Singapore Airlines has a somewhat confusing lounge setup at New York’s JFK Airport, with passengers distributed across three different lounges— each varying significantly in quality.
While there was a brief period during the pandemic where all lounge-eligible passengers were invited to use the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, that was restricted to First Class and Solitaire PPS Club members only in August 2022.
Business Class, PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite Gold/Star Gold members were shunted to lesser lights like the Wingtips Lounge (since closed) and Air India Maharaja Lounge (the less said about this the better!).
But there’s now some good news. While the airline’s website has yet to be updated, a reader has confirmed that Singapore Airlines has partnered with a fourth lounge at New York JFK: the highly-rated Capital One Lounge, which opened last month and has been garnering rave reviews ever since.
Singapore Airlines adds Capital One Lounge access
The Capital One Lounge at JFK opened in June 2025, with the card issuer designating the 13,500 square feet facility its “flagship lounge”. This is the largest Capital One lounge in the network to date, and offers the most amenities.
The lounge is located after security at Terminal 4, on the departures level (one floor below the entrance to The Centurion Lounge) between the A and B gates. Opening hours are currently 6 a.m to 11 p.m daily, but from 17 July 2025, it will operate 24/7 (though certain areas of the lounge may be closed during off-peak hours).
Singapore Airlines is now offering Capital One Lounge access to the following passengers:
- First Class
- Business Class
- Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members (in any cabin)
First Class, Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members can bring one guest with them. The guest must be travelling on the same flight. Business Class passengers do not have any guesting privileges (unless they hold Star Gold or equivalent status).
Capital One describes this lounge as “a bold tribute to NYC, leveraging design, destination-inspired food and beverage offerings, and immersive local partnerships to bring the spirit and sophistication of the city to life.” Inside, you’ll find a Central Park-inspired dining area, a Manhattan-style bar, and various artworks by New York-based artists.
The lounge offers tarmac views, shower suites, high speed Wi-Fi, and power outlets and USB-C ports at every seat. Workstations are available too.
In terms of F&B, the lounge features locally-sourced bites from a bodega-style espresso bar, including hand-rolled bagels from Ess-a-Bagel (baked in-house daily), espresso from Bean & Coffee Roasters, and La Colombe cold brew.
Grab and go options such as sandwiches, wraps, salads and pastries are offered, and a rotating small plates menu offers dishes like wild arugula panzanella and Berkshire pork shank with pea risotto. There’s even a cheesemonger station, featuring selections from New York’s Murray’s Cheese.
Over at the bar, Death & Co, the East Village institution, has curated a cocktail list that reflects the different New York boroughs. Those who prefer beer can enjoy Skyscraper IPA, a brew created by Booklyn’s Grimm Artisanal Ales exclusively for this lounge.
Do note that you will have to pay for champagne here (outside of an “evening toast” served from a trolley once a day at sunset), with 375 ml bottles of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose, R. Geoffroy Cru Brut Cuvee Empreinte 2013 and Krug Grande Cuvee ranging from US$48 to US$150
If that’s what you’re after, you might want to visit the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse instead (assuming you have access- see below) which offers Nicolas Feuillatte Brut NV.
The food and beverage menus can be found below.
Food Menu
Cocktail and Wine List
I’ll let the experts fight it out as to whether this lounge is better than the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, but in any case, this will be a huge upgrade for Business Class passengers.
Some detailed reviews of the Capital One Lounge JFK can be found below:
What lounges does Singapore Airlines use at New York JFK?
With the addition of Capital One, Singapore Airlines will now use four lounges at New York JFK. The lounge(s) you have access to depends on your cabin, as well as status.
| Lounge | Access |
| Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse |
|
 Capital One Lounge |
|
 Air India Lounge |
|
 HelloSky (former Primeclass lounge) |
|
As the photos above hopefully illustrate, the lounges get progressively less swanky as you move down the list, so while a First Class customer could theoretically access the Air India or HelloSky lounge, there is very little reason why they’d want to do so (BDSM-related reasons aside).
Conclusion
Singapore Airlines has added a fourth lounge option at New York’s JFK Airport, in the form of the Capital One Lounge. This newly-opened lounge looks extremely impressive, and will be a huge upgrade in particular for Business Class passengers, who were previously relegated to the mediocre Air India or HelloSky lounges.
Of course, as with any credit card lounge, overcrowding during peak hours will be a potential concern. If you’re passing through JFK, do share how the situation is during the Singapore Airlines departure windows!
Access is conditional upon you first making it past ICE on your way in.
There is no formal outbound immigration check for departures from the U.S.
It is conditional in making ur way past ICE on your way in, as otherwise u get detained or deported. I doubt u can use the lounge when being deported.
No there isn’t, but there is a Trump inbound immigration check where anything goes (or doesn’t). You gotta get into the place before you can depart it..
Can’t read properly, Gary?
Lol on the BDSM reasons.
Have you heard the one about the sadist and the masochist? The masochist says beat me beat me and the sadist says no.
Air India lounge is directly across from the Virgin Clubhouse, so maybe if you fancy some Indian food you might stop there, or just for completeness. The Hello Sky lounge is quite sad, far worse than the Air India lounge.
Providing airline access to the lounge was an airport requirement for the space in the Capital One lounge lease. Bear in mind that if the lounge hits capacity, passengers would have to put their name on the waitlist. And Singapore passengers do not get priority over Capital One’s own credit card guests, who can use the bank’s mobile app to list themselves virtually (e.g. when they arrive at the airport before going through security, potentially being at the top of the list by the time they show up at the front door). Once hitting the top of the waitlist guests… Read more »
thanks for sharing the additional insights! I visited the virgin clubhouse at jfk in late 2022 and wasn’t exactly blown away, though it might have been post-covid rust. i remember it being much better in the pre-covid era. any idea if other airlines are getting access to c1 too?
Not at this point, SQ is the only one I’m aware of. Similar setup at DFW, airport required the lounge offer a deal with an airline.
I’ll only say the photo of the air India lounge is outdated – was shunted there on a recent trip and it looks like a primary school canteen
Please don’t insult my primary school canteen. The lor me was excellent
I dont expect over-crowding will be a problem. Most by now should hv the USA on their personal no-fly list. I certainly do.
Unless of course there are those people who rock their boat the BDSM way…
JFK lounge safari time. I’ll be headed to JFK in Sep and give a shot. Just hope they’ll grant early check in for SQ23
Pps club have access to virgin on sq 23? Is that new?
yeah appears to be a new thing. last i heard was that Virgin was for TPPS and First only.
Based on the Singapore Airlines Partner Lounges is it true that Capital One Lounge also allows Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Gold Members in as well is that right?