The Cheapest Priority Pass in the UK: Lounge Access for Your Parents for £15 a Month

Confession time. When I think about family trips and limited lounge passes, my first instinct is to wave goodbye at security and leave everyone else at the gate. I’m joking. Mostly.

My own family of four is covered by our Amex Platinum, so the start of our holidays is sorted. The tricky bit is everyone else: the grandparents flying out to meet us, the relatives who don’t have a premium rewards card and end up paying £6 for a bottle of water while we sip coffee upstairs. I wanted a fix I could actually recommend to them, and I found one. It’s the Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.

Two lounge passes for £15 a month

The card costs £15 a month, which is £180 a year. For that, the main cardholder gets unlimited Priority Pass lounge access, and they can add one additional cardholder for free who gets exactly the same unlimited access. Two people, unlimited lounge visits, £90 each per year. I haven’t found a cheaper way for two people to get unlimited Priority Pass access through a UK credit card.

This is why it works so well for relatives. If your parents get one card between them, they’re both covered. If your sister and her partner get another, they’re covered too. Without anyone paying for an expensive individual Priority Pass membership, suddenly half the family is relaxing in the lounge before the flight.

One thing to know before you send this to the whole family group chat: the free access is for the two cardholders only. Anyone else, children included, pays £24 per visit. So this is a brilliant card for couples and pairs of adults travelling together, rather than a solution for a family with young kids. (If that’s you, keep reading our other guides, because there are better options.)

The perk even the Amex Platinum doesn’t have

Here’s the part I genuinely love. Lounge access on this card also comes with an £18 dining credit at selected airport restaurants in the Priority Pass network. If there’s no lounge at your terminal, or the lounge is rammed, you can sit down for a proper meal instead. The Priority Pass membership you get through Amex only covers lounges, so this restaurant credit is something even Platinum cardholders miss out on. A £15 a month card beating a £650 a year card at something? I’ll take it.

What else comes with the card

On top of the lounges, there’s free Fast Track security at selected UK airports, including Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Glasgow, so your relatives can skip the queue as well as the gate seating. The card charges no foreign exchange fees on spending abroad for your first five years, which makes it a sensible holiday card in its own right.

You also earn cashback rather than points: 0.5% on your first £15,000 of spending each card year, then 1% on everything above that. Spending on the additional card counts towards the main cardholder’s total. Finally, you get access to Mastercard Priceless offers, which have included 12% off flexible Heathrow Express tickets and 15% off easyJet Plus membership.

And the best news for anyone who hates switching banks: you can apply even if your current account is with a completely different bank.

Is it worth it?

If your relatives fly a few times a year, the maths is easy. A single Priority Pass visit bought separately costs around £24, so two people only need to use the lounge four times between them in a year to break even, before you count the restaurant credit, Fast Track or cashback. For couples who travel together, it’s one of the best value travel cards in the UK.

That way, everyone gets a comfy seat and a proper breakfast before the flight, and nobody gets left behind at the gate. Not even by me.

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Nat

Fly Smart Club is an educational website. The content in this article is based on my personal experience and is for information only. It is not financial advice. Card benefits, fees and terms can change, so please check the latest details with the provider and consider your own circumstances before making any financial decision. Some of our articles contain referral links. If you sign up through one, Fly Smart Club may receive a reward, at no extra cost to you.