Few things make travel better than visiting an airport lounge before departure. And Delta Sky Clubs are better than most … if you can get in. And that’s about to get much, much harder.
As part of Delta’s years-long efforts to combat overcrowding inside its lounges, harsh restrictions for travelers who have been enjoying unlimited Sky Club access with their credit cards are on the way. Come Feb. 1, flyers with the *delta reserve card* and *amex platinum* will be capped at just 15 and 10 visits each year, respectively.
That’s a huge change – though there are a handful of ways Sky Club aficionados can make them less painful. Delta has already banned flyers with the cheapest basic economy ticket from getting into Sky Clubs. Travelers with the *delta skymiles platinum card* can’t even buy a day pass for lounges anymore.
Still, the right top-dollar travel credit cards are among the best ways to get into Delta lounges. You can also get in with a business class ticket on Delta (or their partner airlines), buy an annual lounge membership for unlimited access, or get a free pass with top Delta Medallion Elite status.
Hoping to hit the Delta lounge before your next flight? Here’s how.
4 Best Ways to Get Into Sky Clubs: Credit Cards, Biz Class or Status
1. Carry the Right Credit Card
Let’s start with the easiest path to visit Delta lounges.
A handful of top-tier travel credit cards will get you in the door for free. While you’ll no longer get unlimited access – and none of these cards are exactly cheap – they’re still among the easiest and most cost-effective ways to get Delta lounge access.
Read more: Strict Delta Sky Club Limits are Coming, Use These Tips for More Visits this Year
The Platinum Card® from American Express
When it comes to lounge access overall – not just with Delta – you won’t find a better option than *amex platinum*.
As of Feb. 1, Platinum cardholders no longer get unlimited complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club when flying with Delta that day. Instead, you’re limited to visiting the Sky Club just 10 days each year.
On the bright side, you’ll be able to visit several lounges in the same 24-hour period – it still counts as just one of 10 annual passes. So if you’ve got a Delta flight with a connection, you could visit the Sky Club at your home airport and again during your layover without burning two precious annual visits.
Once you’ve used up all 10 of those days, you can buy additional visits for $50 per day. That’s a savvy way to use your Platinum Card’s $200 annual Amex airline credits: Select Delta as your preferred airline, charge that $50 fee to your Platinum Card at the Sky Club door, and the credit will kick in, buying you an extra four lounge visits each year … for a total of 14!
Add someone else to your Platinum Card account? Authorized users get their own lounge allowance!
Have *biz platinum*? Your lounge access is identical with the personal Platinum card. And if you have both the personal and business Platinum Cards, you can get a total of 20 trips to the Sky Club.
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Much like the Platinum Card from American Express, the *delta reserve card* or the *delta skymiles reserve business* can get you into a Delta club – once again, only if you’re flying with Delta that day. And again, Delta is bringing the hammer down.
As of Feb. 1, 2025, Reserve cardholders will be able to access the Sky Club just 15 days a year – a bit more than with the (non-Delta) Amex Platinum Card mentioned above. You can visit several Delta lounges in the same 24-hour period and still count as just one of 15 annual passes. Once you’ve used up all 15 of those days, you can still buy additional access for $50 per day.
If you have both the Platinum card and the Delta Reserve card, you’ll get a total of 25 days of Sky Club access annually. Just as with the Platinum Card, authorized users on the Reserve also get their own lounge allowance.
But the Reserve Card is even better in one regard: You also get four free guest passes each year. That means you can bring four guests with you into the lounge – or bring the same pal four times. After that, you can simply pay $50 per guest. Like the Platinum Card from American Express, there’s no limit to how many times you can bring guests in with you.
You can avoid these limits altogether by spending $75,000 per calendar year on either of the cards. If you do so, you’ll get unlimited complimentary lounge access with Delta for the remainder of that year and all of the following year.
What about Delta SkyMiles® Platinum & Gold Cards?
For years, travelers with the *delta skymiles platinum card* in their wallets used it to get into Sky Clubs. You could buy one-time lounge passes for $50 per entry. You could also bring in up to two guests for another $50 each.
It was a great way for occasional travelers to hit the Delta lounge before a flight … but it’s no longer an option, period. As of 2024, Delta nixed the option for SkyMiles Platinum cardholders to buy these day passes.
Cardholders with the *delta skymiles gold card* used to be able to purchase lounge access, but Delta eliminated this card benefit many years ago.
2. Book an International First or Business Class Ticket
Flying up front in a lie-flat seat? Your ticket will get you into the Delta club.
You can get into the Delta Sky Club if you’re flying first or business class internationally with Delta or a SkyTeam partner airline like Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, SAS, LATAM, WestJet, and more. That includes if you’re connecting to or from an international flight operated by Delta or a partner airline. Critically, you’ll need to be ticketed in a business or first class cabin for your entire journey to qualify for Sky Club access: a mixed-cabin itinerary won’t work.
Certain transcontinental routes within the U.S. in a Delta One business class cabin also get free entry. It must be branded as a Delta One flight to get free lounge access. You won’t be able to bring any guests with you, though.
What About Delta One Lounges?
If you’re flying business class out of Boston (BOS), New York City (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), you can do even better: Visit one of the exclusive new Delta One Lounges instead!
Delta opened its very first exclusive business class lounges at its East and West Coast hubs in 2024. One of these extra-special lounges – with a la carte dining and more amenities – is also expected to open in Seattle (SEA) in June 2025. Locations in Salt Lake City (SLC), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), and other Delta hub airports are expected in the coming years.
But holding a certain credit card won’t do you any good here. The only way to get in is by flying Delta One or in business or first class on some (but not all) partner airlines: Air France, LATAM, KLM, Korean Air, or Virgin Atlantic.
Flyers with the airline’s invite-only Delta 360 status can get in, too … but only with a departing or arriving first class ticket.
No Sky Club Access Just for Domestic First Class
Just because you’re flying up front with Delta doesn’t mean you can get a free pass into the lounge.
Most domestic first class fares with Delta (or to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and even some parts of South America) will not qualify for free Sky Club access. You need to fly in a Delta One cabin, domestically or internationally. Just having a standard domestic first class boarding pass won’t work.
3. Earn Top Delta Status
If you fly Delta a ton and make your way up to Delta’s top-tier Diamond Medallion Status, you can select a complimentary Sky Club individual membership as one of the annual choice benefits. As of 2025, there are two options for top Delta flyers:
- An Individual membership, using two of three choice benefits for unlimited Delta lounge access for the year.
- An Executive membership, using all three choice benefits, will get you and up to two guests unlimited lounge access at no additional charge. You can pay for up to two more guests (for a total of four) for $50 each.
Flyers with lower levels of Delta status can get into the club, too – but only on certain flights.
As of 2024, travelers with Delta’s Gold or Platinum Medallion status flying internationally in Delta Premium Select or Delta One can use the Sky Club before their flight. You can also bring one guest with you for free.
But an economy or Delta Comfort Plus seat will no longer get you into the lounge – even if you’ve got Delta Gold status or higher.
Oddly, you can get more generous lounge access by earning status from other SkyTeam airlines – not Delta Medallion.
Earning higher levels of status with carriers like Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and others can also unlock SkyTeam Elite Plus status. And that will get you Sky Club access before any international flight (except U.S.-Caribbean routes) … no matter what cabin you’re flying in!
LATAM elite members (including Signature Black Emerald, Black Emerald, and Platinum Sapphire) and WestJet Gold and Platinum elite members also get Delta lounge access when flying internationally.
4. Purchase a Delta Sky Club Membership
Delta allows members to purchase an individual annual membership to the Delta Sky Club. Consider yourself warned: It’s expensive.
An individual membership now costs $695 (or 69,500 SkyMiles) each year – with no free guest privileges. You can also purchase an executive membership, which also includes two free guests, for a whopping $1,495 each year (or 149,500 SkyMiles).
But there’s one caveat: You need some level of Delta Medallion status in order to even be eligible to buy an individual membership.
Even then, this method may not make much sense. For the same (or less) amount of money, you could get complimentary lounge visits by holding either the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card or the American Express Platinum Card. Plus, both cards offer a host of other benefits.
This calculus might change as Delta starts limiting the number of times cardholders can get into the Sky Club. Still, most travelers are probably better off holding one of those cards listed above than buying a membership outright.
Delta Sky Club Locations
Delta has been on a tear recently, building new lounges across the country while expanding and renovating existing locations.
All told, there are nearly 60 Delta Sky Club lounges – including one across the Pacific Ocean at Tokyo-Haneda (HND) and three new Delta One Lounges available for business class passengers. Check out our full list – or head to Delta’s roster of Sky Club locations for more details on each lounge.
| Airports with Sky Clubs | Location(s) |
|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA (ATL) | 9 Lounges |
| Austin, TX (AUS) | 1 Lounge |
| Boston, MA (BOS) | 3 Lounges |
| Charlotte, NC (CLT) | 1 Lounge |
| Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD) | 1 Lounge |
| Cincinnati, OH (CVG) | 1 Lounge |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (DFW) | 1 Lounge |
| Denver, CO (DEN) | 1 Lounge |
| Detroit, MI (DTW) | 5 Lounges |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) | 1 Lounge |
| Honolulu, HI (HNL) | 1 Lounge |
| Indianapolis, IN (IND) | 1 Lounge |
| Jacksonville, FL (JAX) | 1 Lounge |
| Kansas City, MO (MCI) | 1 Lounge |
| Los Angeles, CA (LAX) | 2 Lounges |
| Memphis, TN (MEM) | 1 Lounge |
| Miami, FL (MIA) | 1 Lounge |
| Milwaukee, WI (MKE) | 1 Lounge |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (MSP) | 3 Lounges |
| Nashville, TN (BNA) | 1 Lounge |
| New Orleans, LA (MSY) | 1 Lounge |
| New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK) | 2 Lounges |
| New York-La Guardia, NY (LGA) | 1 Lounge |
| Newark, NJ (EWR) | 1 Lounge |
| Orlando, FL (MCO) | 1 Lounge |
| Philadelphia, PA (PHL) | 1 Lounge |
| Phoenix, AZ (PHX) | 1 Lounge |
| Portland, OR (PDX) | 1 Lounge |
| Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) | 1 Lounge |
| Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) | 1 Lounge |
| San Diego, CA (SAN) | 1 Lounge |
| San Francisco, CA (SFO) | 1 Lounge |
| Seattle, WA (SEA) | 1 Lounge |
| Tampa, FL (TPA) | 1 Lounge |
| Tokyo-Haneda, Japan (HND) | 1 Lounge |
| Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA) | 1 Lounge |
| West Palm Beach, FL (PBI) | 1 Lounge |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Buy a Day Pass?
For years, any and all Delta travelers could buy a single-visit pass to get into the Delta Sky Club. Both United and American Airlines still do the same.
But they’re no longer available with Delta. The airline stopped selling them years ago to combat overcrowding in its lounges. It’s no longer possible to buy Delta Sky Club access, no matter which card you have.
How Long Before Your Flight Can You Get Into the Sky Club?
Delta only allows flyers to enter the lounge within three hours of their departing flight.
Longer layovers are an exception. There is no time limit for flyers making a connection to use the Sky Club – though Delta now specifies that same-day roundtrip flights do not qualify as a layover.
Only top-tier, invite-only flyers with Delta’s vaunted 360 Status or the Amex Centurion Card in their wallets are exempt from this restriction.
Can You Get Delta Sky Lounge Access Upon Arrival?
Of course, you can get into the Sky Club before your flight. But what about after you land?
A while back, Delta had planned to ban access upon arrival. But after a major uproar from some of the airline’s most valued customers, Delta backtracked on that policy. That means you can still access the Sky Club upon arrival, too!
Can You Get Into the Sky Club with a Delta Basic Economy Ticket?
Flyers who buy the cheapest Delta basic economy tickets can no longer use the Sky Club, period. You must be flying on a main cabin ticket or higher to get in.
How Much Do Sky Club Memberships Cost?
Delta sells standalone memberships for unlimited Sky Club access. An individual account will cost you $695 while an Executive Membership (which includes two free guests) clocks in at $1,495 a year.
But you must have some level of Delta Medallion status to be able to purchase a lounge membership.
