Dec 2. US$64 each, total US$192. Airport lounge access two people in Peru, 1 on Nov 23, 2 on Nov 27. The possibility of fees was disclosed to me once, during initial signup for the Priority Pass membership, through Amex, over the phone, in a rote word by word recitation, mid Oct. The nature and value of fees was not disclosed, nor that fees would always apply. I assumed, based on a past membership under a similar Amex that fees would not apply. I have been travelling internationally and have not received any literature from Priority Pass, and was using the digital card they provided. I was not informed fees would apply at the time of the visits, nor the amount of those fees. It is deeply unethical to charge a fee without disclosing it at the time of purchase. Their system is, according to their agent, not set up to disclose if a fee applies or the amount to the lounge agent. This is a decision made by Priority Pass in the setup of their verification terminals, and could have been avoided. I have contacted Amex, who re-read their statement about Priority Pass, and informed me I would need to contact Priority Pass to resolve the issue. I made clear to them I did not authorize these charges. When I contacted Priority Pass they attempted to divert me back to Amex, and defended their inadequate disclosure process. I asked agents at both companies to escalate my complaints and expect responses in 48 hours. The Priority Pass agent made clear they would not provide any form of restitution. It was abundantly clear from the comfort and familiarity of the agent this is a common complaint he deals with regularly, making clear Priority Pass are aware of this issue and have chosen to do nothing to resolve their deficient process. My Priority Pass account number is **********. I will be completely unavailable for contact from 14:00, Dec 6, to 14:00 on Dec 11, all times GMT-5.

  Business response

  02/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/07) */ Hello ******, I apologize for the unexpected charges you received upon visiting some of our participating lounges. The reason why the lounges do not comment or know if you will be charged is because they do not have access to your financial account or what type of account you may have and whether or not there will be any charge. When you signed up for your Digital Card you were notified that you would be charged for any member or guest visits. In addition, you also accepted our Conditions of Use in particular # 4 that relates to what you are bringing up. Conditions of Use # 4 Merchant of Record: Lounge and Merchant visits are subject to a per person, per visit, charge. Where applicable (dependent upon Programme membership plan), all such visits, including those by accompanying guests, will be debited to Customer's payment card by (i) Priority Pass or (ii) the payment card provider as per the rates and terms notified by (a) Priority Pass or (b) Customer's payment card provider in respect of their Programme membership. If Customer has multiple Programme memberships, Customer is responsible for presenting the correct Means of Access to the Lounge or Merchant staff for admittance, and may only use one such Programme membership per visit. Any payment queries should be addressed with Priority Pass or the payment card provider and not the individual Lounge or Merchant. ************************************************* We also mailed your Welcome Kit out of our Plano, Texas office on 10/20/2021 but it appears you never received according to your initial statement. The welcome kit would have also reiterated what Amex and our site (when you registered for Digital Membership Card) stated, that you would be charged $32 for every visit made by you and your guest. Again, we apologize if you were unaware that there would be charges by accessing the participating lounges but we have paid said lounges for services rendered and the charges are valid.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩