Plaza Premium lounges are back on Priority Pass and LoungeKey

Back in July 2021, Priority Pass and Plaza Premium Group had a falling-out about the fees that changed hands for members’ lounge visits, which led to 57 of the latter’s lounges being axed from the membership programme, including one at Singapore Changi Airport.

The good news, some two years later, is that the pair have settled their dispute and come to a new agreement, which will happily see 63 of these facilities return to the popular Priority Pass programme in two tranches this month.

These facilities will also be available to LoungeKey members, which is effectively a subset of Priority Pass (both are owned by UK-based Collinson International) and is issued by HSBC and some other banks.

This welcome development will significantly improve choices for many of our readers who have a Priority Pass or LoungeKey membership tied to their credit card, like the Citi PremierMiles, HSBC Visa Infinite and DBS Vantage products.

The Singapore Plaza Premium Lounge is back

Great news for our readers departing from Changi Airport T1, or even from a high ‘B’ gate in T3, is that the Plaza Premium Lounge is now back on the Priority Pass access list.

This facility is at the foot of the ‘C’ gates on Level 3, opposite the Qatar Airways and Emirates lounges, and is one of our favourite third-party options at the airport.

Plaza Premium Lounge Changi T1 READ OUR REVIEW

Plaza Premium Lounge Changi T1 READ OUR REVIEW

Food options here include signature Singapore Laksa and classic Singapore Chicken Rice.

It can even be an excellent pre-flight lounge location for a smattering of SIA departures which spill over to the ‘C’ gates during peak hours, typically affecting five or six flights per day.

The Blossom Lounge in Terminal 4 at Changi Airport, co-owned by SATS and Plaza Premium, was one of the few that survived the cull back in July 2021 and has remained on the Priority Pass list since the terminal reopened in September 2022.

Other Plaza Premium Lounges returning

Priority Pass is adding a total of 63 Plaza Premium lounges to its repertoire this month, including the Singapore T1 facility, in two tranches:

• 39 lounges on 6th June 2023 (so these are already available to members)
• 24 lounges on 20th June 2023

This will see all 57 lounges that were axed from the programme re-introduced, plus six facilities that have been newly added to the Plaza Premium network in the meantime, or weren’t previously offering access to Priority Pass members before the cull but will do this time round.

Here’s the full list of additions.

Since 6th June 2023
39 lounges

You can now see these lounges on the Priority Pass website and app, with immediate access already available.

From 20th June 2023
24 lounges

Brand new Plaza Premium lounge additions to Priority Pass that weren’t on the list before the mid-2021 cull include Dubai T3A Their Patio arrivals lounge and the London Heathrow T5 lounge, plus the brand new Adelaide Plaza Premium lounge and both arrival and departure lounges in Sydney.

Many of our readers will be particularly pleased to see Priority Pass lounges back at some SIA destinations like Penang, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and London Heathrow T2, which have been without any access option through this programme for the last couple of years.

Plaza Premium lounges are generally considered a step above most third-party airport lounge facilities, and while not all are joining Priority Pass this list of 63 additions is still very welcome news.

Which credit cards in Singapore include Priority Pass or LoungeKey?

The following credit cards in Singapore offer Priority Pass or LoungeKey membership, including a selected number of complimentary visits each year.

Card	Free Visits
	Per Calendar Year	Per Membership Year
Citi PremierMiles	2	—
Citi Prestige	Unlimited + 1 guest
DBS Altitude	—	2
DBS Vantage	10	—
HSBC VI	Unlimited
Maybank VI	Unlimited
SC Journey	—	2
SCVI	—	6
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Metal	6	—

Accompanying guest visits, or those used over and above your annual allocation, are typically charged at US$32 per person per visit.

If you’re holding one of these cards you’ll now benefit from the addition of these 63 new lounges to the Priority Pass portfolio from this month.

A total of 63 Plaza Premium lounges are joining the Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks this month, two years after 57 such facilities were axed from the list following a spat between the two sides that has happily now been settled.

The news means that the Plaza Premium Lounge in T1 at Changi Airport is already back on the list, our preferred third-party lounge in Singapore and handy for both T1 and a range of T3 departure gates.

Elsewhere in the region additions in the likes of Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap will provide lounge access via Priority Pass for the first time in years, or significantly expand the options available, which is also great news.

(Cover Photo: Plaza Premium)