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We were off to England for a a night, and wanting to make sure that we absolutely did not miss our flight, we arrived at JFK terminal 7 with 3.5 hours to spare. I wasn’t really anticipating anything special, but with that said, BA had invested $65 million into the terminal 7 so I was curious to see how it turned out. As it happens, the lounge is still under construction, but we were able to visit the updated areas. The lounge overlooks where you arrive into Terminal 7.
Trip Details:
- When: April 2019
- Where: NYC, JFK Terminal 7
- Access: BA Club World ticket, or One World Sapphire on an international itinerary
Location:
Immediately after clearing security, turn left, and head up the escalator. The lounge entrance is right before the Alaska Lounge.
First Impression:
The lounge did feel updated, but it wasn’t until I made my way back to the Club World dining area that you really get a feel for the size of the lounge. The forward sections are small, a bit cramped, and don’t reflect the true quality of the lounge.
You’ll see a bit of dining, spirits, wine, and a small dining area.
The Club World Dining room
The dining room is enormous and we were allowed admittance prior to its dinner serving at 430pm. Head on past the dining room and there are quieter work areas, plus an Elemis spa. Note the spa only had one person working, and even though we entered at 415pm they didn’t have any availability until after 8pm. Scratch that…we could have taken a rest in the massage chair.
Food Options
There are attendants throughout the lounge who will take drink orders, our meal preference, and even served wine/water/sodas at your request. The buffet had self service areas, but when I ordered an Impossible Burger, the order was taken via a wireless device and delivered to our table roughly 10 minutes later. It’s a finer touch than the BA experience I’ve had elsewhere.
Overall:
I was pleasantly surprised with the lounge. If you’re in the situation like us and have a few hours, it’s a pleasant lounge with solid food options, and in the new future they’ll be a larger spa, showers, etc. In the meantime, you’ll enjoy an updated space and healthier modern food with plenty of space to work.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
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.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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