Which Lounge Can We Use at JFK with Amex Platinum

[taylortime05]

Hi, 

 

We are flying with Jet Blue and have a 5 hour layover at JFK 5:20 am to 10:20 am.  My ticket says terminal 5.  When I look up all the lounges at JFK they are not in terminal 5.  Can we still have access to any of the lounges?

 

Thanks

[fbgd]

The only lounge an Amex Platinum gets you access to is the Delta Skyclub in T4, and you need to be flying Delta to use it.

 

If you have applied for the Priority Pass that does give you access to lounges in Terminal 1 (Air France and Korean) plus the Wingtips in Terminal 4, AS lounge in Terminal 7 and you can get a $28pp credit at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Terminal 8.

 

TSA rules do allow you to access the airside portion of any terminal that you're departing from on the day of your departure but at JFK this isn't entirely simple as the the terminals are quite spread out. In your shoes I wouldn't bother with any of the lounges. The AS one is the nicest but you won't get it in. I use the BA lounges adjacent to it with some regularity and there is a posted permanent sign outside that says they are not accepting Priority Pass holders due to capacity constraints. That might just be in the evenings when I fly BA from there but it's a ballache of a transfer to find out you don't have access to a lounge.

 

Terminal 5 has some pretty decent restaurants for airport standards. Go there instead.

[Hlitner]

23 hours ago, fbgd said:

The only lounge an Amex Platinum gets you access to is the Delta Skyclub in T4, and you need to be flying Delta to use it.

 

If you have applied for the Priority Pass that does give you access to lounges in Terminal 1 (Air France and Korean) plus the Wingtips in Terminal 4, AS lounge in Terminal 7 and you can get a $28pp credit at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Terminal 8.

 

TSA rules do allow you to access the airside portion of any terminal that you're departing from on the day of your departure but at JFK this isn't entirely simple as the the terminals are quite spread out. In your shoes I wouldn't bother with any of the lounges. The AS one is the nicest but you won't get it in. I use the BA lounges adjacent to it with some regularity and there is a posted permanent sign outside that says they are not accepting Priority Pass holders due to capacity constraints. That might just be in the evenings when I fly BA from there but it's a ballache of a transfer to find out you don't have access to a lounge.

 

Terminal 5 has some pretty decent restaurants for airport standards. Go there instead.

Just to add to the fray, the Wingtips Lounge in Terminal 4 can get pretty crowded in the evening because of several flights to Asia.  The last time we were at Wingtips we were flying Bus Class on China Air and they use that lounge for their flight.  They had a sign outside the lounge that is was closed to Priority Pass customers.  The problem is that the lounge fills up with Business/First Class passengers from several Asian airlines (who have a contract to use this lounge) and Priority Pass are the  first to be locked out because of space issues.   We have seen this at some other lounges where when they get crowded they are closed to Priority Pass.

 

Hank

[GeezerCouple]

On 5/23/2019 at 3:48 PM, fbgd said:

The only lounge an Amex Platinum gets you access to is the Delta Skyclub in T4, and you need to be flying Delta to use it.

 

If you have applied for the Priority Pass that does give you access to lounges in Terminal 1 (Air France and Korean) plus the Wingtips in Terminal 4, AS lounge in Terminal 7 and you can get a $28pp credit at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Terminal 8.

 

TSA rules do allow you to access the airside portion of any terminal that you're departing from on the day of your departure but at JFK this isn't entirely simple as the the terminals are quite spread out. In your shoes I wouldn't bother with any of the lounges. The AS one is the nicest but you won't get it in. I use the BA lounges adjacent to it with some regularity and there is a posted permanent sign outside that says they are not accepting Priority Pass holders due to capacity constraints. That might just be in the evenings when I fly BA from there but it's a ballache of a transfer to find out you don't have access to a lounge.

 

Terminal 5 has some pretty decent restaurants for airport standards. Go there instead.

 

Sorry to ask a nitpicky question about your wording:

 

Where you wrote: "TSA rules do allow you to access the airside portion of any terminal that you're departing from on the day of your departure" - 

 

... did you mean something like "TSA rules do allow you to access the airside portion of any terminal in addition to the one that you are departing from on the day of your departure" ?

 

Thanks.

 

GC

[fbgd]

Sorry, autocorrect and a bumpy Uber ride seem to have been a bad combination when responding.

 

Yes, you can access any terminal in addition to the one you're departing from. TSA will sometimes point out you're at the wrong terminal. 

[GeezerCouple]

14 minutes ago, fbgd said:

Sorry, autocorrect and a bumpy Uber ride seem to have been a bad combination when responding.

 

Yes, you can access any terminal in addition to the one you're departing from. TSA will sometimes point out you're at the wrong terminal. 

 

Thanks.

I was pretty sure that's what you meant, as it didn't quite need to be said otherwise.

 

However, I hadn't thought about this possibility before, and didn't really want to cause trouble (or just waste a lot of time, etc.) by going to the wrong place at a large airport.

 

It's good to know this, so thanks very much!

 

GC

[taylortime05]

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

I'm a little disappointed because it's my daughter and son-in-law who will be travelling.  I told them so much about using the lounges in the airport since they recently got an American Express Platinum card.  My son-in-law is in the Marines so maybe they have a military lounge, not sure.  

[waterbug123]

21 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

I'm a little disappointed because it's my daughter and son-in-law who will be travelling.  I told them so much about using the lounges in the airport since they recently got an American Express Platinum card.  My son-in-law is in the Marines so maybe they have a military lounge, not sure.  

 

One other thing to know about the American Express platinum card... if using it to access a Delta Sky Club, it is only good for the card holder, who must pay for any family members or guests to accompany him or her.  They would both need a card to access  Sky Club free of charge.  If the one who has the card uses it to get a Priority Pass card and then accesses a Priority Pass lounge, they can bring in a guest free of charge.

Oh, and this is assuming you are talking about the unbranded Amex platinum.  If it is the Delta branded Amex platinum, it does not come with any complimentary lounge privileges.

[fbgd]

11 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

One other thing to know about the American Express platinum card... if using it to access a Delta Sky Club, it is only good for the card holder, who must pay for any family members or guests to accompany him or her.  They would both need a card to access  Sky Club free of charge.

 

The easiest way around this is to pay the $175 for three additional Platinum cardholders. They get all the same benefits as the primary cardholder except the airline credit and Uber credits. So Priority Pass, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, FHR, Global Entry/Precheck credit will all apply. Excellent value!

[Ashland]

Just used the DL Sky Lounge a couple of days ago at JFK coming and going...construction going on and limited seating and food options...wasn't impressed but it was included with my DL One flights.

[slidergirl]

16 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Just used the DL Sky Lounge a couple of days ago at JFK coming and going...construction going on and limited seating and food options...wasn't impressed but it was included with my DL One flights.

 

Which club, as there are several DL lounges in several terminals.  I really like the one in T4.  It has the outdoor SkyBox area to grab some sun in-between flights, a quiet room with lounge chairs,  and it sure seemed like plenty of places to sit and even take a nap.  And, I can hit up Shake Shack for a 'shroom Burger and a Black Cow if I want...

[fbgd]

Must be the T4 one. My wife used T2 last week and loathed almost every aspect of DL FC, I didn't hear anything about construction in the lounge and am sure I would have had there been any 😄

[waterbug123]

13 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 

Which club, as there are several DL lounges in several terminals.  I really like the one in T4.  It has the outdoor SkyBox area to grab some sun in-between flights, a quiet room with lounge chairs,  and it sure seemed like plenty of places to sit and even take a nap.  And, I can hit up Shake Shack for a 'shroom Burger and a Black Cow if I want...

 

It is indeed the one in T4 that is being renovated.  I was there 2 months ago and large sections of the club are closed off, including I believe, access to the Sky Deck.  It's temporary of course, but capacity is obviously limited for a bit.   The other Sky Club is in T2.

Edited June 4, 2019 by waterbug123

[slidergirl]

8 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

It is indeed the one in T4 that is being renovated.  I was there 2 months ago and large sections of the club are closed off, including I believe, access to the Sky Deck.  It's temporary of course, but capacity is obviously limited for a bit.   The other Sky Club is in T2.

wow.  It's not that old.  I was there last year and it was still in great shape.    I made one of those 3-sided high side chairs my little nest and actually took a nap all curled up!  I'm still waiting to see the new club at SLC when the new terminal opens up, supposedly in 2020.

[Ashland]

15 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

It is indeed the one in T4 that is being renovated.  I was there 2 months ago and large sections of the club are closed off, including I believe, access to the Sky Deck.  It's temporary of course, but capacity is obviously limited for a bit.   The other Sky Club is in T2.

Yes....T4.... We were just there on May 15th & May 30th...still construction going on...and it was very crowded !!!

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, slidergirl said:

wow.  It's not that old.  I was there last year and it was still in great shape.    I made one of those 3-sided high side chairs my little nest and actually took a nap all curled up!  I'm still waiting to see the new club at SLC when the new terminal opens up, supposedly in 2020.

 

I know at one time, there was an area in the middle of the lounge set up for table service dining, with an a la carte menu.  Then they ended that service but I think they kept the "dining" tables and chairs. Can't remember if those were still there on my last pre-renovation visit or not, but maybe they are redoing that area to have more "lounge" chairs and power outlets instead?  And maybe other renos; I really haven't followed the details of what they're doing there.  We often just go to The Palm istead for a meal, maybe get a shoulder massage at XPress Spa, etc., and only use the lounge for a quick drink.