Priority Pass Restaurants: How + Where To Eat for Free at Airports

Priority Pass membership is a must-have for many frequent travelers. Rather than tying you down to a specific airline or credit card lounge, Priority Pass gets you access to more than 1,000 lounges worldwide.

But that’s not where the perks stop. In addition to lounge access, Priority Pass members get exclusive credits on spending at select airport restaurants. Depending on how much you order, you and your dining companions could end up eating for free.

From JFK to PDX, here’s a look at where you can find Priority Pass restaurants and how much of a discount you could get.

How do Priority Pass restaurants work?

While some lounges in the Priority Pass network offer complimentary food and drinks, members looking for a little more choice in what’s on their plate may be interested in whether they can get credit toward a meal at standalone restaurants in their airports of choice.

The specific discount you’ll receive differs by restaurant but is typically around $28 per person, per meal. When you use your Priority Pass membership at a participating restaurant, each credit you use typically counts as a lounge visit, which could eat into your free visit allowance, depending on the terms of your membership.

Each Priority Pass membership tier comes with a specified number of free visits, except Standard membership, which has no free visits. Once you use up your free visits, you’ll be charged $35 per lounge visit (or meal credit used).

When you arrive at a restaurant, indicate to the host that you’d like to use your Priority Pass meal credit or credits, if you’ve got a guest. If you visit with a guest, their credit on the meal will typically count as a guest visit. Again, this may vary depending on the restaurant you visit and the details of your membership, so be sure to check the terms of the deal before you dine.

To find participating restaurants, visit Priority Pass and click “Find lounges and more.” You’ll be asked to input the city, airport name, or airport code where you’re interested in using your Priority Pass membership. Once you do, participating restaurants and lounges are listed by terminal.

U.S. Priority Pass restaurant locations

The list of Priority Pass restaurants at U.S. airports is prone to change as new locations open and existing restaurants close or are removed from the program, but as of this writing, here are the U.S. airports and restaurants where Priority Pass members can get meal credits:

How to get Priority Pass membership

You can become a Priority Pass member by signing up online. There are three tiers of membership. Higher membership tiers provide more free visits to airport lounges but come at a higher cost.

• Standard Membership: $99 annual fee; members and guests pay $35 per visit.
• Standard Plus Membership: $329 annual fee; members get 10 free visits, then pay $35 per visit. Guests must pay $35 each visit.
• Prestige Membership: $469 annual fee; members have unlimited free visits. Guests pay $35 each visit.

But purchasing a membership through Priority Pass isn’t your only option. A more economical path to membership can be found in the many cards that offer free Priority Pass memberships. These credit cards tend to have annual fees but usually come with other rewards and valuable perks like upgraded hotel rooms or free air travel, thanks to statement credits or companion tickets.

Unfortunately, many issuers have begun to exclude restaurant credits from their Priority Pass perk, but there are still options for getting restaurant discounts through cardholder membership. These travel credit cards, for example, have not yet excluded restaurants from their Priority Pass membership perk:

What to know before you dine

When you find a restaurant in your airport of choice, be sure to review the details of using your Priority Pass membership to get dining credit. Find your airport and restaurant on the Priority Pass website to see if any conditions apply to your discounted dining experience, including requirements for access, item eligibility, and guest allowances.

The main things you’ll want to watch out for when dining at a Priority Pass restaurant are: 1) Using up limited free member visits on a meal credit when you might get more out of using it for an actual lounge visit and 2) incurring visit fees that outweigh the value of the discount.

How to decide if a visit is worth it

Just because you can get credit on a meal at a Priority Pass restaurant doesn’t mean it’s always the best idea. After all, it’s possible you could eat a lot more than $28 worth of free food at a lounge that offers it.

Whether or not using your Priority Pass dining benefit is worth it depends on the following.

How you got your Priority Pass membership

Travelers who get their Priority Pass membership through a credit card should confirm the terms of their Priority Pass benefit, as they differ from card to card. Those who purchase membership directly through Priority Pass should note that Prestige members get unlimited free member visits and don’t need to worry about using up their allowance at Priority Pass restaurants, but Standard Plus members should consider if they want to use up one of their 10 free member visits on a meal credit.

Your membership tier

What’s more, all membership tiers currently charge a $35 fee for guest visits, and Standard members must pay $35 for all member visits as well. That means you’ll have to do a little math to determine if using that meal credit is worth it.

Remember, if you bring a guest, you can often double the credit you receive, but since using your credit at a Priority Pass restaurant typically counts as a lounge visit, Standard members who dine with a guest will end up paying $70 in visit fees while only getting $56 in discounts.

What all that means is that using a dining credit is only worth it for members at the Prestige tier who get unlimited free member visits and, therefore, get the full value out of the discount when dining alone or Standard Plus members who wouldn’t rather use their free visit allowance for lounge access. Regardless of membership tier, you’ll always pay more for a guest than you get back in credits.

Lastly, remember you’re responsible for the remaining balance above and beyond the credited amount. Your credit also won’t count towards gratuity — be a conscientious traveler and tip on the full bill before the Priority Pass discount.

Bottom line

Discounted dining is a major perk of Priority Pass, and this cardholder benefit, when offered, can go a long way toward making the annual fee on a premium credit card worth it. But the value you get from dining credits can vary widely depending on the terms of your membership, so do your due diligence before deciding to use a meal credit.

If you’re thinking of purchasing Priority Pass membership, don’t forget to consider how often you travel and whether Priority Pass lounges and restaurants are even available at airports you frequently fly through.

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