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After arriving on a pleasant business class flight from Chicago I had a couple of hours to spare post border control. First stop was the Priority Pass lounge which was fairly unmemorable, but still a nice respite from the airport, and next was Iberia Business Class lounge. I arrived into Terminal 4S, hopped on a train to terminal 4, cleared immigration and then proceeded up to the main level to visit the Priority Pass lounge.
If you’re following a similar process then you’ll need to head up another level to access the Iberia business class lounge. It’s a bit tricky as the escalator you’ll need to take is tucked behind some of the duty free shopping, but once you see it, it’s fairly straight forward.
The Deets:
- When: December 2018
- Where: Madrid Terminal 4
- Access: Business Class ticket from Madrid to Rome
- One World Sapphire or Emerald
Entry
As I’d mentioned before, the lounge is a little hard to find if you’re already on the main shopping/dining level. But keep an eye out for this exterior which is just past security if you’re arriving at the airport.
Seating:
The lounge is nearly a mirror image of itself. The lounge is centered around a bar area that is flanked on either side by large dining areas with a wide varitey of seating configurations. It’s a big, open air lounge that suits families as well as business travelers alike.
Dining:
If the initial seating area you enter is crowded go through the bar area to its twin where you’ll nearly the same food and beverage options. I found the first area to be quite crowded but the rear area nearly empty.
Showers:
Off to the right of the rear dining/lounge area are the showers. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time in the lounge to wait for one to vacate, but judging by the state of the rest of the lounge they’d be quite nice and newly done.
Games/Children Area
Just past the showers is a small gaming and play area for those of you traveling with children or just can’t wait to tear up some gamers 😉
Overall:
If I’m transiting Madrid airport again I would flip flop my time allocation to yield more time to this lounge over the priority pass lounge. The food was better, faster wifi, and considerably more space and privacy. If you don’t have access, mosey your way to the Priority Pass lounge as you can get a quick snack, soft/hard drink, and a quick shower. But, between the two…this is in a different, better league.
- Review: Iberia Business Class Chicago to Madrid
- Review: Iberia Business Class Lounge Madrid
- Review: VIP Lounge Plaza Mayor Madrid
- Review: Iberia Business Class Madrid to Rome
- Review: St Regis Rome
- Review: Alitalia Economy Rome to Budapest
- Review: New York Palace Budapest, Autograph Collection
- Tip for visiting the Thermal baths in Budapest
- Don’t make this European train mistake like I did
- Review: Park Hyatt Vienna
- Review: Air Lounge Vienna Airport
- Review: British Airways Business Class Vienna to London
- Review: Kimpton London Fitzroy
- Tips before flying Flybe
- Review: Intercontinental Le Grand Paris
- Review: Air France Business Class Lounge CDG
- Review: Air France Business Class 777-300ER Paris to Washington D.C.
- How I utilized the transfer desk to make a tight international connection
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
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 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)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 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℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
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® is exceptional 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: 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.
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