AWS re:Invent 2025 - Scaling Globally: Priority Pass's Journey with AWS Amplify (DVT319)

Scaling Globally: Priority Pass's Journey with AWS Amplify

Overview

• Priority Pass is a market-leading provider of airport lounge access for frequent travelers
• Their web platform and mobile app are the primary way customers interact with the service
• However, their legacy web platform was struggling to scale and perform globally to meet the needs of their growing customer base

Challenges with Legacy Platform

• High traffic volumes and global user base led to performance and scalability issues
• Reliance on a legacy CMS (Sitecore) with custom integrations to backend APIs
• Expensive and brittle hosting infrastructure (EC2 and databases)
• Slow deployment process and difficulty handling traffic spikes

Modernizing with AWS Amplify

• Evaluated options like Amplify and Vercel, chose Amplify for cost-efficiency and alignment with AWS ecosystem
• Started with a proof-of-concept, then migrated lower-traffic sites before tackling priority-pass.com
• Partnered closely with AWS to address technical challenges around caching, DNS, and integrations
• Adopted a monorepo architecture with Nx tooling and automated CI/CD using GitHub Actions

Key Benefits

• Cost Savings: Hosting costs reduced from $180,000/year to $20,000/year
• Improved Performance: No traffic-related outages since migration, zero manual scaling required
• Faster Deployment: Hundreds of deployments per month vs. 1-2 per week previously
• Better Developer Experience: Simplified hosting, ephemeral environments, and framework-agnostic approach

Technical Details

• Migrated to a Next.js-based architecture, using Contentful as a headless CMS
• Leveraged Amplify's managed services for hosting, CI/CD, and optional backend capabilities
• Utilized Amplify's Typescript support to integrate with other AWS services as needed
• Observed some limitations around observability and missing features like Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)

Business Impact

• Enabled Priority Pass to scale their web platform to support millions of global customers
• Improved stability and performance, reducing operational overhead and providing a better user experience
• Freed up engineering resources to focus on new feature development and innovation
• Positioned the company for continued growth and expansion of their market-leading travel services

Example Use Case

• Priority Pass customers can use the mobile app or website to generate digital membership cards, pre-book lounge access, and access other travel services
• The Amplify-powered platform handles high traffic volumes and global usage patterns without disruption
• This allows Priority Pass to deliver a seamless, reliable experience for their frequent traveler base, differentiating their service in a competitive market

Conclusion

By migrating their web platform to AWS Amplify, Priority Pass was able to significantly improve the scalability, performance, and cost-efficiency of their customer-facing applications. The partnership with AWS and the Amplify platform's capabilities enabled Priority Pass to modernize their technology stack, reduce operational overhead, and deliver a better experience for their growing global user base.