A few weeks ago we learned that Chase would open a Sapphire Lounge at the Miami airport in concourse E. It will be 13,793 square feet near gate E7.
The Miami airport E concourse is connected to the American Airlines D concourse, and sees flights from American, Alaska, British Airways, Finner, Iberia, Qatar, Aer Lingus, Royal Air Maroc and others such as Gol, Avelo and Arajet.
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
Chase won the space by backing up a bank vault, dwarfing the offers made by others for the space. (There is, naturally, a scoring rubric that includes other things – but the difference here was enormous.)
What Will Be Unique About This Lounge?
For those familiar with Chase Sapphire lounges at airports – accessible by Sapphire Reserve, Ritz-Carlton, and J.P. Morgan Reserve cardmembers plus two guests, and also once visit annually for Priority Pass cardmembers from other sources – this lounge will be of a similar standard.
However, the proposal by Chase and their lounge partner Airport Dimensions (which operates The Club lounges and which shares the same parent company as Priority Pass) has some interesting clues both about lounge design and some of the more unique features that will be on offer when the space opens.
As part of the submission to the Miamia airport, they touted a plan for a Miami Rum Bar and for a Cuban coffee bar (and this would not take the place of their standard menu, where they promoted the Sapphire burger and their staple noodle dish as well as ropa vieja).
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
It’s that coffee bar I’m looking forward to most in this lounge,
Cuban Coffee Bar, “La Ventanita” set beside the main dining area, offers an elevated take on Miami’s beloved street-side cafés. From a custom window, guests receive rich, sweet Cuban coffee — a daily ritual that fills the air with aroma and invites connection. More than a beverage, it’s a taste of the city’s heritage, lived one cafecito at a time.
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
This is the rendering of the main bar:
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
And their ‘Horizon Lounge’
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
When Can We Expect The Miami Chase Sapphire Lounge To Open?
Airport Dimensions projected 2 years and 4 months from lounge award to opening. The proposal assumed an award in February 2026 meaning a June 2028 opening. With a mid-July award that pushes out expected opening to the start of 2029.
That assumes only a month for the airport to review full plans, provide comments, and then revise plans; followed by 12 weeks for permits; and then 13 months for construction. It seems reasonable to assume “sometime in 2029” for this lounge to open.
It’s possible that Airport Dimensions and Chase pushed forward with some of the design work in advance of formally being awarded the space by the County. That would allow them to deliver earlier. The lease itself was done being negotiated back in March, although it appears that some of the space drawings may have been withheld until the actual County Board approval. Either way there are often permitting and construction delays so I wouldn’t bet money on it in 2028 in any case.
Some Interesting Sidenotes About The Project
Part of the project includes moving existing offices:
- American Airlines Employee Lounge: 1,451 sq. ft. (used as a breakroom) and 52 sq. ft. (‘Sabre Room’)
- Duty-Free America Offices: 1,742 sq.ft.
The hospitality slogan for these lounges is CHASE!
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
They anticipate a headcount of 145 to support the lounge, mostly hourly workers:
Credit: Chase Sapphire Lounge Proposal to Miami International Airport
The menu boards show prices for the coffee, including on the ones behind the register. The side one could be seen as a bit decorative, but I wonder if this is an error or if they plan to actually charge for the coffee? Seems a bit cheap to do that given how much money they are dumping into the lounge.
Other than that, it makes sense they backed up the money truck – MIA is a city where the CSR should have a large target market.
That Cuban coffee will be needed if you are going to hike it round trip from Concourse D to E and back. It’s brutal just moving from The Flagship Lounge at D30 to your E departure gate.
2029 *yawn” surprised one of the world’s largest banks is taking so long
Cool. More Sapphire lounges the merrier! Add some Cuban sandwiches, too, like they do at Escapes lounge T3 at FLL (@Parker?)
@Baron — Yeah, for real, what gives? Even for Florida, that’s waaay too long.
2029? Hopefully Rockstar will release a GTA VI patch to update the airport when this finally opens.