Lounge Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge New York JFK Airport

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If you’re flying out of JFK’s Terminal 4, you can choose from several lounges to spend time before your flight. If you’re flying on Delta, the primary tenant of T4, there are two Delta SkyClubs and the exclusive Delta One Lounge (if your ticket type includes access). Don’t worry if you don’t have access to the SkyClub; there are other lounges you can visit if you have the right credit card in your wallet.

One of the newer lounges in JFK T4 is the Chase Sapphire Lounge^® by The Club, which opened in January 2024. The lounge space isn’t new since it was previously the Etihad Lounge. Closed since the pandemic, the airline partnered with Chase to reopen the space as a Chase Sapphire Lounge. I’d never visited the lounge before, but I’ve read that it was completely renovated before reopening.  We had a chance to visit a few months after it opened, and while we’re not the type to get to the airport early to see a lounge, I can say that this is an excellent space to spend time before a flight.

Chase Sapphire Lounge^® by The Club

The Sapphire Lounge is located on the upper level of the main area of Terminal 4. If you’re going through the security checkpoint, remember not to go down the escalators to the lower level where you’ll find the shops and eventually the gates. Instead, follow the signs to the lounges.

When we visited, the signs were not updated to indicate the Chase lounge. Just follow the directions to the Etihad Lounge or the Centurion Lounge, which is right next door.

Entering the Lounge

The Chase Sapphire Lounge New York JFK is currently open daily from 5 AM until 11 PM. Since the Chase Sapphire Lounge is operated by The Club, entry rules are slightly different than those of clubs operated by American Express or Capital One. Instead of showing your credit card, you need to show the Priority Pass card linked to your eligible credit card.

These are the Chase cards that include Priority Pass Select memberships:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• J.P. Morgan Reserve
• Ritz-Carlton Credit Card

These cardholders are allowed entrance to the club with a valid boarding pass up to three hours before the time of their flight. Guesting privileges vary depending on your card.

Sapphire Reserve and J.P. Morgan Reserve cardmembers may bring up to two guests per Priority Pass Membership card, per visit, for free and additional guests for $27. Ritz-Carlton cardmembers may bring unlimited guests at no charge. There’s no additional charge for children under two.

Even if you don’t have one of these cards, Priority Pass members are allowed 1 visit per year.

Note: Members can access the lounge once per calendar year using an allocated visit entitlement (both inclusive and Pay As You Go) subject to availability. Additional visits over and above the 1 calendar year, and any guest visits, will be charged a preferential entry fee of US$75 per person, per visit, payable to the lounge.

This limit applies to all Chase Sapphire Lounges, not just one visit per lounge. The only exception to this rule is the Hong Kong lounge, which operates like a typical Priority Pass location and doesn’t require a Chase-issued card.

Inside The Lounge

The Chase Sapphire Lounge JFK is roughly 7,600 square feet. In comparison, the Concourse A Delta SkyClub is almost double the size, at 14,000+ square feet. Needless to say, the Chase Sapphire lounge isn’t large. However, on the morning we visited, it was wasn’t very crowded. That may be because the Chase Sapphire Reserve isn’t known for lounge access like the AMEX Centurion Lounges or Delta Sky Clubs.

However, this wasn’t an “overflow” lounge. Most of what we experienced was above the normal domestic airport lounge.

Entering the lounge space, there’s a main room with couches, table seating and a bar along a wall of windows facing out to the gates. This is also where you can find the coffee station, canned beverages and continental breakfast offerings (baked goods and cereals). Being accustomed to most domestic airport lounges, my wife Sharon thought this was the extent of the food offerings and was somewhat disappointed.

To the side of this section is a small area of seats and couches. There’s also a flight departure board listing all of the flights leaving from T4.

For those interested, art around the lounge are pieces from the JP Morgan Chase Art Collection.

Additional seating areas were throughout the space. The next largest area was along the windows, where a line of tables was available for eating, working, or both.

In this section, you can find additional food offerings.

In addition, there is a scannable QR code at most seats which pulls up an on-demand food menu. I ordered the Salmon Benedict and after it arrived, Sharon ordered one for herself. The food arrived within minutes of placing an order.

Final Thought

Thanks to a delayed flight, we ended up spending around two hours in the lounge. It was a comfortable space to relax and get work done while waiting for our flight. In a welcome change from some other lounges, it was also not overcrowded during our visit. Our previous JFK lounge experiences weren’t very satisfying, so visiting a smartly decorated space with comfortable seating and food options that didn’t leave me wishing we’d visited McDonald’s was a welcome surprise.

What’s your favorite lounge at JFK Terminal 4?

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