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Let’s get rustic
I was taking a positioning flight to Chicago to then fly to Shanghai and Hong Kong for the weekend. #weekenedwarrior 😉 I ended up having a few extra minutes to spare, and used them to check out the Alaska Lounge. The Alaska lounge is technically accessible via Priority Pass, however, it was being blocked due to capacity controls. Not to worry. My account had 4 lounge passes available from when I matched to MVP75 at the end of last year – byah!
One thing to note is the new refresh that Terminal 6 has undergone – it feels modern with great spots to grab a bite. I’m loving that smaller LA eateries are being repped within the airport from terminal to terminal. With these increased offerings for food and a Boingo Wifi membership ( free with Amex Plat ) the whole lounge experience isn’t nearly as necessary, but still quite nice.
Take the Elevator upstairs.
Once you’re checked in, you’ll round the corner to a relatively small central lounge area. I was there during peak hours and, while the lounge was packed, I could still find a seat. It’s understandable that capacity controls are precluding entry for Priority Pass holders, but it would sting if I trekked over from terminal 4 or 5 only to find out I was rejected.
The lounge has a cool “lodge” feel to it.
Snacks and beverages.
The pickings were slim.
The bar was hopping.
Most every seat was filled, beer, wine and spirits were flowing. They also have menus for “real” food options. While I didn’t have any of those options I saw several people order, quickly receive, and seem satisfied. If you have any opinions on this, please add to the comments.
Work Area.
Tucked behind the the main seating area are several work stations and a printer.
Overall:
The staff was very nice, in typical Alaska fashion. I have a few more passes available and I’d use to them to access the lounge, and certainly would pop in using my Priority Pass. It’d be great for a quick beer, soft drink, but if you’re looking to get food, I’d stick to the terminal or mosey over to 5 – Lemonade is excellent and only marginally more expensive than the food for sale in lounge. The views of the lounge are pretty cool – looking smack at the gates 🙂
We are ready for our trip 🙂
Many of our readers have access via a Premium Credit card, but if you don’t, you can buy discounted access using our partner link with Lounge Buddy. Check out their app too, it’s free, and very informative.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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