diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gitlab4j/api/GitLabApi.java b/src/main/java/org/gitlab4j/api/GitLabApi.java
index c52cb39ad0ad8446d07adb561c23a94924865c2a..6710ff6b7223c6c7ee4bfcfced9366eae0c220d2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gitlab4j/api/GitLabApi.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gitlab4j/api/GitLabApi.java
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ package org.gitlab4j.api;
 
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.gitlab4j.api.models.Session;
+
 /**
  * This class is provides a simplified interface to a GitLab API server, and divides the API up into
  * a separate API class for each concern.
@@ -20,6 +22,8 @@ public class GitLabApi {
     private SessionApi sessoinApi;
     private UserApi userApi;
 
+    private Session session;
+
     /**
      * Logs into GitLab using provided {@code username} and {@code password}, and creates a new {@code GitLabApi} instance using returned private token
      * 
@@ -30,8 +34,19 @@ public class GitLabApi {
      * @throws GitLabApiException GitLabApiException if any exception occurs during execution
      */
     public static GitLabApi create(String url, String username, String password) throws GitLabApiException {
-        String token = new SessionApi(new GitLabApi(url, null)).login(username, null, password).getPrivateToken();
-        return new GitLabApi(url, token);
+        SessionApi sessionApi = new SessionApi(new GitLabApi(url, (String)null));
+        Session session = sessionApi.login(username, null, password);
+        return (new GitLabApi(url, session));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * If this instance was created with {@link #create(String, String, String)} this method will
+     * return the Session instance returned by the GitLab API on login, otherwise returns null.
+     *
+     * @return the Session instance
+     */
+    public Session getSession() {
+        return session;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -45,6 +60,18 @@ public class GitLabApi {
         this(hostUrl, privateToken, null);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Constructs a GitLabApi instance set up to interact with the GitLab server
+     * specified by hostUrl.
+     * 
+     * @param hostUrl the URL of the GitLab server
+     * @param session the Session instance obtained by logining into the GitLab server
+     */
+    public GitLabApi(String hostUrl, Session session) {
+        this(hostUrl, session.getPrivateToken(), null);
+        this.session = session;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Constructs a GitLabApi instance set up to interact with the GitLab server
      * specified by hostUrl.
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/gitlab4j/api/TestGitLabSession.java b/src/test/java/org/gitlab4j/api/TestGitLabSession.java
index 01004991ce459235b0691fbd3798450ed3eb7d38..a350558c3bfb67f7bd2fa547a52c235db8bb3a3a 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/gitlab4j/api/TestGitLabSession.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/gitlab4j/api/TestGitLabSession.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package org.gitlab4j.api;
 
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
 import static org.junit.Assume.assumeTrue;
 
@@ -13,11 +14,13 @@ import org.junit.Test;
  * TEST_HOST_URL
  * TEST_USERNAME
  * TEST_PASSWORD
+ * TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN
  * 
  * If any of the above are NULL, all tests in this class will be skipped. If running from mvn simply
  * use a command line similar to:
  * 
- * mvn test -DTEST_HOST_URL=https://gitlab.com -DTTEST_USERNAME=your_username -DTEST_PASSWORD=your_strong_password
+ * mvn test -DTEST_HOST_URL=https://gitlab.com -DTTEST_USERNAME=your_username \
+ *  -DTEST_PASSWORD=your_strong_password -DTEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN=your_private_token
  */
 public class TestGitLabSession {
 
@@ -25,10 +28,12 @@ public class TestGitLabSession {
     private static final String TEST_USERNAME;
     private static final String TEST_PASSWORD;
     private static final String TEST_HOST_URL;
+    private static final String TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN;
     static {
         TEST_USERNAME = System.getProperty("TEST_USERNAME");
         TEST_PASSWORD = System.getProperty("TEST_PASSWORD");
         TEST_HOST_URL = System.getProperty("TEST_HOST_URL");
+        TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN = System.getProperty("TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN");
     }
 
     private static String problems = "";
@@ -54,6 +59,10 @@ public class TestGitLabSession {
             problems += "TEST_HOST_URL cannot be empty\n";
         }
 
+        if (TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN == null || TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN.trim().length() == 0) {
+            problems += "TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN cannot be empty\n";
+        }
+
         if (!problems.isEmpty()) {
             System.err.print(problems);
         }
@@ -66,7 +75,10 @@ public class TestGitLabSession {
 
     @Test
     public void testSession() throws GitLabApiException {
-        GitLabApi gitlabApi = GitLabApi.create(TEST_HOST_URL, TEST_USERNAME, TEST_PASSWORD);
-        assertNotNull(gitlabApi);
+
+        GitLabApi gitLabApi = GitLabApi.create(TEST_HOST_URL, TEST_USERNAME, TEST_PASSWORD);
+        assertNotNull(gitLabApi);
+        assertNotNull(gitLabApi.getSession());
+        assertEquals(TEST_PRIVATE_TOKEN, gitLabApi.getSession().getPrivateToken());
     }
 }