August 2024 Update – Airport Lounge Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, JFK Terminal 4

10/09/202407/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at JFK Terminal 4, New York

**AUGUST 2024 UPDATE** I recently returned to the Chase Sapphire Lounge at JFK Terminal 4 on August 28, 2024, before an evening flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. This post reviews my recent experience and updates my previous post from March 2024.

I arrived outside the Chase Sapphire Lounge around 5:00 PM on a Thursday in August (yes, just before Labor Day weekend). A small kiosk stood outside of the lounge entrance with an employee adding names to a waitlist. We waited behind two people. When it was our turn, the lounge employee asked for my Chase Sapphire card (not my Priority Pass – unclear if PP without Chase Sapphire was allowed) and took down my phone number, advising I would receive a text in about 40 minutes to enter the lounge with my guest. 55 minutes later, I received the text from Chase. Dan and I bypassed the waitlist line, which was even longer at this point (!), and checked into the lounge as normal.

The waitlist line outside the Chase Sapphire Lounge at JFK Terminal 4 in August 2024

The wait for the Chase lounge in August 2024… It was not pretty. The Centurion Lounge (next door) had no wait.

Totally different than my last experience, however, and which I totally appreciated, is that this time a staff member escorted Dan and me to available seats, and those were our seats for the duration of our visit. It honestly felt a bit like COVID times, ha. While this took away our ability to select an area in which to sit, it ensured that every guest had ample space and could actually enjoy the lounge without feeling totally crowded (a la the waitless Centurion lounge next door that I visited while waiting on Chase…). Food and drinks, again ordered via QR code on our phone, came out VERY quickly this visit, and all in it was a relaxing time (minus the wait). One other note for those waiting to access the lounge, Chase gave out complimentary soft serve ice cream to those waiting only (not once in the lounge), but didn’t tell anyone about this perk, LOL. I guest IYKYK. We will definitely ask for it next time – it looked good!

In any case, for those reading this for the first time, the Chase Sapphire Lounge in JFK’s Terminal 4 opened its doors in January 2024. We first visited in March 2024 en route to Nairobi Kenya for a safari! You can read the original post here. As I previously mentioned, the Chase lounge at JFK is very, very nice for a credit card lounge – tied with the Virgin Clubhouse for best lounge credit card access lounge in Terminal 4 IMO. Good food, fantastic drinks, and nice service. My only complaints are that its small (and I hear often has a wait to enter, as was the case on my recent visit in August 2024) and far from some of the “B” gates in Terminal 4.

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Airport Lounge Review: Lufthansa Business Lounge, JFK Terminal 1

14/05/202405/10/2026wareontheglobe 2 Comments

The kitchen area of the Lufthansa Business Lounge at JFK, with tables and a wall bar

The Lufthansa Business Lounge at JFK’s Terminal 1 has been on Priority Pass for a while, and I think its a respectable option at JFK’s Terminal 1 if you can get in. We visited twice in the last year and both visits were pleasant, although I wouldn’t arrive early to visit the lounge. This post reviews my experience in the Lufthansa Business Lounge at JFK. I would also note that this post only reviews the Business portion of this lounge, as that is all I could access. Apparently first class passengers have a better lounge in Terminal 1…

LOCATING THE LUFTHANSA BUSINESS LOUNGE AT JFK

The Lufthansa Business Lounge is located in JFK’s Terminal 1, to the left just after one clears security. To reach the lounge, proceed through security and go left (with your back to security) for like 1 minute. The lounge is tucked away right before all the upscale shops in Terminal 1.

The Lufthansa Business Lounge entrance in JFK Terminal 1, just past security

Lufthansa Business Lounge, JFK.

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Airport Lounge Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, JFK Terminal 4

01/05/202406/10/2026wareontheglobe 1 Comment

The Sapphire, a glitter cocktail from the QR code menu at the Chase Sapphire Lounge, JFK

Read my updated August 2024 post!

The Chase Sapphire Lounge in JFK’s Terminal 4 opened its doors in January 2024. I was very excited about this, as JFK Terminal 4 is a frequent terminal of ours, plus I had really been wanting to visit a Chase lounge! This timed up nicely with our recent flight from JFK to Nairobi, Kenya for a safari! In brief, the lounge was very, very nice. Tied with the American Express Centurion and Virgin Clubhouse for best lounge in Terminal 4. Good food, fantastic drinks, and nice service. My only complaints are that its small (and I hear often has a wait to enter) and far from many gates in Terminal 4.

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Airport Lounge Review: Conrad Rangali Island Lounge, Male, Maldives

15/04/202406/10/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Rangali Island, Maldives, the Conrad resort island reached by seaplane from Male

Click here for an interactive map of the Conrad Hilton Rangali Island!

Our first trip to the Maldives left us in the Male airport for only a few minutes before flying to Rangali Island on Trans Maldivian Airlines. This time around, however, we had about an hour to kill and spent it in the Conrad’s airport lounge. I was excited to visit since we missed it last time. This post reviews the lounge! On the way home from this trip, we spent a weekend in Doha.

The Conrad Rangali Island arrivals lounge at Male airport, Maldives

The Conrad airport lounge.

For a bit of background, almost everyone visiting the Conrad Rangali Island will fly into Male and then transfer to a sea plane to fly to Rangali Island. Some times the transfer is immediate; other times its longer. For those longer waits, the Conrad opened a lounge in Male’s Transmaldivian Airlines Terminal. All guests staying at the Conrad are welcome, but only on arrival. There is no access to this lounge when departing.

Land at Conrad Rangali Island, the Maldives resort reached by seaplane from Male

Land at the Conrad Rangali Island.

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Flying Safarilink Aviation from Nairobi to the Masai Mara

11/04/202406/10/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Keekorok Airstrip in the Masai Mara, Kenya, the bush landing strip we flew into

As you may know from my last post, Dan and I spent a week at the JW Marriott Masai Mara last month on safari. We began our trip in Nairobi and then flew from Nairobi to the Masai Mara on Safarilink Aviation for our safari. This post describes our experience with Safarilink Aviation, as I could not find much information online before our trip. You can find all of our posts from this trip on our Kenya page.

The Safarilink Aviation terminal building at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya

The Safarilink Aviation Terminal at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

SAFARILINK AVIATION & BOOKING ON SAFARILINK AVIATION

As an initial matter, to get from Nairobi to the Masai Mara National Park area, you either need to drive several hours or take a 30 minute flight from Nairobi. We opted for the later. In booking our flight, a few airlines fly this route, including Safarilink Aviation and Air Kenya (who we flew from the US). I was going to book on one of these airlines directly, but I emailed the JW Marriott first to confirm the airport, and our hotel offered to book the roundtrip flight for us at a cost of $420 USD per person. This was generally the price I saw online, so I paid the hotel to book on our behalf. Our hotel selected Safarilink Aviation over Air Kenya and gave us the option of three times – early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon. Safarilink Aviation emailed us a confirmation like any other airline as soon as the hotel booked our tickets.

Safarilink Aviation.

If your hotel is not booking the flight for you, know that you are flying to the “Mara” destination, but you will also need to know at which “airstrip” to deplane. Yes, that’s right! The Masai Mara is a thirty minute flight from Nairobi, but it does not have one main airport. Instead, it has several air strips, or literal dirt strips in the middle of nowhere where planes drop off and pick up passengers. Our stop was Keekorok, which was the third of three stops our flight made. You must confirm with your safari lodge or tour which stop to book. Don’t worry – it’s not as confusing as it sounds, and the flight attendant will ensure you deplane at the correct stop.