Priority Pass Best Lounges 2026: Award Winners
Priority Pass named its best lounges for 2026. Portland's Escape Lounge took global top spot. Here's every regional winner — and why PP quality varies so much.
Priority Pass just announced its 2026 Excellence Award winners and Portland took the global crown. Here's the full list plus an honest take on why your Priority Pass experience varies so wildly depending on where you are.
If you've ever walked into a Priority Pass lounge and felt like you'd won the airport lottery — great food, comfortable seats, attentive staff — and then walked into a different one at a different airport and found a plate of stale sandwiches and a room full of plastic chairs, you already understand the core problem with Priority Pass.
The benefit sounds uniform but the experience isn't.
That gap is worth keeping in mind when you look at Priority Pass's annual Excellence Awards, which the program just released for 2026. Winners were selected from over 700,000 member ratings and reviews across the global network of more than 1,800 lounges in 841 airports across 146 countries. These are the best of the best.
First, Why Priority Pass Quality Varies So Much
Priority Pass is a membership program, not an airline program. It doesn't own or operate lounges. What it does si is contract with independent lounge operators, restaurants, spas, and other airport vendors to accept Priority Pass members as guests. The operator gets a per-visit fee from Priority Pass; the member gets access. Locations include everything from the standard lounge, to Minutes Suites and Gameway gaming spaces.
This is why Priority Pass is simultaneously one of the best benefits on premium travel credit cards and a benefit that regularly disappoints people. The Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and others all include Priority Pass as a headline perk. And it genuinely is excellent — if you know which lounges are worth visiting and can plan around them.
The Excellence Awards are useful precisely because they identify the operators who are actually doing the work.
The Global Lounge of the Year: Escape Lounge, Portland International (PDX)
The Escape Lounge at Portland International Airport was named Global Lounge of the Year for 2026. It's a North American winner, which is notable as Priority Pass lounges in the US and Canada don't have a reputation for being among the best.
The PDX lounge blends contemporary design with a strong sense of local identity. It draws on Portland's creative and cultural character, incorporating locally inspired food and beverages, regional materials and artwork, and a layout designed to offer both relaxation and focus. It's open from 4:30am to midnight daily in Concourse D, between gates D8 and D10 — right in PDX's striking new terminal that opened in 2024.
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Image via Priority Pass
The Escape Lounge brand also has locations at a number of other US airports. Portland is clearly the standout location, but if you're passing through a city with an Escape Lounge on your Priority Pass, it's generally worth using.
Regional Winners
Regional winners were selected across five global regions based on member ratings judging facilities, service, food and beverage, comfort, ambience, and overall satisfaction. Here's the full breakdown:
| Region | Winner | Airport |
|---|---|---|
| Global + North America | Escape Lounge | Portland International (PDX), USA |
| Asia Pacific | Lounge Fukuoka | Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Japan |
| Europe | Vienna Lounge | Vienna International Airport (VIE), Austria |
| Latin America & Caribbean | Club Kingston | Norman Manley International (KIN), Jamaica |
| Middle East & Africa | Bidvest Premier Lounge | O.R. Tambo International (JNB), South Africa |
Highly Commended
The Highly Commended awards recognize lounges that rated very highly but not quite as highly as the regional winner. This year's Highly Commended lounges were: Escape Lounge at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in North America; Kyra Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) in Asia Pacific; No.1 Lounge at Jersey Airport (JER) in Europe; and Advantage VIP Lounge at Viracopos International Airport (VCP) in Brazil for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Kansas City and Portland Escape Lounge double-up is worth noting. That's a strong showing for an independent US lounge operator like Escape Lounges that doesn't have the brand recognition of an airline club.
New in 2026: One to Watch
New for 2026, the One to Watch category spotlights lounges that have significantly raised their game over the past 12 months, as reflected in member ratings.
| Region | Winner | Airport |
|---|---|---|
| EMEA | VIP Lounge Angelo D'Arrigo | Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Italy |
| Asia Pacific | I.A.S.S Superior Lounge – Kocoo | Tokyo, Japan |
| Americas | Advantage VIP Lounge | São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), Brazil |
The Advantage VIP Lounge in Brazil is an interesting one. It won the Global Lounge of the Year award in 2025 at a different Brazilian airport, and now has a new location at São Paulo.
Image via Priority Pass
An Honest Take on Using Priority Pass
I'm a big fan of priority pass, but the difference between a top-tier Priority Pass lounge and a bottom-tier one is enormous. Oftentimes you won't know what you're walking into unless you research it ahead of time.
A few things worth knowing before you tap your card:
- The Escape Lounge network is consistently the best independent operator in the US that allows entry to standard Priority Pass lounges. If there's one at your airport, use it. Kansas City, Phoenix, Providence, and several others are solid.
- Restaurant contracts are not lounges. At smaller US airports especially, your Priority Pass benefit may be a dining credit at an airport restaurant rather than access to a dedicated space. Check the Priority Pass app before you get your hopes up. It's important to note this benefit has been wound down over the past years, with many cards like Chase dropping Priority Pass dining options.
- International is generally better. The lounges in Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Latin America routinely offer quality that exceeds spaces offered in the United States. If you have Priority Pass and you're transiting internationally, be sure to check out what lounges will be available.
- The card you use matters for guests. Most premium cards include Priority Pass but differ on guest policy. If you're traveling with someone, check the terms before you assume they're covered. If not, you may see an unexpected guest charge show on your credit card statement.
At the end of the day, Priority Pass as a credit card benefit is valuable. Just go in knowing the network is uneven. These awards tell you where the ceiling is, but the floor can be considerably lower depending on the exact lounge visited..