There’s no denying that the general standard of airport lounges in the United States isn’t great. If you think of airport lounges, you might think of crowded rooms with outdated furniture, stale snack mix, and cheap chardonnay. Fortunately not all lounges are created equal, so in this post I wanted to share some of my favorite airport lounges in the United States (I’ve separately ranked the world’s best first class lounges).
Rather than just doing a numerical ranking, I’ll instead share my favorite lounges among a variety of categories. Let me acknowledge that in some cases there’s going to be some overlap between these categories, though hopefully everyone can appreciate that the intent is to share some of my favorite lounges across a wide variety of factors.
With that out of the way, below are some of my favorite airport lounges in the United States, in no particular order.
In this post:
Capital One Lounge DFW (best credit card lounge)
The Capital One Lounge DFW opened in late 2021, and is simply spectacular. It has beautiful design, innovative amenities, a great food & drink selection (including grab & go food, cold brew, and more), and exceptional service (especially from Rumana). The Capital One Lounge network has grown since then, with the opening of lounges in Denver (DEN) and Washington (IAD). Amex Centurion Lounges are great, but I do think Capital One has the edge as of now in terms of quality.
American & British Airways Chelsea Lounge JFK (best first class lounge)
With American and British Airways having recently co-located at JFK Terminal 8, there’s a whole new set of lounges, including the Chelsea Lounge, Soho Lounge, and Greenwich Lounge. The Chelsea Lounge is the most premium of the lounges, and is open to international first class passengers. It has incredibly elegant decor, and features a la carte dining, a beautiful champagne bar, and a relaxation room.
United Polaris Lounge SFO (best business class lounge)
United Polaris Lounges are the best business class lounges run by any US airline, and I’d argue among the best that you’ll find anywhere in the world. All Polaris Lounges are very similar, but I guess if I needed to pick one, I’d choose the United Polaris Lounge SFO. The lounge has beautiful design, nap rooms, shower suites, barista-made coffee, a la carte dining, and more.
Delta Sky Club LAX (best airline membership lounge)
The new Delta Sky Club LAX opened in early 2022. While I hate putting a lounge on the list I haven’t personally visited, I think this must be one of the nicest membership lounges in the United States. In general Delta Sky Clubs are better than American Admirals Clubs and United Clubs. On top of that, the lounge is massive, has creative decor, and has an outdoor terrace.
Qantas First Lounge LAX (best lounge for elite members)
The Qantas First Lounge LAX is the best lounge that can be accessed on account of airline elite status. Specifically, oneworld Emerald members can access the Qantas First Lounge at Tom Bradley International Terminal, and it offers an excellent restaurant-style dining experience.
Star Alliance Lounge LAX (best alliance lounge)
There aren’t many lounges in the United States run by one of the “big three” alliances. One exception is the Star Alliance Lounge LAX, which is open to Star Alliance first & business class passengers, plus Star Alliance Gold members. The best features of the lounge are the indoor terrace (overlooking the terminal) and the outdoor terrace (overlooking the apron). There’s even a separate first class section to the lounge. This lounge is in a totally different league than the adjacent Korean Air Lounge that most SkyTeam passengers are sent to.
American Flagship First Dining MIA (best lounge within a lounge)
American Flagship Lounges are business class lounges, but within some of these lounges are Flagship First Dining facilities, which are exclusively for Airbus A321T and Boeing 777-300ER first class customers. I quite like Flagship First Dining Miami, which features excellent a la carte dining and champagne, which will make you wonder if this lounge is really run by American Airlines.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK (best Priority Pass lounge)
In my opinion there are very few Priority Pass lounges in the United States that I’d consider to be great (I generally consider them to be higher quality outside the United States). However, the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK belongs to Priority Pass during select hours, and is excellent. It has cool and fun decor, and a solid selection of food & drinks.
Bottom line
The above are some of my favorite lounges in the United States in a variety of categories, ranging from the best membership lounge to the best business class lounge.
Admittedly this is all highly subjective, so to OMAAT readers — what are your favorite lounges in the United States? Any others that really stick out, even if it’s “just” the best Priority Pass lounge?
The Alaska Airlines lounge in Seattle. Spent 8 glorious hours there in May 2023. Comfortable, beautiful, great food, wonderful views.
I have been to numerous lounges around the word. The food quality at Capital One DFW is unmatched.
Con: long queue for the 4 restroom stalls.
SFO Polaris one of the best? Is this some sad joke? The seats were torn, the power sockets were hit and miss, the staff was indifferent at best, impatient at worst, the buffet was mediocre at best
Nobody chooses an airport based on the lounge unless like in your situation you are reviewing for work.
Great article Ben. I think PS LAX has to be number 1 on this list…
I thought the new Alaska lounge at the N gates in Seattle was pretty impressive. They’ve got a barista and great views.
Ben, you really should "honorably mention" and review PS LAX again soon, shocked you didnt even mention it in this post!
Ben, you really should "honorably mention" and review PS LAX again soon, shocked you didnt even mention it in this post!
Weird ranking. Qantas First LAX is far and away above the Chelsea lounge. In fact any flagship dining facility is, too. In fact any of the flagship lounges are better than even the Soho lounge, in my opinion.
Don't dare tip in the fantastic Qantas First lounge at LAX or the new BA/AA lounges at JFK.
Yesterday I flew out of Colorado Springs and got to visit their tiny Priority Pass lounge. You really should review it if you have a chance. When I arrived there was an employee to check me in, and a few others by the time I left I was alone inside, no employee and simply two clipboards (one for Priority Pass, one for Airline eliete members, including Southwest's!) and it felt like it was on the...
Yesterday I flew out of Colorado Springs and got to visit their tiny Priority Pass lounge. You really should review it if you have a chance. When I arrived there was an employee to check me in, and a few others by the time I left I was alone inside, no employee and simply two clipboards (one for Priority Pass, one for Airline eliete members, including Southwest's!) and it felt like it was on the honor system to check yourself in. Lounge wasn't great, only options were some packaged snacks, yougerts and a few seran wrapped muffins (I was there at breakfast time). Think I noticed the most was how cheap the furniture felt to sit on. Had the same feeling about the furniture when I stopped by the Plaza Premium lounge in Dallas (there one hot item beef and mashed potatoes hit the spot for lunch!), my connecting flight was on American Eagle out of Terminal E and my layover felt too short to deal with the lines for the Centuron. I've never felt this way about the furniture in any Delta Sky Club I've been in. (Delta it feels has given up on Colorado Springs, couldn't believe they only have flights right now to Salt Lake City, which means no one flying there from the east should use them).
Lucky,
In terms of Delta, I have to say LGA is better than LAX these days. While LAX has the deck and showers, food has been inconsistent. LGA is much better on this front, and the club is very spacious
I think you need to clarify re: Priority Pass lounge. I see that the JFK VS lounge is available to Priority Pass and Plaza Premium. But aren't most VS lounges not accessible to Priority Pass membership? I think you should clarify that BOS, SFO, and IAD VS lounges are not available for Priority Pass.
I think the title of this post should be 8 best clubs based on 8 different types of entry payments - there are other better clubs that should be on the top-8 but just overlap with how you decided to categorize them.
Maybe differentiate by First vs. Business class, but Credit Card/Membership seem one and the same.
I'd argue that the British Airways Boston Lounge should be on the top-10 of the list. They have...
I think the title of this post should be 8 best clubs based on 8 different types of entry payments - there are other better clubs that should be on the top-8 but just overlap with how you decided to categorize them.
Maybe differentiate by First vs. Business class, but Credit Card/Membership seem one and the same.
I'd argue that the British Airways Boston Lounge should be on the top-10 of the list. They have a bar with city views, great apron views, excellent food and beverage (for a business class lounge) plus a direct from lounge boarding (of most BA flights) which is a feature that is really hard to match.
I don't think the Star Alliance LAX lounge should be on there. It's a decent business class lounge, but the category of an alliance branding is silly. It's a business class lounge where a paid ticket get you entry, and potentially a purchased lounge membership.
The Delta LAX Skyclub is great. But is it really better than a run of the mill Amex Centurion Lounge? It's also a step behind the average Polaris or Flagship Lounge.
The Capital One Lounge at DFW Is nice, but it's a step behind the Flagship Lounge next door.
My home airport is SMF, so the fact we have two Escape lounges is pretty great! I know they are very basic, but they are new, clean, and the food is generally tasty.
They’re tiny and no bathrooms. The SMF terminals are very nice as well. I’d actually consider these lounges a downgrade. Are the espresso machines still broken?
My personal favorite is the DFW Flagship Lounge.
I cannot believe your opening line "There’s no denying that the general standard of airport lounges in the United States isn’t great"
How can that statement be true when in many airports people are lined up to get in.
Many people are lined up to get into a port-a-potty at an event, does that make the port-a-potty better than a Four Seasons Penthouse Suite bathroom because nobody is waiting for it?
Greg, to fully appreciate Ben's statement about "isn't great," a person needs to have experienced (for example) the old Delta lounges at LAX T2. There were two - the original Delta lounge and the abandoned Virgin lounge that Delta took over. They were crowded, messy dumps. (I will have nightmares tonight.) As a practical matter, because they were the only game in town, they had waiting lines to get in. (I would actually say the...
Greg, to fully appreciate Ben's statement about "isn't great," a person needs to have experienced (for example) the old Delta lounges at LAX T2. There were two - the original Delta lounge and the abandoned Virgin lounge that Delta took over. They were crowded, messy dumps. (I will have nightmares tonight.) As a practical matter, because they were the only game in town, they had waiting lines to get in. (I would actually say the same thing about the current Amex lounge at LAX.) Others can point to the lounges of other airlines in other cities. But, it remains that lounges were in a dismal state. And, that is what Ben is talking about. The good news is that things are changing. The new Delta lounge at LAX T3 is great. A separate Delta One area is currently under construction. Same at JFK.
Delta Sky Club LAX is definitely worthy of this list, but LGA and some of the newer clubs (i.e., MCI, EWR) are keeping the game interesting.
With regards to Capital One and Amex, I find Amex's whole approach to the food offering to be dated (i.e., everyone wants a salad, soup, main and a side). Capital One has the right idea with more finger food and a variety small plates. The LAX Centurion has had...
Delta Sky Club LAX is definitely worthy of this list, but LGA and some of the newer clubs (i.e., MCI, EWR) are keeping the game interesting.
With regards to Capital One and Amex, I find Amex's whole approach to the food offering to be dated (i.e., everyone wants a salad, soup, main and a side). Capital One has the right idea with more finger food and a variety small plates. The LAX Centurion has had cheese/charcuterie out in addition to hot food on recent visits, and IMHO, this should be standard across the network. They never seem to have bar snacks anymore, either.
**NOT everyone wants a salad, soup....
I’m fortunate enough to have visited many of these. Polaris SFO is better than Polaris LAX (by a hair; LAX is still wonderful). Star Alliance LAX might be my favorite. I was super impressed by Delta LAX. And although the Centurion SFO is lovely, I have heard that Capital One DFW actually is better.
Zero chance on cap one. The lounge is quickly becoming ratty regarding the furniture and carpet. Complimentary alcohol select is sad compared to the Cent. Cent SFO is much larger, with much more professional employees as well. The “barista made drinks” are just the bartenders using an auto espresso machine no different than the Cent. I just don’t get the hype. Maybe it’s the novelty of to-go food and drink?
Qantas First Lounge remains the best US lounge I’ve ever been to
Qantas F is better than BA/AA's Chelsea "best F" lounge.
Ben is discussing the Qantas first class lounge at LAX, which is in dire need of an update from its sterile, industrial layout and decor. The food is nice but not great. I really don't get why people love it.
@Lee - understood. I think Qantas F is still better than the new Chelsea lounge. FFD at LAX and JFK was far better than Qantas F. But Chelsea is not.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f0b9fc40-af58-4a4b-b67d-e9086ae91628
I also think that the Qantas First lounge at LAX is pretty tired - seems that folks here really like it, I don't understand why.