American Express continues to neuter Priority Pass: goodbye unlimited entry even for Platinum Card holders in France
In the beginning it was the turn of the Germans and Spaniards, then the cut-off came on the heads of the Canadians as well, and now [...]
In the beginning it was the turn of Germans and Spaniards, then the bounty also came on the heads of Canadians e now the guillotine has hit our transalpine cousins.
In this article:
French American Express Platinum Holders will say. goodbye to one of the most widely used benefits and the one that most drives people to subscribe to the fee monthly Platinum Card: that is, unlimited Priority Pass Prestige subscription.
Goodbye unlimited access for Amex Platinum cardholders
The communication that Amex France sent to holders is as follows:
"Your lounge access is changing Your Platinum Card gives you free access to the comfort of more than 1,700 airport lounges in the Global Lounge Collection (Centurion Lounge, Delta Sky Club, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium Lounge, etc.). Starting February 3, 2026, the number of Priority Pass lounge accesses will be limited to 15 visits per year for your Main Card and 15 visits per year for your Additional Platinum Card. Access to other lounges remains unchanged."
Fifteen visits per year means that's 7 round trips nonstop, certainly not a few, but if by chance it is instead travel with a stopover, it still halves the chances of taking advantage of free access, not to mention that the eventual guest would erode the annual mount. Unlike what will happen in Canada, there is not even the hypothesis of minimum expenditure to eliminate the limit; the decision is cut-throat.
Every country is worse and worse
The concern here is that every time the cut-off is announced in a different market. capping, that is, the number of accesses allowed, is reduced: in Germany we are talking about 50/year, here we are down to 15/year. Only Priority Pass accesses are being accounted for, not those where you access showing the Platinum card instead, such as Lufthansa lounges rather than in the Plaza Premium.
This situation, however, is a panacea, why in Europe and in Italy in particular where there are no Centurion Lounges., the Plaza Premium lounges are only at Fiumicino and there are no other lounges in the American Express Global Lounge Collection, the most visited lounges are the Priority Pass lounges.
Without forgetting that the basic and additional holder have a Prestige card that grants unlimited access, with accompanying person, Without any daily limitation.
Amex Platinum in Italy still safe (for the time being)
To date, the only two European markets that are unscathed by this step change are Italy and the United Kingdom, but since they are outside the EU we can say that, of the major markets, Italy is currently the only one unscathed. I don't want to jinx it, but sooner or later I'm afraid that this devaluation might hit us too although, it must be recorded that in France the monthly fee for Platino is 59€/month, while in Italy it is 70€/month.
Revolut increasingly a solid alternative to American Express Platinum
The payment card market in Italy is not the most dynamic, But for frequent travelers disappointed with the American Express Platinum Card, the solution could be called Revolut Ultra, i.e., the most important plan of fintech that aims more and more to enter this world.
In conclusion
I don't want to create alarmism, but would seem to be a charted path, the lounge crowding emergency would be solved by Amex castrating access, but without giving anything in return to the titular Platinum, for the rest we look out the window, but in this case the grass is definitely not greener than ours.
