Travel Tips
Travel Tuesday: Airport Lounge Wars are Heating Up in Las Vegas
In recent years, airport lounges have seemingly exploded in popularity. Of course, that boom corresponds to an increase in attainability. That is to say that, these days, there are plenty of premium credit cards that include some level of lounge access as a perk. Moreover, a few of these card issuers are building lounge locations of their own!
Although flagship lounges tend to pop up at large airline hubs and major cities, I can’t help but notice that Harry Reid International Airport located in sunny Sin City (Las Vegas, Nevada) is really having a moment when it comes to lounges. In fact, on the heels of one new lounge opening, another is set for later this year. With that in mind, I wanted to take a quick look at three airport lounges that should be available at LAS by the end of this year:
Capital One Lounge
The impetus for this post was the recent opening of Capital One’s newest lounge location. Not only is this particular spot new but Capital One’s entire network is relatively young, with the first Capital One Lounge debuting at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in late 2021. As for the LAS location, it’s now open in Concourse D.
Capital One Lounges arrived with the premiere of the highly-touted Venture X credit card. On that note, Venture X cardholders enjoy complimentary access to Capital One Lounge locations for themselves and two guests. Meanwhile, those with either the regular Venture card or the Spark Miles cards can access the lounge at a rate of $45 per person per visit. By the way, the Capital One Venture X card has an annual fee of $395 (compared to $695 for the Amex Platinum FWIW) and includes a $300 Capital One Travel credit.
Although I’ve yet to visit a Capital One Lounge (and I don’t have an eligible card), looking at the photos, they seem pretty nice. In particular, I’m intrigued by their Grab and Go section, which could be especially useful for my amenity-free Allegiant flights. Plus, as I noted, the Capital One Venture X is a pretty solid and reasonably priced premium card. So, as Capital One continues to grow its lounge network, it could be quite a competitor to another card issuer’s lounges. Speaking of…
American Express Centurion Lounge
If you’re wondering why other card issuers are now seemingly flocking to the Las Vegas airport, the success of the Amex Centurion lounge location may serve as a hint. Originally opened in 2023, the lounge was expanded by nearly 50% in 2021 and now occupies more than 13,400 square feet. Nevertheless, the location remains extremely popular and often has a line at peak hours (the line itself is actually to add your name to a waitlist so you can be notified when your entry time has arrived).
This was not only the first Centurion Lounge I had the chance to visit but is also my most frequented to date. In turn, I’ve experienced that waiting list line and/or struggling to find a seat even after I get in. If you are looking to avoid that, I have had more success in the early mornings. Unfortunately, as we’ll discuss in a moment, getting over to the lounge does limit the amount of time I have to spend there, so if I book a flight that’s too early in the morning, it’s often not even worth making the trek over.
Occasional frustrations aside, all things considered, the Centurion is still a great place to grab some food and chill (or work) before our flights. Therefore, if I don’t expect it to be too crazy over there, I will make the effort to visit when we’re in LAS or any other airport with a Centurion.
Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club
Finally, we come to the upcoming Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club. That confusing and long name is due to the fact that, rather than open up their own lounges like Amex or Capital One, Chase has partnered with The Club to build and rebrand some locations. The first domestic lounge bearing the Chase Sapphire name arrived in 2023 at Boston Logan International Airport, while the LAS location is on track to open this summer (when I walked by the space last month, the walls were up advertising the coming attraction).
What excites me most about this lounge prospect is its location. Unlike the others on this list, which are found near the D gates, the Sapphire Lounge is near the C gates. That might not sound like a big difference — until you realize that the A, B, and C concourses at LAS are connected whereas a monorail is needed to get over to the D gates.
As for why this location is notable for me, when I fly Allegiant direct from LAS to my home airport of SGF, I’ve always departed from an A or B gate. Thus, it’s far easier and less time-consuming to walk to/from the C gate area than it is to traverse over to D.
Alas, the downside here is that I am not a Chase Sapphire Reserve customer. In fact, while I did consider the card many years ago, I opted for the Amex Platinum instead. That said, it’s important to point out that even non-Chase cardholders can enjoy one visit per year to a Sapphire Lounge by The Club location with their Priority Pass. So, when it opens, perhaps I can check out the new lounge that way and then decide whether the Chase Sapphire Reserve might make sense in my credit card mix down the road.
By the way, speaking of The Club, they apparently also have two other locations at LAS. But, as you can surely guess, these are located in the D and E gate areas respectively. C’est la vie.
While it’s somewhat surprising that Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas would suddenly become an airport lounge hotspot, I couldn’t be happier with the development. Seeing as Vegas is one of my most visited destinations, I’m glad to know that I’ll soon have more options. Plus, even though there may not be a ton of overlap seeing as each of these locations requires a different credit card (with the technical exception of the one Sapphire visit for Priority Passholders), I’ll be interested to see whether these newcomers help quell demand for the overcrowded Centurion Lounge. With any luck, that will be the case — making for more enjoyable travels for thousands of credit card customers.
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