Amex and Chase’s credit card lounge battle goes beyond airports

Airport lounge without security check or boarding pass.

credit card company american express and tracking More and more people are waging luxury lounge wars outside airports. From air-conditioned retreats in the middle of the desert at Coachella to athlete-only meet-and-greets at the Paris Olympics, these companies are investing heavily in luxury hospitality spaces to capture wealthy cardholders.

“It’s very expensive, but what’s happening is issuers are realizing that this is a premium differentiator,” said Donald Fundetti, managing director of consumer finance equity research at Wells Fargo. “The key is to provide cardholders with services and experiences that are worth paying the annual fee.”

The major premium cards on the market, American Express’ Platinum Card and Chase’s Sapphire Reserve Card, both increased their annual fees last year. Currently, the AmEx Platinum fee is $895 per year and the Sapphire Reserve fee is $795.

The benefits that come with these cards, like dining credits, hotel upgrades, and digital partnerships, can help offset the cost. It’s all in an effort to acquire and retain the highest spenders. AmEx and Chase have long strived to become the cards of choice for America’s elite.

Access is increasingly driving change.

“Higher credit card fees are going to send a certain signal, but what we really need to make sure is that we understand the psychology of exclusivity,” said Dan Bennett, head of behavioral science at Ogilvy Consulting. “It’s easy to say, ‘I have a lot of resources.’ It’s difficult to say, ‘I have enough social capital to go into space.'”

Events for which American Express Platinum Cardholders will have access to the lounge in 2025 include the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. California Stagecoach Music Festival. And multiple F1 races are held around the world.

Meanwhile, Chicago music festival Lollapalooza introduced a lounge for Chase Sapphire Reserve customers. Miami Art Week; Sundance Film Festival; and the PGA Tour.

While some lounges and brand activations are open to all customers or all attendees of an event, many of these spaces are reserved exclusively for premium cardholders.

Laura Picciano, general manager of Chase Sapphire, said: “Once you get their business, there’s a lot of loyalty there, so they’re an important segment that you have to continue to cultivate.”

Temporary credit card lounges are popping up at festivals and sporting events, but permanent locations inside stadiums and arenas are also becoming increasingly popular.

American Express partners with more than 20 venues around the world. It currently has lounges in eight of these locations, including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and London’s O2 Arena, with a new location scheduled to open at New York City’s Barclays Center this year.

Beth Spaeth, executive vice president of global brand management and experiences at American Express, said factors such as store space, food and beverage capabilities and viewing capabilities are all considered when deciding which venue to host a lounge.

“It’s really a challenge to look at all the factors and try to think holistically in terms of how we can best serve our members in these spaces,” Spaes said.

Chase has built lounges at Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Theater that are open to all customers, but Madison Square Garden has a space reserved for Sapphire Reserve cardholders.

“Lounges are very interesting because economists would think of lounges as a network advantage,” said Chenzi Xu, an assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. “These lounges are especially valuable when you have a series of lounges that can be accessed at different locations…perhaps not only at the airport, but also at other special events.”

Chase and American Express are attracting wealthy customers who are not only willing to pay rising annual fees but also want to accumulate larger card balances.

Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows that people with a credit score of 720 or higher, which is typically required to get approved for a Sapphire Reserve or Platinum card, spend more than twice as much as the average person with a score between 660 and 719.

American Express announced earlier this year that it was shifting marketing costs from free cards to more premium cards in an effort to attract more affluent cardholders.

American Express credit card fees totaled nearly $10 billion in 2025, an increase of about 18% from 2024. Chase does not break out its credit card fee income.

“Chase is trying hard to compete with (American Express),” Schuh said. “They’re just making the benefits of having these cards better and better for consumers. That competition is good for consumers, but it’s competition that’s only happening at the high end, and you’re not seeing as many entrants at the low end, you’re not seeing as much competition.”

The upper management is the key to the credit company. Mastercard’s 2025 report found that wealthy consumers, defined as households with incomes of $200,000 or more and at least $250,000 in investable assets, spend 4.3 times more on discretionary purchases than the general population.

Cardholders with annual fees of $500 or more spent an average of $3,200 a month from May 2025 to June 2026, an increase of about 17% over the previous 12 months, according to JD Power data.

Meanwhile, those with cards with fees under $500 spent an average of $1,144 a month, up about 6% from a year ago.

It’s another sign of what economists commonly call a “K-shaped economy,” where high-income earners are free to speed up while lower-income earners slow down in some areas. It also places greater emphasis on high spenders during times of economic uncertainty.

“The appeal of the premium segment for these card issuers is that there are people who spend a lot of money,” Fundetti said. “This business requires significant scale, so you need a very large revenue base to fund all these lounges and perks and benefits.”

Lounges are just one way credit card companies leverage sponsorships with these establishments.

Paul Needham, Chase’s head of dining and lifestyle, said the partnership also offers gift bags, premium viewing areas, special access to merchandise and money earned on food.

Chase and American Express also often offer discounts and statement credits on purchases at their respective sponsored venues and certain events, such as music festivals.

“I think when you look at the broader picture of sports and entertainment venues, what we’re really trying to do is not only elevate these moments for our customers, but also approach them in places and situations where we know they’re very passionate and excited to be there,” Needham said.

Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can attend dinner events held at FIFA World Cup pitches in New Jersey and California. Meanwhile, Marriott Bonvoy partnered with American Express in April to recreate the iconic New York City restaurant Lao’s inside the hotel for cardmember dinner events. marriott has long partnered with both American Express and Chase on co-branded credit cards.

Cards in this category also include the following co-branded products: delta airlines and hiltonAccording to an Amex report, it accounted for about a quarter of American Express cardmember spending in 2025.

Ogilvy Consulting’s Bennett said one of the key considerations for credit card companies opening up in these physical spaces is whether they can play an authentic role in the event in question. He said American Express at Coachella is a good example because it provides a space to cool off in the midst of the desert heat.

“You can’t set up these corporate fortresses in exactly the same way in each location. That’s not going to solve the problem. What will solve the problem is really understanding the needs of the customers in each location,” Bennett said.

Speth said part of American Express’ strategy leans toward fandom, from collaborations with music artists like Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo to the NFL and Formula One.

American Express’ partnership with F1 will begin in 2023, marking the first new sports sponsorship in more than a decade. A year later, the company further expanded the deal and began rolling out new fan benefits, including trackside lounges.

“Our hope is that you will join us in these moments and deepen your emotional connection to American Express, thereby elevating your American Express Card to the very pinnacle of your wallet,” Spaes said.