Privium makes flying from Schiphol, Eindhoven and Rotterdam Airport much more comfortable. Not only will you save time at security control and border clearance, it also gives you unlimited access to the Privium lounges. American Express Platinum members get access to the Privium Plus membership which includes all the Privium benefits. Until March 6, you can get a welcome bonus of 170,000 membership rewards when signing up for an American Express Platinum card.
For Who Is Privium
Privium is for frequent travelers who don’t want to queue up in lanes at security and passport control. It gives you all the benefits for a more comfortable travel experience. This includes better and specious parking spots, business check-in with many airlines, fast-track access at security and lounge access. So far, Privium is exclusive to EU and EEA nationals (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Although it is meant for frequent travelers, you don’t need to travel that much in order to get value for your money. Privium can be worth it with just 5 departures per year. You can choose among 3 subscriptions. These are:
- Basic for € 185 per year
- Extra For € 235 per year
- Plus For € 320 per year
Like I mention above, you don’t need to sign up for Privium itself. With getting an American Express Platinum card, you also get access to Privium Plus. This is one of the best things of the Platinum card in my opinion. You can also test the Privium Plus membership during 3 months for € 95,-. You’ll find more about this on the dedicated Privium website.
The basic membership is for those who want fast-track at security and a fast border clearance. Plus is for those who want the better parking spaces. Only Privium Plus grants you the business check-in and lounge access.
What You Get With Privium
Privium gets you 4 benefits. Only the Privium Plus membership will get you access to all of them. Below I cover them more specifically.
Fast-track: This is the main benefit of Privium. It will save you lots of time at security since you don’t have to queue up in the lanes. The same counts for border clearance. This benefit is available at all the 3 airports. To fully benefit from this, you need to make an appointment at the Departure lounge at Schiphol to get an iris scan. You can do this by calling 020 601 4222.
Dedicated parking spaces: Parking your car at Schiphol can sometimes result into a long walk. With Privium Extra, you get access to the dedicated parking spaces. This will save you lots of time.
Getting the dedicated parking spaces is the only extra benefit you’ll get with Privium Extra. This is only interesting when going by car to Schiphol. Good to know, this will not gives you a discount or free parking spaces. You only get the better parking spaces that are close to the airport.
Business class check-in: With Privium Plus you can check-in at the business class check-in at the following airlines: Aeromexico, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, Garuda, Icelandair, Korean Air, LOT, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, SAS, Swiss and TAP Portugal. This is only possible at Schiphol since these airlines are not flying from Eindhoven and Rotterdam.
Lounge access: Only the Privium Plus membership will grant you access to the lounges. Privium only has lounges at Schiphol and Eindhoven. In Schiphol there are a total of 3 lounges. At Eindhoven there is one lounge. I recently reviewed the following lounges:
At Schiphol there is also an ExpressLounge. However, this lounge is less interesting than the lounges I reviewed. You can find this lounge at the beginning of the D-gates at the second floor. in the Schengen zone.
There is no Privium lounge at Rotterdam. Although Privium Plus members can get access to the PrimaVista lounge there.
Membership And Prices
Now we covered all the 4 benefits you get with Privium, let’s summarise all this into the chart below. Note that a Plus membership is included in American Express Platinum card.
| Basic – € 185 / year | Extra – € 235 / year | Plus – € 320 / year | |
| Fast-track | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Special parking spaces | X | ✔ | ✔ |
| Business class check-in | X | X | ✔ |
| Lounge access | X | X | ✔ |
Basic is good for those who want to travel fast by saving lots of time at security and border clearance. Plus is interesting for those who go by car to the airport. The dedicated parking spaces are much closer to the airport. Those who want extra comfort will definitely enjoy Plus since it gives you access to the business class check-in at certain airlines as well as the lounge access.
Do you have a partner? You both can enjoy the Privium Plus membership for an extra € 185,- per year. However, you need to travel together in order to get access to the lounges. The extra American Express Platinum card member doesn’t pay the € 185,- since it is included.
Bottom Line
Privium definitely makes your travel experience much more comfortable. The fast-track at security and border clearance will save you lots of time at busy moments. The same counts for the dedicated parking spaces and business class check-in. You can spend that time in comfortable Privium lounges.
The beauty about getting an American Express Platinum card is that this includes the Privium Plus membership. The card costs € 65,- per month but it gives you access to lots of benefits like the Privium Plus membership of € 320,- per year. Note that you get a bonus of 170,000 membership rewards points for getting the card. This offer is valid until March 6. Read more about all the benefits of the card in my dedicated article about the 10 benefits of the American Express Platinum card. Also read about the welcome bonuses of the other American Express cards.
Images: Schiphol
