Review: Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles LAX Airport

How to access Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles LAX

I visited this lounge before my SWISS Business Class flight to Zurich, during my New Year road trip on California’s Highway One.

Travellers can access this lounge when flying in Business Class with a Star Alliance airline or if they hold a Star Alliance Gold status.

Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles LAX

Getting there

Star Alliance Lounge LAX is located on the 6th floor, at the central atrium area of Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).

The lounge is also connected (airside) to terminals 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Click here to view a map of the terminal.

General areas

The lounge offers a good amount of indoor seating, but we especially loved the outdoor terrace that includes a view of the apron. It was pretty crowded during my visit and the only seats available for the 3 of us were at the outdoor area.

Shower

Guests can book a shower suite in-person and will be provided with a queue paging device to get alerted when one is ready.

Food & Drinks

The buffet area offers a variety of hot food and snacks but quality looks average. Great that we filled ourselves up at AMEX Centurion Lounge beforehand!

Top complimentary amenities at Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles LAX

• WiFi
• Drinks (incl. alcoholic)
• Hot food
• Showers
• Computers

My ratings

Best Cards in Singapore for Free Airport Lounge Access

Additional notes:

• Priority Pass:
  • Citi Prestige: Unlimited visits, +1 guest
  • Citi PremierMiles: 2 visits per calendar year
  • DBS Altitude: 2 visits per card membership year
  • Standard Chartered Journey: 2 visits per card membership year
  • DBS Vantage: 10 visits per card membership year
• DragonPass:
  • HSBC TravelOne: 4 visits per calendar year

💡Click on the + Card Summary buttons below to read mini reviews of each card.

Citi Prestige

Unlimited free airport lounge visits for two, 4th night free on hotel bookings

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

Citi Prestige Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.3 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

Having many transfer partners and miles that do not expire gives you fantastic flexibility.

Cardholders are also entitled to unlimited free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) for the cardholder +1 guest and 4th Night Free on prepaid hotel bookings made through the Citi Prestige Concierge.

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💸 Annual fee
$545
(Strictly no waiver. Comes with 62,500 points, equivalent to 25,000 miles)

💼 Income requirement
$120,000/year
(Can’t meet the income requirement? Visit a Citibank branch to apply for a secured card with a $10,000 fixed deposit)

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

🛋️ Airport lounge access
Unlimited free visits per calendar year for 2 pax via Priority Pass

⏰ Points expiry
Points earned on this card never expires!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Base miles are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

HSBC TravelOne

Earn 1.2 mpd on local spend, 2.4 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

HSBC TravelOne Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.4 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Having many transfer partners gives you fantastic flexibility. For this reason, I recommend using this card over other General Spending cards with similar earn rates.

Cardholders are also entitled to 4 free airport lounge visits (via DragonPass) per calendar year! For example, if you apply for the card in March 2023, you will get 4 free visits for the current year, plus 4 more free visits from 1 January the following year.

Cardholders also get complimentary access to the ENTERTAINER with HSBC app, where there are over a thousand 1-for-1 deals on dining, entertainment and hotels.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(Get 25k points (10k miles) when you pay the annual fee from the 2nd year onwards. Get first-year waiver, if you don’t want the sign-up bonus.)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
3 years from transaction
(37 to 38 months to be exact)

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Infinity MileageLands, Executive Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
Free (till 31 jan 2025)

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other HSBC cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi PremierMiles

Earn 1.2 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

Citi PremierMiles Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

---

✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Having many transfer partners and miles that do not expire gives you fantastic flexibility. Because of these 2 key factors, I recommend using this card over other General Spending cards with similar earn rates.

Cardholders are also entitled to 2 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per calendar year! For example, if you apply for the card in March this year, you will get 2 free visits for the current year, plus 2 more free visits from 1 January the following year.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived, get 10,000 miles with subsequent annual fee payments)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

🛋️ Airport lounge access
2 free visits per calendar year via Priority Pass

⏰ Points expiry
Miles earned on this card do not expire!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
1 Citi mile = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
10,000 miles

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points/Miles pooling
Miles from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Base miles are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

DBS Altitude

Earn 1.3 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an earn rate of 1.3 miles per dollar on SGD spending, and 2.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency transactions.

Other great features include 2 free airport lounge visits per year (Visa version only) and that the miles/points earned on this card do not expire.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived, get 10,000 miles with subsequent annual fee payments)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
AMEX: 3%
Visa: 3.25%

🛋️ Airport lounge access
2 free visits per calendar year via Priority Pass

⏰ Points expiry
Points earned from this card do not expire!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer

💯 Transfer ratio
1 point = 2 miles

🧮 Transfer block
5,000 point (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$27 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other DBS cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted, while bonus points are credited around the middle of the following calendar month.

📜 Terms & conditions

Standard Chartered Journey

Earn 3 mpd on groceries and ride-hailing

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

Standard Chartered Journey Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
Cardholders can earn 3 miles per dollar on groceries, food deliveries and ride-hailing, up to $1,000 per statement month.

For other spending categories, this card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

Cardholders are also entitled to 2 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per card membership year.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.5%

⏰ Points expiry
Points earned on this card never expire!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer and Asia Miles

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲 Transfer fee
$27 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other Standard Chartered cards and transferred out together at once.

❓ When points are credited
Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

DBS Vantage

Earn 1.5 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

+ Card Summary

More information on the

DBS Vantage Visa Infinite Card

Suitesmile rating:

---

✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.5 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Like the entry-level DBS Altitude card, this card also gives you a fantastic 6 mpd earn rate on air tickets on selected airlines (e.g. Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Finnair and more) and hotels booked via the dedicated Expedia link, up to $5,000 per calendar month.

Cardholders receive Accor Plus Explorer membership, which comes with 1 complimentary hotel stay in Asia Pacific and up to 50% off dining in Accor properties.

Cardholders are also entitled to 10 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per card membership year!

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💸 Annual fee
$599.50
(Strictly no waiver. Comes with 12,500 points, equivalent to 25,000 miles)

💼 Income requirement
$120,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
3 years from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer

💯 Transfer ratio
1 point = 2 miles

🧮 Transfer block
5,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$27 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other DBS cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted, while bonus points are credited around the middle of the following calendar month.

📜 Terms & conditions

Bottom line

Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles LAX Airport is a good for a quick meal or shower. Depending on the weather, the outdoor terrace is great for large travelling groups to hang out in.