San Diego Airport Lounges (SAN): All in Terminal 2 — and Terminal 1 Has None

That's the fact that matters, and almost every guide still gets it wrong because the airport is mid-rebuild.

What's actually open, and where

All in Terminal 2:

• Delta Sky Club — for Delta premium cabins, eligible Amex cards and Sky Club members. Delta is scheduled to move to Terminal 1 later in the rebuild, at which point this club is expected to close.
• United Club — on the second level, near the Delta club. Frequently overlooked in lounge roundups.
• Aspire Lounge / The Club SAN — the Priority Pass option, also used by several contract airlines.

Sources disagree on whether a Chase Sapphire Lounge operates at SAN. Some current listings place one in Terminal 2 near gates 46–47; others published in 2026 state flatly that SAN has no Chase Sapphire Lounge. We can't resolve that conflict from public sources, so treat it as unconfirmed and check the Chase app's lounge finder for your travel date rather than relying on any guide, including this one.

What SAN definitively does not have: an Amex Centurion Lounge and a Capital One Lounge. Neither exists here and neither has been announced. The nearest Capital One Lounges are at Las Vegas, Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth.

The Terminal 1 problem

The old Terminal 1 opened in 1967 and closed in September 2025. Phase 1A of its $3.8 billion replacement opened on 23 September 2025 with 19 gates. Three more gates were due in spring 2026, and the remaining eleven are scheduled for early 2028, bringing the new terminal to 30 gates.

None of those phases has delivered an open lounge yet.

An Escape Lounge is planned for the new Terminal 1 — a standalone facility of nearly 10,000 square feet with an outdoor terrace, showers, a kids' area and Priority Pass access. It has been documented in the airport's leasing paperwork but is not open.

An Alaska Lounge of around 13,000 square feet has also been announced, with 2027 mentioned as a target.

So the current picture is stark: the terminal serving most low-cost and leisure traffic at San Diego has no lounge at all, and won't for some time.

Which terminal is your flight?

This determines everything, so check it before you plan.

Terminal 1 carriers include Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country and Breeze, with Air Canada and WestJet joining. Delta is scheduled to move here in the later phase.

Terminal 2 carries Alaska, American, United, Delta (for now) and the international carriers.

The airline roster shifts as the rebuild progresses, so confirm on your booking. One tell that a guide is out of date: any source still listing Spirit Airlines at SAN is stale. Spirit ceased operations in May 2026. If a page hasn't caught that, don't trust its lounge information either.

Moving between terminals

You cannot walk between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 past security. A free Terminal Loop Shuttle runs for pedestrians on the landside, and vehicle traffic between terminals is following detour routes while demolition and construction continue.

Practically: if you're in Terminal 1 with lounge access that only works in Terminal 2, using it means exiting, shuttling across and re-clearing security. For most layovers that isn't worth it.

What to do if you're in Terminal 1

The new terminal has over 90,000 square feet of concession space with twelve food and beverage outlets and five retail stores, plus outdoor dining terraces and a lot of natural light. It's a genuinely pleasant building — it just isn't a lounge.

For a Terminal 1 departure with time to kill, pick a sit-down restaurant and a table near power rather than hunting for club access that doesn't exist.

Is the Priority Pass lounge worth it?

The Aspire Lounge in Terminal 2 is the only Priority Pass option, and San Diego has fewer card-accessible lounges than any other major California airport. Expectations should be set accordingly: it's a functional contract lounge, not a flagship.

If you have Priority Pass and you're departing Terminal 2 with 90 minutes or more, it's worth using. If you're in Terminal 1, it's irrelevant. That's the whole calculation.