Wow: Our First Look Inside the Chase Sapphire Lounge in San Diego (Review)!

We were invited to a special preview of the newest airport lounge — and it just opened to select credit card holders! (You’re probably one of them if you hold at least one premium travel rewards credit card.)

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club now has a location at San Diego International Airport (SAN). Like its predecessors, such as the lounges we visited in Boston Logan (BOS) and New York LaGuardia (LGA), this club is a beauty with plenty of great food, beverage, and relaxation options.

Here’s what it’s like!

Where Is the Chase Sapphire Lounge in San Diego?

You’ll find the San Diego Chase Sapphire Lounge in Terminal 2. That terminal houses every airline serving SAN except Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, and Sun Country. The terminals are not connected post-security.

Take a right after you clear security. It’ll be about a two-ish minute walk.

The lounge is a level higher than the gates. Its elevator is between Gates 45 and 47.

For reference, it’s across from this Starbucks.

When Is the San Diego Chase Lounge Open?

The lounge is open daily from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Who Can Enter the Chase Lounge in San Diego?

Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card, or J.P. Morgan Reserve® members who activate their card’s Priority Pass Select membership and present their card upon entry have unlimited access. They may also bring up to two guests. (All information about the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, J.P. Morgan Reserve® and The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card was gathered independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.)

People with Priority Pass memberships from other cards (i.e., Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and Capital One Venture X Business) receive one complimentary Chase Sapphire Lounge visit per calendar year. (After that, it’s $75 per visit). Guests are $75 a pop.

I know Delta Air Lines travelers and Amex members generally make up a decent chunk of this blog’s regular readership. If you’re one of them and don’t have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® but do hold an Amex Platinum Card or Amex Business Platinum Card, consider using your Priority Pass Select membership to check it out the next time you’re in the San Diego Airport.

Inside the Club

The lounge is 10,000 square feet and can hold up to 175 guests. It features relatively the same color palette as the Chase lounges we visited in Boston and New York-LaGuardia: gold, deep maroon, and sort of sapphire blue.

The club is deceptively large (but in a good way!). There are little “living rooms” throughout the lounge, each cozy and thoughtfully decorated. I was surprised by all the little spaces I found as I walked around.

This table is so cool. It’s lighted vapor coming up from the center — not fire.

I really like these cubicles, too.

There’s a (small) phone room where people can private phone and video calls. (Well, people who don’t need to show how important and inconsiderate they are by broadcasting their calls to everyone else.)

I really wish more lounges would install the phone booths that Delta is putting in more of their new Sky Clubs.

You’ll also find a nice family room.

There are a decent number of plug-in outlets with electrical power, USB-A, and USB-C ports.

Not every seat features access to power outlets. If you need power, head to the bar area, the living room off the dining room, or find a spot near an interior wall (in other words, not looking outside).

The WiFi speed is crazy fast:

My 250 MB folder of images uploaded in under three minutes. Everyone loves fast download speeds. But speedy uploads are a blessing for getting work done.

Some of the windows look out into the terminal.

Others look into the flight line.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the bathrooms. Well, at least the men’s room.

The urinals are next to a floor-to-ceiling window that is partially frosted. Men can AvGeek like taking a leak!

I didn’t go into the women’s room. But I did check out the bathroom made for either gender.

There’s a room for spa treatments. You can book a time through one of the QR codes throughout the club.

Several individual cubicles in the Wellness Room give you a place to camp. Those, too, can be reserved through a QR code.

You’ll find little nods to California throughout the club, usually books or artwork.

Like other Chase Sapphire Lounges, there’s art on loan from the JP Morgan collection. (I’m not a discerning art collector or anything. But these looked nice.)

I love this installation by San Diego’s Hanna Daly. It features surfboards, a ceiling piece resembling the ocean, and a digital art display of the coastline. (A lot of guests were impressed!)

A solid airport lounge almost always features a gorgeous bar that’s fun just to look at and admire. This one doesn’t disappoint.

The staff was very polite, eager to please, and seemed to already have good chemistry.

Food

Like other Chase Sapphire Lounges, you can use your mobile device to take advantage of the club’s made-to-order menu. (Make sure to scan the specific QR on your table; that’s how the wait staff knows where to deliver your food.)

Oscars Mexican Food created the Chase Sapphire Lounge’s fare.

Here were the breakfast options.

I sampled breakfast and lunch items.

The strawberry French toast was amazing. If I were someone who used words like “divine,” that’s how I’d describe it.

The bacon, egg, cheese, and chorizo sandwich with powdered sugar dusting was 100% worth the cholesterol lecture I’ll receive from my doctor when she reads this post. I’m not a huge fan of spicy food. The chorizo had a slight kick but nothing that required a fire extinguisher.

For lunch, well, I videoed the buffet but forgot to take stills. I’m sorry. Here’s the video. Sorry it sucks.

I enjoyed my usual favorite, the Sapphire Burger.

I also sampled the Brussels sprouts with bacon. (Healthy? It’s features a vegetable, doesn’t it?!) The herb chicken bites were delicious, too.

Beverage

Similar to the other Chase clubs, the San Diego lounge features a variety of beverages.

There are two full beverage stations. One is just to the left of the check-in desk.

The other in the dining room.

I love cold brew coffee and that’s literally on tap here. The Groundwork Coffee (a San Diego company) is easily one of the best cold brews I’ve ever had. There are also other coffees, as well.

You’ll find canned sodas and juices, as well.

The bar menu features just a sampling of what you can order.

I’m on a sabbatical from alcohol, so I didn’t try any of the signature cocktails. But I enjoyed the Sapphire in the past!

For those of us who enjoy non-alcoholic beer, the club serves Heineken 0.0 (which I think tastes almost exactly like the real thing). They also have non-alcoholic spirits, too.

Other Chase Lounges in the Pipeline

The southwest region will be home to two more Chase Sapphire Lounges.

One is coming to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The other is the long-awaited location at Harry Reid Las Vegas International Airport (LAS), which will be in the C Gates. The Vegas club was one of the first Chase lounges announced — and there’s still no opening date. We hope to know more soon. (Though I’ve heard from a few different business people that doing business with Nevada’s Clark County is, erm, perhaps more interesting than necessary.)

Final Approach

Chase Sapphire Lounges are my favorite “credit card” lounge. Hands down. (I was very underwhelmed by my visit to the Denver Capital One Lounge.) They’re cozy and homey. The food is delicious. I admire their cocktail program and selection of high-end spirits. Their coffee offerings are also well-above average.

I’m curious how/if overcrowding will present an issue. When I visited the Boston location a few weeks ago, there was plenty of room. But a friend of mine experienced overcrowding when he visited the BOS club.

Let us know what you think after you get a chance to visit the Chase Sapphire Lounge in San Diego!

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.