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Home » Priority Pass » An Update On My American Express Dispute With Priority Pass
American ExpressPriority Pass

An Update On My American Express Dispute With Priority Pass

Matthew Klint Posted onAugust 6, 2018November 14, 2023 26 Comments

a logo of a person with a knife

Last month, Priority Pass billed me for three guests at the Timberline Steaks & Grille in Denver Airport when I only had one guest.

At the time, I saw two possible reasons for this. One, malicious intent on the part of the restaurant: a way to gin up additional revenue. Two, an honest mistake. Each guest is granted $28 in restaurant credit and I only spent about $27 of the $52. Still, I had to pay for the tip out-of-pocket, which I always do. Perhaps charging the tip separately triggered the double charge?

I let the problem sit for a couple of weeks, but recently called American Express to review my options. This happened to me once before at Priority Pass lounge in Manchester, England. When that occurred, the Platinum Card agent said something along the lines of, “Let’s not waste time on this. I’m just going to credit the $27.”

This time, however, I received a different response. The agent seemed rather apathetic and clueless, which perhaps should have been a hint to hang up and call back. But I reported the issue and he said my only recourse was the dispute. Fine.

I asked him to walk me through the process. I never signed anything in the Priority Pass Lounge, not even the little card reader device you often have to sign. The restaurant is going to have a hard time explaining how I only spent $25 for four people…

What happens if the restaurant falsifies a receipt or prints one that doesn’t have my signature? The agent had no answer. Let’s just wait and see how they respond, he kept saying.

So now we’ll wait and see.

CONCLUSION

This is much more a matter of principle than a fight over $27. I’ll keep you updated on this mater. Remember to always ask for a copy of your Priority Pass receipt to ensure you are charged for the correct number of guests. That may have helped here…

> Read More: Priority Pass Shenanigans in Denver
> Read More: Timberline Steaks & Grille Denver Airport Review

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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26 Comments

  1. iv Reply
    August 6, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    What about an update on the Aeroplan SWISS First Class fiasco? You promised last month you’d be posting an update.

    • Matthew Reply
      August 6, 2018 at 3:25 pm

      I’ll post an update as soon as I have one. I’m not keeping anyone in the dark.

      • iv Reply
        August 6, 2018 at 3:33 pm

        By not posting anything about it for months without any sort of update/mention is keeping everyone in the dark.

        • Jeff Gutt Reply
          August 6, 2018 at 4:25 pm

          The darkness is due to him ‘losing’ the case and having to pay the full fare. Mr. Klink doesn’t often write on topics when he’s wrong or didn’t ‘win’ a favorable outcome.

          • Matthew
            August 6, 2018 at 4:51 pm

            LOL, nope. I haven’t lost anything.

          • Jeff Gutt
            August 6, 2018 at 5:16 pm

            Then give your readers the promised update that disproves that belief.

          • emercycrite
            August 6, 2018 at 9:17 pm

            Couldn’t agree more.

  2. Mark Reply
    August 6, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    Click bait. I thought this post would provide the outcome. Don’t understand a post simply to say you filed a dispute.

    • Jeff Gutt Reply
      August 6, 2018 at 5:15 pm

      +1

    • emercycrite Reply
      August 6, 2018 at 6:17 pm

      +2

    • Martin Reply
      August 6, 2018 at 11:59 pm

      +3

    • Mattt Reply
      August 7, 2018 at 7:17 am

      That’s nice, but it’s your wrong understanding. Doesn’t make it clickbait. And this emercycrite dick rider is not the + you want… that person sucks.

  3. Matthew Reply
    August 6, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    Ymmv

  4. Joe S Reply
    August 6, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    +1. or +3. Read next time for an update.

  5. Matthew Reply
    August 6, 2018 at 9:30 pm

    Tough crowd.

    • Gabriel Reply
      August 7, 2018 at 10:54 am

      Yeah some people act as if they have some sort of legal right to demand the content they want. If you want quantity regardless of quality then TPG is for you.

      Just… relax and enjoy the read.

    • Sexy_kitten7 Reply
      August 21, 2018 at 2:11 pm

      I still love you! <3

  6. Mick Reply
    August 7, 2018 at 12:02 am

    Don’t know why there is so much hate! I am always interested in a touch point regarding how these things are handled.

    Re Swiss air. I hope it works out for you. Only upside for readers that you are fighting the fight.

    Call centers often tell you the “final answer”. Unfort or fortunately (I prefer the latter) there is usually more to be gained by being forceful.

  7. Tom Reply
    August 7, 2018 at 1:57 am

    Given how things are going in this country right now, I just feel like we need to stop fighting big companies all the time and just try to get along. Who’s with me?

  8. askmrlee Reply
    August 7, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    Interesting how Amex determines whether or not to just issue a credit, or make you go through the full dispute process. Even on my Blue credit card over 10 years ago, I had a $200+ charge removed without paperwork when I started an extended warranty claim. What I find interesting is that this level of additional work for $27 is being requested for an Amex Platinum card. I would expect the additional steps on their no-annual fee credit cards, but not a premium charge card.

    Go ahead and go through the hoops, perhaps this data point will show up when one of the Amex interns does a cost/benefit analysis on cardmember disputes.

  9. Chris Davis Reply
    August 9, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    @Matthew

    You are spot on that this is a rapid disease of over-charge on the part of possible lounges and Restaurants in this particular case. I have had the same experience in Panama City, Panama. Which thought me to always keep a copy of my PP lounge visits, until my billing statement. It is not however the fault of PP ,they are billing you what the have been billed.

  10. Leah Reply
    November 19, 2018 at 2:06 pm

    I just wanted to share my experience because I had the same issue with the same lounge, Timberline Steaks & Grille at DEN – I visited by myself in October 2018 and got charged $28USD as if I visited with 2 guests – and the same thought that perhaps the restaurant had intentionally overbilled me. My total was about $20 – I presented my card to the server, got a bill for $0, left a cash tip and didn’t keep the receipt (I know better for next time). I first disputed the charge online with Amex (Platinum), which was completely pointless, as all I received was a letter in the mail saying the charge was for Priority Pass and their investigation was concluded. I then called and spoke to an agent who wouldn’t allow me to dispute the charge with them directly, but instead transferred me to Priority Pass to dispute it with them. The agent at PP was insistent that if I was charged, I had guests with me. I asked them to send me a copy of the receipt I signed that showed that I brought 2 guests (she said she would, so I’ll be interested to see what they have, because I never signed anything). HUCA to Amex, this time got a more helpful agent who opened the dispute, said I would see a credit within 2 days, and also that she would follow up with PP. She apologized that I had to phone multiple times about the same issue. It’s the first time in 4 years I’ve had to dispute a charge with Amex Platinum and I was also surprised at all the hassle over $28

  11. Ee Ling Reply
    February 10, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    Hi Matthew,

    am so late reading this!

    writing from Singapore. I am in the same situation fighting a $36.21 charge on my Citi Prestige card where the staff at Plaza Premium Lounge Kota Kinabalu had accepted my vouchers and card with no problem and then decided to charge me one pax’s entry. At no point did anyone inform me upfront and at no point did I sign for any cost. Citibank said they cannot do anything unless I have proof that I did not agree to the charge, Priority Pass said they cannot help as my membership was issued by Citibank. I am also talking to Plaza Premium Lounge itself to try and resolve this.

    You are right in saying people probably don’t expect a person to take time and effort in fighting a small amount but its the principal!

    Priority Pass is covering themselves by not having a SOP where guests are clearly informed of the extra charges and signing to acknowledge they agree. With the current SOP, they are basically allowed to charge any amount for any no. of pax at their discretion since guests don’t sign for anything!

    Anyhow, I agree with the positive comments out there and choosing to ignore those who think you owe it to them to update. Do let us know how the updates are when you can 🙂

  12. Chase Reply
    May 20, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    I become a Priority Pass member in 2018. Everything was fine until last February 2020, before COVID-19 got into an effect. On that day I was coming back home from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. As usual, I checked-in at the VIP-Priority Pass lounge using my membership card and proceeded to requests some food. Within minutes, I was received a call from my associates at the same airport and they informed me that they coming going home in the same flight (AA).

    OVERCHARGE – DOUBLE CHARGE – WITHOUT MEMBER’S KNOWLEDGE

    I informed the host that my two friends are coming to join me and I am going to fetch them, will be back in a minute. The host said fine. When I came back with my associates, I was informed that I had pay for their entries. I was OK with that so I used my CC that was all.

    About a month later when I received my bank statement and there I saw the charges. Wait! that’s not what happened. Not only they (PRIORITY PASS) charged my CC, they also took additional three visits from my membership card. I was stunned, “Why would they charged me double?” totaling 5 visits instead of 3. so I called the Priority Pass main office and guess they told me. “THE CHARGES ARE CORRECT AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO” WOW!!!

  13. Jeff Reply
    October 4, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    Obviously late to the party here, but I was charged for 2 guests when I definitely only had my son with me. Amex is completely uninterested in helping, and Priority Passes attitude is, tough. They very helpfully (dripping in sarcasm) said that “If it is an incorrect charge, we will refund you, but if it is a correct charge, you have to pay” Guess what? They decided that it was a correct charge, how? They called the lounge. Ok, so the person who answered had clear memory of me and my visit 2 months ago? What a joke.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      October 4, 2022 at 3:11 pm

      Have you disputed with AMEX?

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