Were seeing credit card issuers invest in airport lounges like never before, including Amex Centurion Lounges, Capital One Lounges, and Chase Sapphire Lounges. Chase is the newest player in the credit card lounge game, and arguably has the best of these lounges.
Continue reading: Chase Sapphire Lounge Phoenix Airport Now Open
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Having a layover on American in Charlotte, Phoenix and LA is tough. These terminals are all cramped and largely devoid of options. Even Dallas, other than Terminal D, isn’t much better. The lack of and quality of bathrooms other that Term D is Dallas is tough. It’s hard to get into the Centurion Lounge in PHX at peak times and this place, while maybe nice, is a quarter of the size. Oh well, I will still go 1-2x a week, because it doesn’t snow there and you’ll be on time.
Could this post be any more less useful in terms of describing the lounge's location? It's in the high D gates (D11-18), which are used exclusively by WN. That's at least a 10 minute walk from the closest gates used by AA (the low As), and even farther if you're arriving/departing from either the high As or any of the B gates.
With the very limited access, the opening of this lounge is a total nothing burger far as I'm concerned.
“ If you don’t have a Priority Pass membership, you can outright buy access to the lounge for $100 per person per visit, subject to availability”
Why is this permitted? Surely it just weakens the experience for cardholders by causing overcrowding.
Bummer. Not practical for United & Delta customers unless you have several hours to burn to thru 2 security checks, long Skytrain ride and a longish walk to Southwest gates!
Don't know about PHX, but some airports require all lounges to offer walk-up cash rates as a part of the lease terms for the space. The Sapphire Lounge in HKG is subject to such terms and will sell access for 700-800 HKD but they don't advertise it and it is rarely purchased.
I was in Sapphire Lounge PHX on opening day. Plus side - Everyone was friendly and helpful, and a few offerings were outstanding - like the roast cauliflower from the airstream. They're really trying hard.
Downside - it's very small, and while they're trying, there are major traffic flow issues because they've got too much in too small a space. The airstream is really cute, but takes too much space, and there's no room for a line for ordering. Also, one has to walk down a passageway past the bar, then do a u-turn to the left to get back to the airstream. Once in that patio wing, you can either exit the cumbersome way you came in, or slip out the other way, which is technically before the registration desk where you enter, so you're basically outside the lounge unless you weave back the way you came. I was fortunate - there was no wait. That won't last, and we're all on limited time during our connections.
Removing the airstream and opening the area up for more seating, just serving the food offerings all at the buffet tables, would be a wiser design choice. Not as cute, but practical enough to accomodate more customers. It would also help if they did't take custom orders for the airstream foods. Just premake it and set it on the counter. Wait for food was very long, as it was just one or two people making it all to order. Not practical for an airport lounge.
I got the Reserve card because I'm through Phoenix regularly. So I paid for the reserve for a long time before the lounge was open, and now that it is open, I can't see getting a lot of benefit from it because it's always going to have a long line. Food offerings are also very limited, as expected from a lounge this small, but that decreases the value of lounge access. I chose the Reserve card because of 3 new lounges coming, including PHX, since the card is so much cheaper than AMEX. But I'm questioning that decision. May drop Reserve and pay the ridiculous fee for AMEX, as they have lounges everywhere and the Sapphire lounges I will be able to access (not being a New Yorker) don't quite measure up, from what I can see - not worth the extra price of the Reserve card.
This lounge is part of the priority pass network but as a priority pass holder I was discriminated against for not having a chase sapphire card and made to wait 2 hrs. The rep said nothing she can do. Second class citizen, indeed. If u have Priority Pass, don’t waste ur time here.