Sharing Priority Pass Card: My Experience and Questions
I have the Priority Pass plan that requires a payment of 30 USD per lounge visit that I got from my credit card in Switzerland. I find it nice to get access to unlimited food as I travel between IST and GVA frequently, sometimes SAW too.
Recently I let someone in my family use the card, wanting them to benefit from it as well. They downloaded the Priority Pass app and logged in with my credentials and have my membership card. We have the same lat name. They once tried using it at GVA (international, non-schengen departure) and it worked smoothly. They told me that there were very few people and the check-in desk scanned the Priority Pass and then the barcode of their boarding pass which worked smoothl as his boarding pass was between their passport except for the barcode. They then didn't like the lounge and asked the check-in desk to cancel the entry and while they did, the list of entries on the screen displayed my name instead of theirs. They then proceeded to enter the other lounge which had more people than the previous one the same way and it worked after they scanned the PP card and then the ticket barcode, no questions asked and just welcomed in smoothly. They then didn't visit was then processed after 5 days and it was listed in my visit history as I got charged 30 USD for it.
My relative doesn't travel as much as I do, 1 or 2 trips per year at most. They tried the same thing at SAW at the Plaza Premium Lounge and the agent immediately flagged it and said that only the cardholder is allowed to enter and told my relative that trying to get in with someone elses card was fraud and will be reported to PP saying it may escalate up to the termination of the account. My relative told me that the check-in desk scanned the PP card and ticket 2 times with a scanner and then switched to another POS style decide to take a photo of the PP card and boarding pass. After about a month, I received nothing from PP, my account was not logged out and I even entered a lounge at IST which worked very smoothly, being processed and listed on my visit history.
I'm not trying to breach the terms of service or do anything with bad intentions, but letting a relative enter a lounge 1-2 times a year isn't a big deal for 30-60 dollars. My question here is what happens in such cases where the pass is shared (without being scanned at the same time at different airports by different people), what happens when you get reported and how can I help me relative use my pass without the risk of anything serious happening. Also how did they use my PP card at GVA at two separate lounges with no questions and even cancelled a visit because the lounge was bad while they get denied entry in a different lounge. I paid for the visit at GVA (the second one, I didnt pay for the one that cancelled entry), why would lounges deny them entry if they get paid anyway and the visit gets processed even if someone else uses the card. GVA also shows that there is no software restriction on who can use the card as my relative entered smoothly, why does staff make a big deal of this?