Luxury Card Opens Manhattan Lounge for Cardholders

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Luxury Card expanded its portfolio at the beginning of 2016, offering the Mastercard Titanium, Mastercard Black and Mastercard Gold Card. I was lucky enough to be approved for the Mastercard Gold Card and have the $995 annual fee waived as part of Barclaycard's benefits for active duty military (which have recently been cut).

On December 1, Luxury Card opened its first city lounge in New York. During my recent trip to Manhattan for The Points Guy's holiday soirée, I stopped by the new space to see what it offered.

Located at 645 Madison Avenue, the lounge is a single room with a rather grand façade proudly announcing the Luxury Card brand. I entered and was met by two agents who asked for my Luxury Card and ZIP code.

The lounge offers a sitting area with large TV stocked with movies and a two-computer work station with printing capabilities. There's also a display case with recent Luxury Card gifts sent to cardholders (I've received a gold plated Cross pen with my name engraved), and the two aforementioned agents seemed happy to help with any concierge-type requests.

Behind a faux-wood wall that acts as the back wall of the lounge, you'll find a restroom (a true luxury to be able to access in Manhattan) and a small kitchen area which offers guests Nespresso, coffee, tea, sodas and water. A couple of surfboards lean against the walls, and a window display made of hundreds of Titanium, Black and Gold cards connected together round out the decor.

The agents working said Luxury Card had a few more lounges planned in international cities for 2017, followed by two more lounges here in the States in yet-to-be determined cities. I asked about the guest policy and was told I could bring multiple guests in to the lounge. Also, as long as I originally brought someone in, they could relax in the lounge as long as necessary if I had errands to run or a quick meeting to attend.

This setup in the middle of the city is definitely a curious idea, especially compared to an airport lounge. People often need a place to kill some time before departure or in case of flight delays, as well as to avoid the crowded gate area. But I can't see too many reasons to go out of my way to stop by Madison Ave and utilize this Luxury Card lounge. That said, if I happened to be in the area and needed a quick breather, restroom break or a bottle of water, I might utilize the space.

The lounge seems to be more of a marketing ploy for the Luxury Card portfolio rather than a space intended for cardholders to routinely visit. However, the staff was extremely pleasant and humored this curious visitor. If I'm in the neighborhood again I'll probably stop by, or at least drop my wife off for a little bit.

Have you stopped by this lounge? Share your impressions in the comments below!