Priority Pass has added a new way into its lounges for members who get the
membership through an American Express card: the physical Amex card itself.
Priority Pass now lists a bank issued payment card alongside its physical and
digital membership cards as an accepted form of entry, and notices reached
Amex members in mid August 2026.
American Express has updated card terms to match. The terms for The Platinum
Card now say an enrolled Card Member may enter select Priority Pass lounges by
presenting a valid physical Platinum Card together with an airline boarding
pass. Eligible U.S. products include The Platinum Card, The Business
Platinum Card, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card, and
certain corporate and co-branded Platinum versions.
What still has to happen first
Nothing here is automatic. You still have to enroll in Priority Pass through
American Express before any of it works. Priority Pass activates the linked
payment card once you log in to your account on prioritypass.com, and it asks
members to allow 12 hours for that activation to take effect. Priority
Pass also warns that some locations cannot accept a payment card at the door,
so the app is still the reliable way to check what a specific lounge takes.
The change does not add a single lounge or extend any benefit. It is a
verification change, useful mostly as a backup when a phone dies or the app
will not load on airport wifi.
Priority Pass is separately steering Amex members toward its newer Priority
Pass+ app and retiring physical Priority Pass cards for these memberships.
Members have been told existing physical cards work until their printed
expiration date, after which the Digital Membership Card or a qualifying Amex
card takes over. Upgraded Points reports the older rules still apply to
memberships that come from eligible Chase, Citi and Capital One cards.