None are open just yet, but Chase has big plans to build a portfolio of its own airport lounges across the country and even abroad. The bank behind cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has said it plans to open nine Sapphire Lounges to start, confirming six of those upcoming locations over the last year or so.
Make it a seventh. Public documents first reported by the Washington Business Journal show that Chase is now preparing to build out a Sapphire Lounge at Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD). That puts the airport just outside the nation's capital on Chase's to-do list along with Boston (BOS), Phoenix (PHX), San Diego (SAN), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), Las Vegas (LAS), and even Hong Kong (HKG).
The plans in Dulles call for a relatively undersized 5,200-square-foot space split across two levels, including a 1,000-square-foot bar and lounge, dedicated dining room, work area, family room, and more. It'll be located in Dulles's Concourse A, which is connected directly to Concourse B but also accessible no matter which gates you're flying out of, as the airport terminals are connected airside after security.
There's no opening timeline for the Dulles Lounge. Chase has not publicly commented on its plans for the lounge in D.C.
It'll be just the latest lounge option at the airport just outside of the nation's capital. There are plenty of Priority Pass options at Dulles including a Turkish Business Class Lounge, an Air France/KLM Lounge, lounges run by Lufthansa and British Airways, and more. Plus, there's a nice Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse accessible via Plaza Premium and United's excellent Polaris Lounge for Star Alliance business class passengers.
Chase is also going head to head with Capital One, which is working frantically to open a second and third Capital One Lounge at both Dulles and Denver (DEN), joining its incredible first lounge in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). Plans to open those lounges later this year slipped into 2023.
Chase is building out these lounges with Airport Dimensions, the same group behind “The Club” family of lounges that Priority Pass members can currently access – including several existing lounges in Las Vegas. However, Chase plans to offer more upscale amenities than what you will find in most Priority Pass Lounges – think showers, wellness areas, family rooms, and more. Whether they'll rival the likes of Amex Centurion Lounges is an open question.
Read more about Chase Sapphire Lounges and what's in store!
But for Chase, the biggest question isn't when they'll open or what travelers will find inside. It's who can get in – and how crowded these lounges might get as a result.
The first Chase lounges have long been expected sometime this year, yet the credit card company has been tight-lipped about who can enter. Complimentary access for top-paying Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a given. But will travelers with Priority Pass memberships from other credit cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card be able to get in, too? And will there be any discounted access for cardholders with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?
We just don't know.
Bottom Line
Chase's lounge ambitions just keep growing as the credit card issuer nails down plans to open yet another spot at Washington, D.C.-Dulles.
It's the seventh Chase Sapphire Lounge location to become public over just the last year or so, with at least two more locations in the works. But until these Chase lounges open their doors and clear up the access policies, there'll be more questions than answers.
Lead photo courtesy of Alex Cheek via Flickr