In this articleAXPJPMFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTAn airport lounge — without the security screening or boarding pass. Credit card companies American Express and Chase are increasingly waging their luxury lounge wars outside the airport. From an air-conditioned retreat in the middle of the desert at Coachella to an exclusive athlete meet-and-greet at the Paris Olympics, these companies are investing big in premium hospitality spaces to win over affluent cardholders. “It’s very expensive, but I think what’s happening is that the issuers are finding that this is a premium differentiator,” said Donald Fandetti, managing director of consumer finance equity research at Wells Fargo. “It’s all about providing these services and experiences that make it worth it to the cardholder to pay those annual fees.”American Express’ Platinum and Chase’s Sapphire Reserve cards — the leading premium cards in the market — both upped their annual fees last year. The Amex Platinum now carries a fee of $895 a year, and the Sapphire Reserve has a fee of $795. The perks associated with these cards, like dining credits, hotel upgrades and digital partnerships, help offset the cost. It’s all an effort to capture and retain the highest spenders. Amex and Chase have jockeyed for years to be the preferred card for the American elite. More and more, access is making the difference. “Credit cards [with] higher fees, it’s going to send a certain signal. But what we really need to be making sure is that we’re understanding the psychology of exclusivity” said Dan Bennett, head of behavioral science at Ogilvy Consulting. “It’s easy to say, ‘I have lots of resources.’ It’s harder to say, ‘I have enough social capital to earn my way into spaces.'”Beyond the airportSome of the events that American Express Platinum cardholders had lounge access to in 2025 include the US Open tennis tournament; Stagecoach music festival in California; and multiple Formula 1 races worldwide. Meanwhile, lounges for Chase Sapphire Reserve customers were present at Chicago music festival Lollapalooza; Miami Art Week; Sundance Film Festival; and the PGA Tour. While some lounges and brand activations are open to all customers or even all attendees at an event, many of these spaces are exclusively reserved for premium cardholders. “We find this customer to be very engaged,” said Laura Picciano, general manager of Chase Sapphire. “Once you get their business, there’s a lot of loyalty there. And so they’re an important segment to continue to nurture.”Sundance Film Festival 2026. Courtesy: Chase BankWhile temporary credit card lounges are popping up at festivals and sporting events, they have also become popular, permanent fixtures inside stadiums and arenas.American Express has partnerships with more than 20 venues around the world. Eight of them currently have lounges, including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and the O2 arena in London, with a new location set to open in New York City’s Barclays Center this year.Bess Spaeth, executive vice president of global brand management and experiences at American Express, said factors like footprint, ability to provide food and beverage and viewing capabilities are all considerations in the decision for which venues get lounges.”It’s a real puzzle that we try to look at all the pieces and think about it holistically in terms of how we can best serve our members in those spaces,” said Spaeth.The Chase Lounge at Madison Square Garden.Courtesy: Chase BankChase has built out lounges at Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Theatre that are open to all of its customers, though Madison Square Garden has a dedicated space for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. “Lounges are really interesting because economists would think of those as more of a network good,” said Chenzi Xu, assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. “These lounges become particularly valuable when there’s a set of them that you can access in a variety o …
