The Sapphire Reserve Card's Priority Pass Membership (2020)

Airport lounge access is usually reserved for elite-level frequent flyers, business or first-class passengers, and people who've bought expensive lounge memberships. However, you can also get free airport lounge access just by having a premium credit card, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

The Sapphire Reserve card comes with a Priority Pass membership that gives you (and up to two guests) free access to thousands of airport lounges and restaurants, located in every corner of the world.

With free lounge access, you can spend your time waiting for your flight in comfortable chairs—enjoying free food and drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, and abundant power outlets. You’ll also get access to free meals at a number of airport restaurants.

However, airport lounge access, particularly access to the lounges that you can access by having the right credit card, is going down in value. Lounges are getting more crowded and chaotic (partly because of the rise in credit cards that provide lounge access), while the airports themselves are upgrading their normal seating, power outlets, and Wi-Fi options.

You will need to activate your membership to get your membership card. You can't just show your Sapphire Reserve card to gain access, you need a Priority Pass membership card. To activate your account, you'll need to access the online account for your Sapphire Reserve card, navigate to the Ultimate Rewards part of the website, choose the Sapphire Reserve from your list of Ultimate Rewards credit cards, open the Earn points menu, select Card Benefits, and click on the Activate Now button in the Airport Lounge Box.

You'll receive your card 2-3 weeks later. Once you get your card, you can load it into the Priority Pass App (see below). And you'll want to make sure to bring your card with you whenever you fly.

You can bring up to two guest on each visit. That's a total of three people. You can bring more than two guests, but you will be billed $27 each.
Authorized cardholders get their own Priority Pass membership. That means they can access lounges even when they are travelling without the primary cardholder. If both adults are cardholders, a family of up to six people could access a lounge without any additional fees. Unfortunately, Chase charges $75 for additional cardholders.
Unlike most traditional paths to lounge access, you don't need to be flying a specific airline to gain lounge access—as a result, lounges are less likely to be located close to your departure gate.. But you can use any of participating lounge at the airport, regardless of which airline you are flying that day.
In general, you’ll find great availability at international airports and a bit less availability in the United States. TThe lounges that belong to the Priority Pass Select program usually aren’t as nice as many of the ritzier business and first-class lounges that you can find in international airports, but most are in the same class as most of the regular domestic airport lounges run by American, Delta, and United. View all the Priority Pass lounges.

A Priority Pass membership is most valuable if your home airport has one or more participating lounges, as you will have an opportunity to use a lounge every time you leave town. If your home airport doesn’t have a lounge, you’ll get less value from the pass, as you'll typically only be able to use it at your destination and/or connecting airport. A few larger US airports don’t have participating Priority Pass lounges, including LaGuardia, Ft. Lauderdale, Salt Lake City, and San Diego.
Priority Pass has started adding airport restaurants to the program. At a few dozen airports, you can visit a participating restaurant and receive a $28 credit per person (usually) to spend on food and drink. You'll generally eat and drink better at one of these restaurants than you would at an airport lounge. At most restaurants, you’ll need to get table service, but at some restaurants you can take food to go. Not every participating restaurant has great food, but many do.

If an airport has multiple participating restaurants, you can even eat at multiple locations during the same visit.

You can often visit a lounge after you arrive (not just before you depart). Sometimes it’s nice to pick up a quick drink or snack after you land. However, particularly when you need to go through immigration, it is not always possible to physically get to the lounge area at the arrival airport. And some lounges or restaurants limit visits to those with "departing" tickets.

Other Cards that Include Priority Pass Memberships

Every high-end credit card provide a Priority Pass Membership. If you start collecting signup bonuses, or adding additional cards to your core credit card collection, you are likely to wind up with additional memberships. Some cards even have more generous guest policies. Which Premium Reward Card is Right for You?

Two mobile apps that can help you access lounges on your trips

Two mobile apps make it easier to find available lounges at any airport.

The LoungeBuddy App

If you have an iPhone, the LoungeBuddy app is the best way to check out the lounge options at any airport. Apple App Store

It lets you quickly view all the lounges at every airport. It provides ratings (Basic, Solid, Fresh or Luxe), short descriptions, photos, and user reviews, so that it is easy to choose from any available options. And its detailed access information makes it easy to find your way to the lounge once you get to the airport.

Once you let LoungeBuddy know you have a Priority Pass membership, it will automatically filter the list to make it easy to find the lounges and restaurants you have access to (although you can always look at the complete list). If you have access to additional lounges through an Amex Platinum card, elite frequent flyer status, or some other method, it can include those in the results as well.

The Priority Pass App

Priority Pass has its own app, which can also be useful. It quickly shows all the lounges and restaurants where you can use your Priority Pass membership and works on Android as well as iPhone. But the information it provides about each lounge isn't as helpful as Lounge Buddy's, and isn't extensible to include lounges that aren't part of the Priority Pass program. Apple App Store Google Play

At many locations, you can use the membership information in the Priority Pass app to check in to the lounge, without needing your normal membership card.