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Charlotte’s airport is in the middle of a lounge building spree; Breaking down the 5 pricey credit cards that unlock them
by Tony Mecia
Back in the old days, when you wanted to escape the crowds of haggard fliers by decamping to an airport lounge in Charlotte, you didn’t have much of a choice.
The huge dark-wood-paneled American Airlines Admirals Club, just past security and adjacent to the main food court, was your only choice. You needed the right American Airlines premium credit card to get in.
Today, though, people flying from Charlotte have nearly as many choices of airport lounges as they do at the buffets inside those lounges. In the past six years, three new, non-American Airlines lounges have opened at CLT:
The American Express Centurion Lounge, in 2020
The Club CLT, in 2022
Delta Sky Club, in 2024
And this month, the airport announced that yet another airport lounge is on the way — a Capital One Lounge.
Meanwhile, American is upping its game, opening a grab-and-go station for its club members last summer, in addition to its main lounge and smaller cousin on Concourse B, while announcing that it plans to open a future ultra-exclusive Flagship lounge at CLT (with few specifics).
With the launch of all these luxury lounges, is it time for you to ditch the commoners and upgrade to some food-and-drinks-included refinement? How would you even do that? How much would it cost? Is there any way it would make financial sense?
First, with rare exceptions, the main path to gain access to these inner sanctums is through a pricey credit card, one with annual fees of between about $400 and $900 a year.
Second, if you fly infrequently — like once or twice a year — it probably doesn’t make sense to pay for an expensive credit card with lounge access you’ll seldom use.
But if you fly more often, there could be some advantages to a credit card with lounge access, beyond the avocado toast and cheese spread. The other perks on some of the cards have real value and effectively knock down their cost.
And you can recoup more of the cost in the money you save by not buying airport food and eating at the lounge instead. Have you ever been at an airport with hangry teenagers? It’s expensive.
For someone from Charlotte, the first decision to make is whether you want access to American’s Admirals Clubs or not.
Gary Leff, a well-known airline loyalty program expert who writes the View from the Wing blog, tells me: “If you live in Charlotte, you probably fly American, and their clubs are going to be most helpful.” He says that’s because agents there can help resolve travel snags — as opposed to the other options of calling the airline or waiting in an endless customer service line out among the masses.
But he’s also intrigued by Charlotte’s forthcoming Capital One Lounge, which will be Capital One’s biggest. When he emailed me earlier this week, he was in an Uber and raved about the Capital One Lounge at New York’s JFK Airport, which he said “has a cheese-tasting counter with really excellent cheeses, has local New York bagels par baked and finished in the lounge throughout the day for freshness with pastrami, lox, and other options.”
Hmm. Tough choices, for sure.
To help you determine if any of these are right for you, we’ve broken down the major credit cards that can get you access to Charlotte’s lounges:
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee: $595
Lounge access: American’s Admirals Clubs (but not Flagship lounges), for immediate family (spouse, children under 18) or two guests.
Perks: Group 4 boarding on American flights (early enough to ensure space for an overhead bag), free checked bag on American flights, $120 credit for Global Entry/TSA Precheck every four years.
Best for: People who fly American a lot, especially to other cities with Admirals Club lounges.
Comment: This is a popular card in Charlotte, since American has about 90% of the flights.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual fee: $795
Lounge access: Priority Pass lounges (which include The Club CLT), with two guests.
Perks: $300 annual credit on travel expenses, $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit every four years, $300 in DoorDash credits, AppleTV+ and Apple Music subscriptions, $300 in annual fine dining credits (can be used in Charlotte at La Belle Helene, Fin and Fino uptown, Customshop, Goodyear House and Rooster’s Ballantyne).
Best for: People who travel and would use those various credits anyway.
Comment: Charlotte’s lone Priority Pass lounge, The Club CLT on Concourse A, is small and often on a wait, but the larger network of 1,800+ lounges worldwide is convenient at most other airports. This is a pricey card, but with the credits, it can pay for itself.
Capital One Venture X
Annual fee: $395
Lounge access: Priority Pass lounges (including The Club CLT). Will have access to the Capital One Lounge in Charlotte when it opens.
Perks: $300 annual credit on travel expenses, $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit every four years.
Best for: Travelers who want some lounge access but not a pricey card.
Comment: If you’re just using it for access to The Club CLT in Charlotte, it might not be worth it, but if you can use the larger Priority Pass network, it might make sense, and Capital One Lounges are reputed to be nice.
American Express Platinum
Annual fee: $895
Lounge access: American Express Centurion Lounge, Priority Pass network, Delta Sky Club (10 visits per year) and other international lounges.
Perks: $200 in annual Uber credits, $200 in airline statement credits, $400 Resy dining credit, $300 in Lululemon credits, $300 digital entertainment credit.
Best for: People who don’t balk at the high annual fee and who can use the shopping, dining and travel credits.
Comment: American Express Centurion lounges tend to be nice, and Charlotte’s — between Concourses D and E — isn’t too far away from the center of the airport.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Annual fee: $650
Lounge access: Delta Sky Clubs (15 times a year), American Express Centurion Lounge (when booking with this credit card).
Perks: $200 annual hotel credit, $240 Resy dining credit, $120 credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck every four years, $120 rideshare credit.
Best for: People who fly Delta a lot, like to its hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, New York, Boston or Salt Lake City.
Comment: You’d have to really love flying Delta out of Concourse A at CLT for this card to make sense. My guess is the CLT Delta lounge mostly serves travelers from Delta hubs who come here, and fewer people from Charlotte.
Use these as a starting point. If one sounds intriguing to you, check it out and read the fine print before jumping in.
You’re going to need excellent credit to get approved for them. And if you don’t pay off your balances every month, don’t wade into these waters. These cards won’t make financial sense for you.
Be aware that many prominent travel sites receive referral fees from credit-card sign-ups, so beware of anything that sounds too hype. You can go to the cards’ websites yourself and read the details.
These high-end travel cards also come with points and miles sign-up bonuses, and give you points and miles with every purchase. They also typically offer travel insurance when you use the cards.
Maybe the math works for you. Or maybe the best move is grabbing some Chick-fil-A and a bottle of water and heading straight to the gate.
Tony Mecia is executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. He wrote a weekly column on travel reward credit cards for CreditCards.com from 2013-2020.
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🧊 Winter storms freeze Queen’s Feast
It’s definitely not the first spurt of extreme winter weather that Queen’s Feast, the biannual restaurant week for the Charlotte region that offers multi-course menus at discounted prices, has experienced in its 18-year history.
But never before have they seen two winter weather storms on both weekends that bookend the 10-day festival, with storms hitting on the busiest and most lucrative days for the restaurants participating.
As of midday Thursday, at least 67 of the participating restaurants have extended their Queen’s Feast promotions by varying lengths, with most running through next weekend, according to Bruce Hensley of Hensley Fontana Public Relations, the event organizer.
📸 Did you see snow in your neck of the woods? Take a photo and email [email protected] for a chance to be featured in Monday’s Ledger.
This week in Charlotte: CMS’ top lawyer is leaving; Black Political Caucus endorses candidates; Former Councilwoman Brown agrees to plead guilty; Checkers owner accused of fraud
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS pays departing general counsel $289,000: (Ledger) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will pay General Counsel André Mayes one year of salary, about $289,000, under a mutual separation agreement as she leaves the district at the end of January with more than two years left on her contract.
New attendance zone?: (Ledger🔒) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is considering reopening E.E. Waddell High in southwest Charlotte as a comprehensive high school with an attendance zone, a move that would require redrawing boundaries for several nearby south Charlotte schools.
CMS considers scrapping early release days: (WFAE) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is weighing a new 2027–28 academic calendar that would eliminate early release days and replace them with two full teacher workdays, citing child care challenges for families and better use of time for professional development.
Politics
Primary endorsements announced: (WFAE) The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg endorsed Sheriff Garry McFadden for reelection despite an ongoing review by the State Bureau of Investigation. The group also endorsed Rodney Sadler over Representative Carla Cunningham and backed incumbent Nasif Majeed in a separate House primary.
Former Councilwoman Tiawana Brown agrees to plead guilty: (Observer) Former Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in a federal pandemic relief fraud case in exchange for a deal that could result in probation.
Sheriff debate turns heated: (Observer, subscriber-only) At a Wednesday night debate, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden clashed publicly with former Chief Deputy Rodney Collins, trading accusations over trust, promotions and alleged sabotage during their time working together.
Local news
Third measles case reported: (Press Release) Mecklenburg County Public Health and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said late Tuesday that an unvaccinated child in Mecklenburg County has measles, the third reported case in the county. Mecklenburg Public Health also announced a public exposure notice for people who attended events at Sardis Presbyterian School on Saturday, Jan. 17.
CLT slips in ranking: (Ledger🔒) Charlotte Douglas International Airport handled 53.6M passengers in 2025 — down 9% from its 2024 record due largely to American Airlines’ schedule reductions — likely slipping to the ninth-busiest U.S. airport while still marking its second-strongest year.
True-crime pod examines death of Charlotte woman: (Axios Charlotte) The popular true-crime podcast “Crime Junkie” released a new episode revisiting the 2022 death of Charlotte woman Shanquella Robinson, introducing claims from an anonymous trip participant that could renew public attention and pressure on authorities in the still-unresolved case.
Business
Charlotte job market split: (Ledger🔒) In a talk last week to the Charlotte Economics Club uptown, Laura Dawson Ullrich, Indeed’s director of economic research, said hiring is booming for health care workers and engineers in Charlotte, with postings for therapy, veterinary and civil engineering jobs more than doubling since before Covid.
Corning expands in NC: (Observer, subscriber-only) Corning plans to add up to 1,000 jobs in North Carolina as part of a $6B partnership with Meta to supply materials for advanced data centers supporting the company’s growth in artificial intelligence.
Sports
Charlotte Checkers owner accused of charity fraud: (Observer) Former Checkers majority owner Michael Kahn is accused by federal prosecutors of using a one-man nonprofit to divert at least $4.5M in charitable funds for personal use and failing to properly file or report taxes.
Fantasy football punishments: (Axios Charlotte) Axios Charlotte readers shared cruel fantasy football last-place punishments, including eating 22 hot dogs, performing an interpretive dance at a staff meeting, getting frosted tips for a month and watching “The Emoji Movie” for 17 straight weekends.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
CMS to propose redrawing some high school boundary lines. Plus: CMS’ top lawyer is leaving; Storm was a bust but roads still icy; Fire destroys N.C.’s oldest bar; Charlotte magazine editors to join digital food outlet; From Myers Park High to the Super Bowl
Wednesday (🔒)
When the high ends in the hospital. Plus: Exiting CMS general counsel has 2 years left in contract; Top (and bottom) jobs in Charlotte; Toppman reviews ‘Above and Beyond’; 3rd measles case; Corning’s $6B NC deal; More winter weather?
Friday (🔒)
Inside Sycamore: One employee shares his story. Plus: Separation agreement for CMS general counsel; CLT ranking slides; Highwoods’ local plans; Mandy Patinkin confuses Charlotte for Winston-Salem; Snow this weekend; Brown agrees to plead guilty
Ways of Life (🔒)
In memoriam: Scott Lindsay, known for his sharp wit and strong faith. Also remembered: A longtime special education teacher at CMS; an art educator at Spirit Square and a preschool teacher; a head usher at Ovens Auditorium; a woodwind player for the Charlotte Symphony
Ready for lift off: “Above and Beyond” runs through April 19 at Discovery Place, 168 W. Sixth St.
Leveling up Legacy Union. Plus: Highwoods’ high-profile South End site; Johnston YMCA working with a developer; Apartment rents drop; Levine Museum’s upcoming facility; Fascinating mix of amenities at North Meck apartments
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