Chase LGA lounge review: Luxury at LaGuardia

Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club hours and location

The Chase Sapphire Lounge will open at 4:30am and close at 9:30pm daily. The lounge is conveniently located towards the center of Terminal B and is within a 10 minute walk of most gates. It took me less than five minutes to reach the lounge from TSA.

One quirk that travelers will notice almost immediately upon approaching the lounge is that it is right next to the Amex Centurion Lounge—it will be interesting to see which lounge travelers prefer, but my bet is on the Chase Sapphire Lounge. Even considering the lounges equally, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card will allow you to bring two guests for free to the Sapphire Lounge while the The Platinum Card® from American Express card will only permit you to bring guests to the Centurion Lounge if you spend more than $75,000 per year on the card. If you’re a New York-based flyer and are considering a premium travel card, take note. 

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at LGA is the fourth Chase lounge, following locations in Hong Kong International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Chase has several additional lounges under construction at Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Philadelphia airports, with the next one slated to open at New York’s JFK airport in Terminal 4 on January 23rd.

Lounge Layout and Features

Upon reaching the Chase Lounge signage, travelers will need to follow a short hallway to a quick elevator down to level 1, and then walk down another short hallway to reach the check-in desk. The first thing I noticed when I entered the lounge was the expansive size. Chase stated that the lounge has a maximum capacity of just under 300 guests, but based on the 21,000+ sq. ft. measurements, I would guess that even at capacity it won’t feel overcrowded. 

The lounge is split into two levels and has several distinct areas to meet the needs of each type of lounge guest. Each floor contains a coffee station with coffee provided by Joe’s Coffee Company and a large seating area with QR codes on each table to order directly to your seat. 

Much of the first floor has double-height ceilings creating a spacious feeling. There are very few right angles as most features are whimsical and seem to be modeled around nature. The columns look like massive tree trunks and there are plants throughout the lounge giving an air of freshness; most visitors likely won’t even realize that there are no windows. There is vibrant artwork from the JPMorgan Chase collection with bright pops of color throughout the lounge that adds to the overall visual experience.

The first floor has the bar, a buffet with tables, phone rooms, productivity areas, and several comfortable seating areas. The second floor, which is quite a bit quieter than the rest of the lounge, has a nice seating area and 3 private rooms aptly called “The Reserve Suites by Chase”. Each room can be rented for 3 hour increments by making a reservation. These private rooms cost between $2,200 and $3,000 per reservation and each room comes with its own bathroom/shower, a large seating area, bar, large TV, Playstation 5…the list of features goes on. All guests of the private rooms are treated to a complimentary choice of a high-quality eye-mask or a Larq water bottle. 

Food and Drink

Chase put in serious effort to generate a local NYC experience in the lounge. The food selections were quite numerous—I counted over 20 options—ranging from vegan and gluten-free options to meat and fish. Items are either made to order via QR code or picked up from the buffet. Several of the dishes are from Joseph Leonard, a bistro in New York’s West Village. A couple dishes stood out to me: the Seared Salmon over braised leeks, finished with creme fraiche and fine herbs, the Lentil Ragout, topped with roasted seasonal vegetables, finished with a curried coconut yogurt, and the Grilled Cheese Melt with aged cheddar on brioche, pistachio, and honey. The food is served tapas-style in small plates and bowls, allowing you to try out each dish before deciding what to get during your second (or third) helping.

On the dessert side, the Chocolate Bites (a mini brownie) were solid as was the Lemon Square, but the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie left a lot to be desired. The flavor of the cookie was strong, but the consistency was not right— it was somewhere between a soft and hard cookie. To be fair, I have a very high bar when judging cookies and honestly, even though the Chocolate Chip Cookies could be better, I would still eat them.

The cocktail menu was designed by Apotheke, a popular cocktail lounge in New York City, and filled with impressive signature drinks that go way beyond the classics. The wines are curated by Parcelle, a wine bar in Chinatown. While I did not have the time to try the impressive wine selection, I can share from first-hand experience that Parcelle is a great wine bar and I trust their selections. Similarly to the wine, I did not have a chance to try the draft beer selection, but the lounge offers a standard selection of a Pilsner, Import, Ale, and IPA.

My major gripe with the food selection at the lounge is the lack of a grab and go section. These options have become commonplace over the last couple years as lounges have become overly crowded. Also, for travelers like me that do not arrive early enough at the airport to enjoy the full lounge experience, it would be helpful to have some grab and go options. 

Lounge Highlights

I was blown away by three amenities at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club that make this lounge stand out against the dozens of lounges I have previously visited:

• Arcade Room: Whether you are traveling with children or are just a child at heart, the lounge has a small arcade room with a photo booth, shuffleboard table, pinball machine, and jukebox (though I am not sure children would know what a ‘jukebox’ is). I could easily see myself getting deep into a round of pinball and struggling to pull myself away to catch a flight. There is also a kids’ playroom and nursing room to make family travel that much more comfortable.
• Fly by Face Haus: Chase added two skincare treatment rooms to go along with two mediation areas. The meditation areas have a guided meditation accessible via QR code from Wellness Educator Devi Brown. The lounge offers travelers 5 skincare treatment options that take up to 30 minutes each and are focused on hydration/refreshment. The Jet Setter treatment is the one I would most benefit from. All visitors to the lounge are welcome to complimentary skincare travel kits from Face Haus.
• The bar: I did not have the opportunity to try all of the signature drinks, but was impressed by the Red Eye and the Sapphire. The drinks menu also contains several mocktails designed by Apotheke, so you can bet that they will be both creative and tasty.

And here’s a quick tip: I found the blueish/grayish chairs to be the most comfortable and am confident I would be able to eat and work from those chairs without any discomfort.

How to access the Chase Sapphire Lounge

The best way to access the lounge is through being a cardholder of the following cards: the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Ritz-Carlton Card, and the J.P Morgan Reserve. Each provides unlimited access to the lounge. Note that you need to have your (included) Priority Pass membership active in addition to your Sapphire Reserve card. Reserve cardholders can bring two guests for free, while Ritz-Carlton cardholders can bring an unlimited number of guests. Additionally, authorized users will also have access to the lounge and can bring two guests for free and additional guests for $27/each. 

Travelers with just Priority Pass are limited to one complimentary visit per year to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club and can purchase additional visits for $75/visit. 

Access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge is limited to those with departing flights from LGA. If you land at LGA and do not have a connection, you will not be able to pop into the lounge for a post-arrival snack or drink. 

With a maximum of just under 300 visitors, I can envision the lounge reaching capacity pretty quickly. Chase indicated that they would have a virtual waitlist and travelers would receive a text when it is their turn to enter. With LaGuardia generally being serviced by ‘short haul’ flights, I am optimistic that the lounge will have quick turnover enabling most travelers to access the lounge without joining a waitlist. 

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by the Club is Chase’s signature lounge and is currently the largest lounge in their portfolio. It offers an elevated lounge experience rarely found in domestic terminals and makes me consider arriving at the airport more than an hour before my departure flight to enjoy the amenities. While I won’t be reserving one of the private rooms anytime soon, the lounge has several amenities that I am excited to try out on my next flight out of LaGuardia Terminal B.

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