chrisny2

As someone who flies out of IAD semi-regularly, I was excited to see that the Platinum card now offers access to the Virgin Atlantic Lounges in the US and Johannesburg. I haven't seen much about this, but it appears that the JFK location is only available to Amex cardholders in the morning, but the other locations are available at any time.

This seems to come with the Amex partnership with Plaza Premium now that they are operating the US and South African VS lounges.

Looking forward to trying it out! I know what the VS lounge at IAD took Priority Pass in the mornings, it was a very pared-down selection. I hope now that this is available at all times (excepting JFK), that they have the full selection of food and drinks available.

List of lounges applicable:
BOS
IAD
JFK
SFO
JNB

Here's one of the writeups I found - https://upgradedpoints.com/news/amex-virgin-clubhouses/

imnotalawyer

Just to draw a bigger spotlight to it, the restricted hours at the JFK Lounge only make it available between 5AM and 8AM, which is certainly pretty restrictive. Still, I tend to take early flights and its nicer to have options (Centurion, Delta, Virgin) at JFK.

Edit: OP's article doesn't talk about guest access but the Guest Policy on Virgin's page suggests that you can bring in a guest provided that they are also simultaneously entering the lounge with you and flying out of T4 on an international flight operated by Virgin/Delta/Air France/KLM on that day. However, Virgin's page has not been updated to reflect the fact that the Amex Platinum grants access as of yet.

Edit #2: Taking a look at the Global Lounge Collection page for the VA Clubhouse it looks like the Guest access is pretty plainly spelled out. "2 Guests and children under 2 are admitted free". For some reason I can't link directly to the Clubhouse page but you can find it pretty easily from the link I've provided.

chrisny2

On the American Express Global Lounge Collection search tool it lists this for the VS lounges:

chrisny2

What a gorgeous visit to the IAD lounge tonight. I was one of about 5 guests in the whole lounge, so it was peaceful and relaxing. They have a full bar and great food and beverage options. Lovely new Amex offer! I had stopped before this in the Air France lounge using priority pass and it was PACKED, so this was a welcome change.

krazykanuck

Restrictive, but its better than the alternatives at that hour because the showers are open and they have hot food. I stopped in around 6am earlier this week, enjoyed a shower after a redeye, eggs benedict, and a coffee. Over at the CL at that time you'll be chomping on cold food waiting for 7am when the good stuff comes out. There were maybe 5 other people in there at that time. Only downside was that the lounge wifi didn't work, despite full signal strength, on any of my 3 devices.

Kacee

Great tip. Hope to check out SFO soon.

JohnnyP

Im not seeing it indicate any time restrictions for Centurion members at the JFK lounge in the app.

[Edited to add: My bad, I missed that there are 5-8am time restrictions for Centurion members in the app as well.]

imnotalawyer

JohnnyP interesting. Doublechecking on the Plaza Premium website it seems that this lounge actually closes at 8AM and then reopens again at 3PM. Do the lounge hours display as "0500 - 0800 & 1500 - 2200 daily" in your app?

For the avoidance of doubt, in the app the lounge hours still simply display as 5AM to 8AM for Platinum-holders. I suspect very much that this distinction is intentional but a tiny part of me hopes it is a data entry error (because of the segmented hours of operation). I can dream, right?

I am trying to find some source from Amex/Plaza Premium/Virgin that explains the entry requirements (apart from this article). It seems odd to exclude or limit cardholders from an apparent benefit without some policy/source of authority dictating as to why.

mildfrequence

I had the exact same experience a few weeks ago - though I wasn't bothered by AF's crowding so much as curious about my other options
I was flying *A so I had quite the little tour - AF, VA, TK, (and a quick peek @ LH)
Anyway definitely enjoyed the VA setup where I was also one of only 3 or 4 people... the online ordering from the tables was great too.

mia

Virgin currently operates one flight in the morning, and four flights in the evening from JFK. This explains why the lounge is closed from 08:00 to 15:00, and also why they have more surplus capacity during the morning shift.

imnotalawyer

mia well that's certainly a very practical (and reasonable) explanation but the rules nerd in me always like to find the written source somewhere.

mia

You could inquire: [email protected]

Kacee

It's really Virgin's call, and certainly understandable why they might want to limit access during periods when their own pax will fill the lounge.

JohnnyP

Oops, you’re right, my bad. It is showing 5am-8am in the Amex app for my Centurion as well.

i wonder if JFK just comes down to them having a Centurion Lounge there in Terminal 4, so not seeing the merits of giving open access all day. Centurion lounge opens at 6am but I imagine no line, no hot breakfast in the morning, etc.

imnotalawyer

Just in case anyone else is feeling braver than me, the Plaza Representative on the email account asked me to confirm a few pieces of information before they could respond. Their request was somewhat reasonable (Card Type/Issuing Country/Card BIN - I assume to verify what access/benefits are tied to what card) but not something I was comfortable doing for a third-party over email, despite me having initiated the communication. So the mystery will remain for now!