Chase is pulling its Sapphire Lounge by The Club locations out of the
Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks on August 15, 2026. Afterthat date, a Priority Pass or LoungeKey membership no longer opens the door
at a Sapphire Lounge at all.
What Priority Pass members lose
Today, Priority Pass members can visit a Sapphire Lounge once per calendar
year at no charge, subject to availability, and buy additional visits at a
discounted $75. Both of those go away on August 15. Priority Pass itself
is not shrinking anywhere else: the network still lists more than 1,900
lounges and travel experiences worldwide.
The people affected are not Chase customers. Priority Pass memberships come
bundled with premium cards from American Express, Capital One, Citi and
others, and Sapphire Lounges were among the more desirable properties those
memberships could reach.
What Chase cardholders gain
Access is unchanged for the cards that carry it directly: the Chase
Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, the J.P. Morgan
Reserve Card and the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card.
Those cardholders also pick up more time inside. Effective the same day,
travelers on an itinerary with a connection can enter a Sapphire Lounge up to
five hours before the connecting flight departs, up from the current three hour limit. Nonstop itineraries and first legs keep the three hourwindow.
The practical read is capacity. Sapphire Lounges have been crowded since they
opened, and cutting off an outside network is the straightforward way to keep
seats available for the cardholders paying an annual fee for them.