We’re seeing credit card issuers invest in airport lounges like never before, including Amex Centurion Lounges, Capital One Lounges, and Chase Sapphire Lounges. Chase has just revealed yet another location for its airport lounge network, and it’s an airport that desperately needs more non-airline lounges.
In this post:
Basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge LAX TBIT
The Los Angeles Times reports on how a Chase Sapphire Lounge will be opening at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The 9,234 square foot lounge will be located in Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), near gate 148, in the central part of the concourse.
That’s a fairly small lounge given the amount of demand that there will undoubtedly be, but then again, lounge space in airports is tough to come by, so presumably Chase is doing the best it can.
No timeline has been given for when the lounge will open. Since construction hasn’t even started, I suspect it will take at least one to two years, best case scenario, so get ready to be patient.
The first rendering of the lounge looks gorgeous. What stands out the most about the lounge is that it has direct apron views, which is something that’s otherwise lacking from all other lounges in the main part of the terminal. All the lounges in the terminal are otherwise above or below the concourse, and don’t have views (like the Qantas Lounge, Amex Centurion Lounge, etc.). 
Chase Sapphire Lounges have an amazing soft product, with delicious food and drinks, and great service. So far the US locations for Chase Sapphire Lounges include Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), New York (LGA), and Washington (IAD), though several more are being developed.
Where exactly will the Chase Sapphire Lounge LAX be?
This section is entirely geeky, and probably isn’t of any interest to the general public, so feel free to skip it. When I heard that the lounge will be located near gate 148, I was a bit confused (you can see gate 148 on the terminal map below).
Being familiar with the terminal, I didn’t think there was any lounge space there. So I appreciate how some readers have provided some insights here.
A while back, we saw the opening of the Midfield Satellite Concourse (gates 201-225), which is connected to the rest of the terminal via an underground walkway. 
When you head in the direction of the escalators to the Midfield Satellite Concourse, you’ll see some space on the left, which is where I believe this lounge will be located.
Below is a map from a Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) document several years back, showing exactly where this will be (the space marked “Club”). Meanwhile I’m not sure what exactly the “Terrace” is?
So huge thanks to the OMAAT readers who helped solve this mystery!
This development is long overdue for LAX!
While LAX has a good number of airline lounges, the airport lacks credit card and Priority Pass lounges. Currently, the only credit card lounge is the Amex Centurion Lounge. Then there are no traditional Priority Pass lounges at the airport, which is quite disappointing.
In the coming weeks we’ll see the Air France Lounge LAX open, which will also be located in TBIT, but in the Midfield Satellite Concourse. It remains to be seen whether that will be accessible through Priority Pass — some other North American lounges from Air France-KLM are, so hopefully this is as well, at least during off-peak hours.
While it’s kind of frustrating how heavily concentrated lounges are at TBIT, the good news is that all terminals at LAX are now connected airside, so you’ll be able to access this lounge regardless of which terminal you fly out of. However, depending on the terminal you’re departing from, it could be a long walk.
Bottom line
A Chase Sapphire Lounge will be coming to LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal. The lounge will be over 9,200 square feet, and will be located in the central part of the terminal. I’m thrilled to see more credit card lounges coming to LAX. Unfortunately don’t expect this lounge to open anytime soon, as construction hasn’t even started.
What do you make of plans for the Chase Sapphire Lounge LAX?
I suppose the lounge will be often full if in TBIT. It is amazing how many people have access to the Chase lounges especially non Americans based on my experience in the Hong Kong lounge recently.
There’s been a Chase Sapphire Lounge “in development” in Phoenix for almost 2 years now. The space has been set aside for over a year. There are year-old signs all over the airport announcing that it’s “coming soon”, replacing previous ones that said “Coming August 2023”. It’s hopelessly stalled, and an airport staff member said today “I haven’t seen anyone working on it for a long time”
I just hope they put it in Tom Bradley proper and not the west gates extension thats a half mile hike from the main terminal, absolutely hate how long that walk takes.
You must be American as it’s not a long walk. All large airports involve walking. It’s good exercise. They also have buggies for those less inclined to walk a few metres in addition to moving walkways.
I’m not American and I’ve done that walk. It is a long walk in any airport.
Just in case you missed it, the article said " . . . near gate 148, in the central part of the concourse." And, the article included a map with a red box around gate 148.
It'll likely be in the extension that houses the walkway to the West Gates- the entire southern section has a walled off space that I believe was always earmarked as lounge/concession space. If so, it'll be the only lounge in TBIT with tarmac views.
I'm pretty sure this is right.
This was a presentation way back in 2015, but the airport intended to put lounge space in the addition to TBIT.
https://lawa.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=268&meta_id=21167
This is it! If you match up the floorpan of the Club space on page 39 to the render shown in Ben's article, it is a strong match. Thanks for sharing!
Great sleuthing, thank you, all! Updated the post to reflect these details.
Just confirmed through a Google image search of “Chase lounge lax;” there is a rendering floating out there of the entrance to the lounge that aligns exactly with the south-facing facade of the terminal extension.
Speaking of airports that desperately need more non-airline lounges, holy hell, can O'Hare get something? Anything??
O'Hare is in losers-only flyover country and therefore not a market of premium credit card holders.
Very much needed considering the Priority Pass is useless at LAX. Will be good for Chase to get customers hooked onto its lounge and open up a CSR.
FYI - Air France is slated to open a lounge in the outer TBIT concourse. Priority Pass will have access. That being said, it's a heck of a hike . . . even if you're in the main TBIT concourse. Any other terminal, forget it.
Do we know that Priority Pass will have access to the Air France lounge? I don't think it is guaranteed. When Air France opened the new lounge at SFO, they cutoff PP access.
There will not be priority pass access.
Flights operating from the midfield concourse push back quicker as they are closer to the main taxi and runways. Those from the main building tend to be delayed.
And for all those complaining about the walk, it’s no different from any other major airport. It’s not that far and good exercise, especially if you’ve come off a long flight. Then again, I can see many Americans...
There will not be priority pass access.
Flights operating from the midfield concourse push back quicker as they are closer to the main taxi and runways. Those from the main building tend to be delayed.
And for all those complaining about the walk, it’s no different from any other major airport. It’s not that far and good exercise, especially if you’ve come off a long flight. Then again, I can see many Americans complaining of they have to walk 2 metres and there’s no car.
The new Chase Lounge will be located in the extension by gate 148 which provides access to and from midfield concourse. There’s a large space to the side of the escalators and stairs. This was mentioned in the plans during construction.
This will be a nice addition for sure. Right now the best option really is just running over to the nearest Delta lounge, but that’s certainly not ideal for an international terminal, and obviously only applies to Delta/SkyTeam flying.
FYI - While the Qantas First Class Lounge at TBIT is obviously One World, certain SkyTeam and Star Alliance airlines contract with Qantas for access.
We may not know when this lounge will open, but we can be sure the first person to strip naked in this lounge will be featured on View From The Wing the very next day.
I doubt AF lounge will have PP access.