Get free food at the airport: Which cards offer Priority Pass restaurant access?

29.02.2024 - 22:23 / thepointsguy.com

Airport lounge access is one of my favorite credit card benefits. You can get free food and drinks while waiting in a more comfortable area before your flight. However, some lounges aren't great. And their food offerings may be little more than a pack of Oreos.

If you need to grab a meal at the airport before a flight, you could pay a small fortune. However, a lesser-known credit card benefit could help you score a free meal for yourself and for your traveling companions.

Here's a look at credit cards that offer visits to Priority Pass restaurants, where you could pick up a free lunch before your next flight.

When you think of Priority Pass, you likely think of airport lounges where you can relax before your flight, use Wi-Fi and enjoy some food and drinks without the noisy announcements encountered near the departure gates. That's definitely a big part of what a Priority Pass membership offers, but there's more.

Related: Everything you need to know about the Priority Pass program

Priority Pass also has affiliated restaurants in more than 20 airports. When using your membership card, you can enjoy a free meal. Plus, your guest can enjoy their own credit for a free meal.

In addition to restaurants, you can enjoy non-lounge perks like these at some airports:

However, not all Priority Pass memberships offer access to Priority Pass restaurants, spas, sleep pods and other non-lounge visits. We'll discuss which memberships do (and don't) include these visits below.

Unfortunately, not every airport with a Priority Pass lounge has a Priority Pass-affiliated restaurant. Some airports with participating restaurants have more than one of them, meaning this benefit is available only at a select few airports in the U.S.

Related: Skip the lounge and get free food at 31 US restaurants that are part of Priority Pass

You can find participating restaurants at the following U.S. airports:

You can get between $28-$30 of free food and drinks, depending on the rules set by each restaurant. Let's take a look at two sample restaurants.

The Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar at IAH offers a maximum of $28 per person in free food and drinks. This credit cannot be used for to-go orders, and you can register a maximum of one guest (no matter how many people are with you).

That would provide a total max of $56 in food and drinks (split as a $28 allotment for you and $28 for your registered guest). You cannot use this credit toward gratuity when tipping your server.

The Corona Beach House at MIA, however, offers a credit of $30 per person and doesn't have a limit on the number of guests you can register during your visit. You cannot use your credit on to-go orders or grab-and-go items. The restaurant automatically adds an