The Guide to Chase Sapphire Preferred Lounge Access

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a midlevel travel credit card with some solid benefits and points-earning potential, along with a $95 annual fee.

But does the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card get you into airport lounges? The short answer is no.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does not include any type of Priority Pass membership or regular entrance into Chase Sapphire Lounges or other airline-specific clubs.

If you want to stay within the Chase family of cards and you’re looking for lounge access, you’ll need the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card instead.

But don’t write off getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It still has some good benefits.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card includes one complimentary lounge visit, with strings attached

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card holders are allowed one complimentary access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club annually, if they have a Priority Pass membership that they’ve purchased separately.

Priority Pass members can then buy additional passes to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club for $75 a pop, if they are available.

Otherwise, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does not inherently include airport lounge access.

What to do instead

Purchase lounge membership

Cardholders can pay out-of-pocket for a membership to a qualifying airline lounge program, including:

• Priority Pass for $99-$469 annually, depending on your membership tier.

• Delta Sky Club for $695 or 69,500 miles per year.

• American Airlines’ Admirals Club individual annual memberships cost between $750-$850, depending on your elite status level.

• United Club for $750-$1,400, or 94,000 miles to 175,000 miles. Prices may vary depending on your elite status level. Membership is included for The New United Club℠ Card holders.

Cardholders can also buy day passes at eligible lounges.

Upgrade your card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

If you want included lounge access in the Sapphire family of cards, you’ll need to upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card.

» See how these two cards compare

Because the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium card, the annual fee is higher at $795 (and $195 for each authorized user), but many additional benefits help offset the cost.

First, there is the $300 annual travel credit that reimburses you for travel purchases.

Then there are the increased points bonuses in certain spending categories:

• 8x points on all purchases through the Chase's travel portal.

• 4x points on hotels and and flights booked directly.

• 3x points on dining.

• 1x points on all other purchases.

Lounge access is included as part of the Priority Pass Select membership; Chase Sapphire Lounges are included as well. Current lounge locations include Boston, Hong Kong and at New York’s LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports. More clubs are on the way.

» Learn more: How Chase Sapphire Reserve lounge access works

The card also includes:

• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck or Nexus fee every four years. 

• Credits toward select everyday services or purchases with certain brands that include streaming, dining, entertainment, rideshare transportation and others.

• A DashPass membership.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

An overview of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is $95 with no additional fee for authorized users.

Spending on the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, flexible points you can redeem for travel or other things like cash back or purchases.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 1 point per dollar on most purchases, but there are ways to earn additional points.

• 2x points on travel purchases or 5x points on purchases made through Chase's travel portal.

• 3x points on dining.

• 3x points on online grocery shopping.

• 3x points on select streaming services.

You can then use those points in several ways, including transferring them to partners or redeeming them through Chase's travel portal.

For redemptions in Chase's portal, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Cardholders can potentially earn more value per point than they would if they didn’t have the card.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also includes several travel insurance benefits:

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

• Baggage delay insurance.

• Trip delay reimbursement.

• Primary car rental collision damage waiver.

• Services for travel and emergency assistance.

» Learn more: Chase Ultimate Rewards®: How the program works

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card lounge access, recapped

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does not include any airport lounge benefits as a perk of having the card, but it does have other travel benefits for a $95 annual fee.

If lounge access is your goal and you think you will get enough out of this benefit and others to justify the higher annual fee of $795, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card may be your best bet.