Thanks to my Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card – which is one of the top lounge access cards in Canada – I get six free passes per year to DragonPass lounges. On a recent family trip from Moncton to Cancun, I was going to use them. Seems like an excellent perk – free access to airport lounges, what could go wrong?
Instead of easy access, I encountered full lounges where we were waitlisted. I never made it into any of my planned lounges. After a lengthy wait, I got into another lounge that was very small and had limited food.
After this experience, I won't ever buy a DragonPass or Priority Pass membership. I'll certainly keep my Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card as it offers plenty of goodies. Here's my experience so you can decide for yourself.
Here's my experience so you can decide for yourself.
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The flights on our trip
Our flights were taking us from Moncton to Cancun, with a stopover in Montreal both ways.
We chose Air Canada because I have plenty of Aeroplan points and it was time to put them to use. I got free flights for 4 people for around 275,000 points – including taxes and fees. We didn’t pay a penny for the flights.
On the way there, we were scheduled for a 1 hour 35 minute connection in Montreal (we ended up getting 1h45). On the way back we had a layover of 1h45.
Lounges we could access
Armed with the Visa Airport Companion app, I knew I would be able to access 2 lounges:
- National Bank Lounge in the international departures area in Montreal
- Plaza Premium lounge in terminal 3 in Cancun
Among major airports in Canada, Montreal is the only airport where there isn't a DragonPass lounge in the domestic area. But if you’re flying out of any of the following airports, you will have access to a DragonPass lounge in the domestic area:
- Quebec City
- Ottawa
- Toronto (both terminals)
- Winnipeg
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Vancouver
Accessing an airport lounge in Montreal
Let's start with Montreal – where our first experience with DragonPass didn't go well.
The lounge was full. Once we got to the lounge entrance, there was a sign saying the lounge was full and we would be waitlisted.
I was told the wait was up to 20 minutes. Combined with the length of time it took us to walk across the airport in Montreal and when boarding would start, we would only have maybe 20 minutes to go in. That didn't seem worth burning 4 of our 6 free lounge passes.
We didn't end up going inside. We were looking forward to a nice hot breakfast (for free) inside the lounge and instead settled for a coffee shop.
I'm not naive – this was around 7am and the international section was packed full of flights heading to sun destinations. Plenty of people were looking to access a lounge at this time but it was no less disappointing that we didn't get in.
Accessing an airport lounge in Cancun
We were quite early for our flight back to Montreal. There was no lineup at check-in and we quickly breezed through security.
After some duty free shopping, we went to the departures area – and it was packed. I can't recall seeing a more crowded airport in my life.
We headed to the lounge about 2.5 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave. There was a lineup to enter the lounge, though it was actually just to get on the waitlist. Again, the lounge was full.
I was told to come back in 30 minutes to see if there was room. I went back and was told to come back in another 40 minutes.
We headed to a restaurant to grab something to eat and returned about 50 minutes later – and we got inside the lounge. We certainly could have saved our passes, but since I don’t foresee us flying again before my pass count resets, we decided to use them.
The lounge in terminal 3 in Cancun was small – amongst the smallest I’ve ever been to, rivaled by the Maple Leaf Lounge in Edmonton.
Here’s what it looked like. This photo was taken from the back of the lounge towards the entrance.
We weren’t hungry but the food left a lot to be desired. There wasn't much of a selection.
While I didn't pay anything to get in, in my opinion it was not worth the typical cost of US$45 for entry.
We enjoyed our time there and it was a quiet place to relax away from the crowds in the airport, but it wasn't the best experience.
All about the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
If you want a credit card with airport lounge access, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card is an excellent place to start. For a standard annual fee of $150, it comes with 6 free lounge passes – more than any other credit card in this range in annual fees.
But it offers much more than just free lounge access.
- No foreign exchange fees. You'll save 2.5% on any purchase that isn't made in Canadian dollars. On our last trip to Mexico, I figure I saved around $200 in fees.
- Excellent travel insurance package. The card includes 11 types of insurance coverage.
- Flexible rewards. You'll be able to earn super-flexible Scene+ Rewards with this card.
Here are the card’s earn rates:
- 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more
- 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and daily transit
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases
$100 GeniusCash + Up to 45k bonus Scene+ points in year 1 + 6 free airport lounge passes.*
GC: $100
Other credit cards to access airport lounges
If you're interested in lounge access, these credit cards have similar annual fees and come with 4 free passes to DragonPass lounges.
GC: $125
Your stories on accessing airport lounges
This is my tale, and it's a cautionary one when it comes to accessing airport lounges. I was trying to access lounges at busy times and couldn't get in.
Do you have any stories to share? Was it smooth sailing or did you run into issues, too?
Share them in the comments below.
FAQ
What is the Visa Airport Companion program?
The Visa Airport Companion program is the program used by Visa credit cards to access lounges. WIth a membership, you can access any DragonPass lounge.
What is DragonPass?
DragonPass is a lounge network that offers members the ability to access participating lounges all over the world. There are over 1,300 lounges that are part of the network.
What are some credit cards that include free passes to DragonPass lounges?
There are a few credit cards that include free passes to DragonPass lounges. These include the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card, and CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card.
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