SAS Is Eliminating Third-Party Lounge Access, But You Can Still Get In

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It’s time to rethink your airport lounge strategy if you're a Scandinavian Airlines passenger. SAS recently announced that it will be eliminating access to many third-party lounges and Fast Track for premium passengers and elite members of its frequent flyer program, Euro Bonus. But there's good news: Almost all of the lounges are available through Priority Pass.

Starting in 2017, eligible passengers (SAS Business, SAS Plus, and EuroBonus Gold and Diamond members) will still be able to access SAS and Star Alliance Lounges, but access to independently operated lounges will be totally gone.

Here's where passengers will maintain access (except for SAS Plus passengers, as noted by the *):

SAS wrote that it was eliminating access to expand and improve its own lounges:

SAS is investing in digital solutions, new upgraded cabins, new aircraft, high-speed WiFi on all aircraft and have recently launched news in food & beverage onboard. On ground, to be able to continue and invest, expand and improve SAS Lounges and Fast Track offer, SAS will end our collaboration with some of our contracted lounge operated by third-parties. The result will be a continued improvement of SAS own offer where it benefits most of our Plus/Business travelers, members and 29 million yearly passengers.

But, as we mentioned, most of the lounges are in the Priority Pass network. Priority Pass provides access to more than 900 lounges in 120 countries and all but four of the eliminated lounges (Bucharest, Keflavik, Linkoping and Split) are accessible through Priority Pass.

Just remember that you have to activate your Priority Pass Select membership separately (usually through a link via your credit card account); a qualifying credit card is not proof of membership. Some credit cards, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Platinum Card from American Express, grant card members full access to lounges; while others, like the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express, include a membership but not lounge visits (those still cost $27 per person). Check out our breakdown of the Priority Pass program for a full list of credit cards and membership tiers; you may already have a card in your wallet that includes membership as a perk.

Fast Track Access Also Eliminated

Also of note here is that SAS is eliminating Fast Track access at the airports listed above. That means that even as a premium passenger, you won’t have any expedited security (like a separate line). If you're flying from the US you can always take advantage of expedited screening by signing up for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck (available at select airports).

And though there are program fees for Global Entry and PreCheck, the right credit card can help with that, too. The Amex Platinum and the Citi Prestige Card each give you a $100 credit, for example.

So while your boarding pass alone won’t grant you access to a third-party lounge or get you through a faster line at security, you can use your credit card-granted membership and rewards to enjoy some down time before a flight and zip through security even faster.

What’s your favorite Priority Pass lounge?