lowfareair

https://thriftytraveler.com/news/air...nge-hong-kong/

Looks like Hong Kong's lounge opened today, but as part of it, Chase confirmed none of the others are opening until 2023 at the earliest. Also, it appears anyone with a Priority Pass card will be allowed in, although it remains to be seen if there will be Chase-exclusive options (doesn't appear to be so) or if that policy will apply to the US-based lounges. If the US-based lounges do accept any PP card, I feel most of them will either have to limit PP access most of the time or there will be lines to get in that rival some theme park roller coasters. Seems crazy to not offer something to some/all Chase cardholders as there is zero competitive advantage in operating this lounge.

I also expect a media event of some sort to happen on Friday - the Priority Pass listing for it mentions "OPENING TIMES FOR 28OCT22 16:00 - 20:00. NO ACCESS WILL BE GIVEN OUT OF THESE HOURS"

TBD

Interesting choice for a first location.

lowfareair

Sounds like it is just due to happenstance - someone mentioned this was a refurb rather than new construction and Chase is probably desperate to have at least one open

mia

Previous discussion was here: Chase to open its first airport lounge (BOS, 2022)

mediator

Is this the legacy dragonair lounge? Later rebranded as the Bridge, then closed.

Troopers

Is the CSR available to a Hong Kong local/resident?

wongbr

Unless you have a SSN with some credit history don't think you can apply for the US cards.
That being said, given that you can access with a Priority Pass card, in HK I think the AMEX Platinum grants access to it (as most other Hong Kong cards offer only Plaza Premium Lounges)

williamluk

Infact JP Morgan Chase has absolutely NO retail biz in Asia as a whole. That�s the strange thing about this, it�s not like Americans are jamming thru the door to get into HK (so they can be sent to quarantine lol).

mia

It's not strange. It was explained in the previous thread that the Chase branded lounges will be operated by a company owned by Collinson, the owners of Priority Pass:

Airport Dimensions would want to open the lounge as soon as it was ready to serve Priority Pass, and perhaps contract airline, customers. The Chase aspect is secondary.

Troopers

The lounge name is Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club. "Primary" access is with a CSR....I suspect CSR holders have priority access over PP and LoungeKey. Lounge ownership/operator is trivial to travelers.

Super Mario

I'll be very interested to see the reviews of these lounges. So far, it looks to be a "step up" from the lounge. I still think this is a strategic plan to get everyone to try it out, then pull the rug, making it exclusive to CSR, and hope more switch to the CSR.

Acidity

It could also be the plan for them to only be Priority Pass lounges while they build up a critical mass of lounges and CSR cardholders to support the network, so they don't need to have the first lounges be a loss leader. This would be similar to C1 having their lounges as contract lounges for various airlines (since they obviously don't have enough cardholders to support the lounge by themselves).

bbmatt

desperate is right... how many folks w/ Chase cards are even passing through HK on a daily basis now... I can't imagine it being more than a handful.

HKG had ~7000 passengers yesterday.

https://webb-site.com/dbpub/hkpax.asp?t=1&p=1

mia

We have known that Hong Kong would be the first location since 2021



https://www.gtrmag.com/business-news...t-and-network/

lowfareair

I could see something like that, but it would be difficult to pull off initially in their smaller US lounges which are planned to be TINY, like the PHX lounge being 3500 sq ft yet still in the massive Terminal 4. I can't fathom anyone but CSR (and maybe other super-premium Chase cards) being let in to a lounge that size. As a comparison, it's 25% smaller than the Centurion Studio in Seattle, which seems to draw tons of complaints from cardholders complaining of long lines, a packed lounge, and mediocre service.

They likely have a critical mass of CSR cardholders as the card has been out for more than 6 years now and there are plenty of people who have it thanks to nonstop promotion by travel blogs like TPG for years now.

I don't even have a CSR, but I can't imagine the PHX lounge (or LAS at 4,500 sq ft and IAD at 5,200 sq ft) being anything but a sh*tshow if PP cardholders are allowed in outside of the most off-peak times.