How to Enter Airport Lounges With the Chase Ink Cards [Expired]
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Update: The Chase Ink cards no longer offer Lounge Club membership or 2 free lounge visits per year.Did you know you get free airport lounge access with the Chase Ink Bold, Chase Ink Plus, and Chase Ink Classic cards?
I’ve written about the Lounge Club, and just got a new membership card. So I thought it would be a good time to have another look at the program to see if anything’s changed.
Membership in Lounge Club gives you access to 350+ airport lounges around the world. You get 2 free lounge visits each year, and pay $27 per visit after that.
Note: You only get 1 year of free membership with the Chase Ink Classic card. The Chase Ink Bold and Chase Ink Plus give you free membership and 2 free lounge visits every year.
What’s Lounge Club?
You get your membership into Lounge Club through credit cards, banks, and other partners.
You can enter 350+ lounges worldwide as a Lounge Club member. Some are operated by airlines, while others are independent. You do NOT have to be flying on the airline to access their lounge, as long as it’s part of the Lounge Club program.
Which Lounges Can I Access?
You can find out which lounges you can access by going to the Lounge Club directory and searching by country and airport.
Link: Lounge Club Directory
You can also download the list of lounges. Or download apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry.
How Do I Enter the Lounges?
1. Sign-Up for Lounge Club
You can’t just show your Chase Ink Bold or Chase Ink Plus card to access the lounges. You need to activate your membership first, and receive a separate Lounge Club membership card.
Both primary cardholders and authorized users can sign-up. Each get their own card and 2 free visits.
Link: Chase Ink Bold
Link: Chase Ink Plus
Link: Chase Ink Classic
Link: Chase Ink Lounge Club Activation
Go to the Lounge Club activation page and enter promotion code “CHASEINK” in the “Invitation Code” box. Then click “Activate”.
Fill in your contact information.
You must submit your Chase Ink credit card details. After your 1st 2 free lounge visits, Lounge Club will charge your credit card $27 for each visit.
Your Lounge Club card should arrive in the mail in ~2 weeks.
2. Show Your Lounge Club Membership Card
To access a lounge, you’ll need your membership card (just showing your Chase Ink card will NOT work).
Note: If you have a guest, it counts as another visit! So if your 1st visit is with your partner, you’ve used up your 2 free passes!
Is It Worth It?
Lounge Club membership comes with the Chase Ink cards, so it won’t cost you anything to sign-up.
1. US Lounges
I wrote about my experience signing-up for Lounge Club a couple of years ago, and I wasn’t impressed because there were very few lounges in the US.
Although Lounge Club advertises over 350 lounges around the world, there are still only 26 lounges at 19 US airports:
- Anchorage (Alaska Airlines Board Room)
- Atlanta (The Club at ATL)
- Baltimore (Chesapeake Club Lounge)
- Boston (Air France Lounge)
- Chicago O’Hare (Air France VIP Lounge)
- Dallas (The Club at DFW)
- Honolulu (American Airlines Admirals Club, IASS Hawaii Lounge)
- Houston (KLM Crown Lounge)
- Las Vegas (The Club at LAS Terminal 1, The Club at LAS Terminal 3)
- Los Angeles (Air France Business Class Lounge, Virgin America Loft, Alaska Airlines Board Room, KAL Lounge)
- Miami (Club America, VIP Lounge Miami)
- Newark (Art & Lounge)
- New York JFK (KAL Business Class Lounge, Wingtips Lounge)
- Orlando (The Royal Palm Lounge)
- Portland (Alaska Airlines Board Room)
- San Francisco (Alaska Airlines Board Room)
- San Jose (The Club at SJC)
- Seattle (Alaska Airlines Board Room)
- Washington Dulles (British Airways Galleries Lounge)
Many of these lounges are in international terminals, so if you’re traveling within the US, you might not be able to access them. And some independent lounges charge extra for perks (like Wi-Fi or drinks) that usually come free at dedicated airline lounges.
For example, at the IASS Hawaii Lounge in Honolulu:
Children under 3 years are admitted free – Complimentary soft drinks are limited to one per person, subsequent drinks are subject to credit card payment – Non-smoking.
I’d be very unhappy if I paid $27 to visit this lounge and had to pay for soft drinks!
2. International Lounges
Many of the international lounges in the Lounge Club program are independent (not affliated with 1 airline). Rules for each lounge are different, so it’s important to check the specific lounge for any restrictions (dress code, maximum stay, guest policy, etc).
That being said, there are some out of the way places where you can get lounge access. For example, if you ever find yourself in Barquisimeto (Venezuela), Tblisi (Republic of Georgia), or Entebbe (Uganda) – you can relax in a lounge! It might be worth using a free visit or spending $27 for a quiet place to wait for your flight.
Some lounges are very restrictive. For example, the Escape Lounge in Manchester, UK only allows a 3-hour visit, enforces a dress code, won’t let in kids under age 6, and you have to pay for much of the food and drink. If they let you in at all!
Maximum 3 hour stay – Children under 6 years are not admitted – Children under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult – Access may be restricted due to space constraints – Smart casual dress at all times (no shorts, vests, baseball caps or football shirts allowed) – Waiter service in addition to the self-service buffet – Complimentary items from the main menu are limited to 1 per person – Non-smoking.
I don’t think I’d pay $27 to enter this lounge!
Bottom Line
You get free membership in Lounge Club if you’re a Chase Ink Bold, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Classic cardholder. Authorized users get free membership, too.
The Chase Ink Classic only gets you 1 year of free membership. The Chase Ink Bold and Chase Ink Plus give you free membership every year.
To access lounges, you have to activate your Lounge Club membership and show your membership card. You can NOT get in by just showing your credit card.
You get 2 free visits to 350+ lounges each year. But there aren’t many lounges in the US. There are lots of international lounges, but check their amenities and rules before you go.
I would use the Chase Ink Lounge Club perk for the free visits, but NOT for paid visits unless I really needed a lounge! And I’d definitely check the lounge amenities before visiting.
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