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We were part of the lucky lot that snagged $600 roundtrip business class tickets to Asia on August 16, and by August 22nd we were Bangkok bound. Personally, I’m one to think that it was a genius marketing scheme by Hong Kong Airlines, but that’s not really here nor there, this is a lounge review! Since Hong Kong Airlines isn’t a member of any alliance, they’ve partnered with the Los Angeles International Lounge at LAX. We spent a very brief amount of time in the lounge, which in all honesty, was enough.
The Deets:
- When: August 2018
- Where: LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal
- Access: Business Class on Hong Kong Airlines
- Hainan, El Al, Japan Airlines, Fiji, Air Tahiti, and Phillipine Airlines
Location:
As soon as you’re through security make a left, head up on to the 6th Floor and you’ll see it, if you reach the Etihad lounge you’ve gone too far.
First Impression:
The lounge is clean, quite crowded, and small. In fact, had I not been reviewing the lounge I would have attempted to access the Korean Air Lounge on 5 with my priority pass. However, they’re known to turn Priority Pass member away when the lounge is crowded, and I’d never visited this lounge.
Common Space:
The lounge is broken up in a few separate seating areas. The first you see is the most conducive to work as most seats have access to power. Wifi is available throughout the lounge and worked quite well. Shoot to snag a seat outside overlooking the termainl – pretty great people watching from a bird’s eye view.
Food:
Snacks and a few cold sandwiches kept in the fridge. Booze is free pour with cooled wine and beer along side the soda, juice, and water.
Overall:
If you’re flying on Hong Kong Airlines, or one of the other ways of accessing the Lounge at LAX you’ll find a clean and comfortable lounge that will provide some snacks, a cold drink, and a great view of TBIT; however you won’t find a full meal, showers, or a luxurious experience offered by other LAX lounges. With that said, I certainly wouldn’t arrive overly early for your flight for the experience.
Want to read more of our #weekendwarrior trip to Bangkok and Back for 600 Bucks?
- Los Angeles International Lounge
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Los Angeles to Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines business class lounge – Club Autus
- American Express Centurion Lounge – Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
- Waldorf Astoria Bangkok during its soft opening
- What it’s like eating in Asia’s #1 Restaurant – Gaggan
- Bangkok’s floating markets – Dumnoen
- Diora Spa – Thai massage and Ayurvedic treatments
- Peninsula Bangkok – Grand Deluxe Suite with River View
- Smalls Bar – the hidden Sathorn IT bar
- Miracle Lounge Bangkok BKK
- Sky City Marriott Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Hong Kong to Los Angeles
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.
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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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