While United and American both have hubs at Chicago, Delta does not. But they’ve given a great reason to check out the Delta Sky Club ORD.

Access rules

The Delta Sky Club ORD is open during the following hours:

• 4:30AM to 8PM daily except for Saturday
• 4:30AM to 6PM on Saturday

You can access Delta Sky Clubs through a variety of methods:

• If you are a Delta elite, you can purchase a Delta Sky Club membership.
• Flying in the Delta One cabin or in international first/business class on SkyTeam carriers.
• Delta Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members can access if flying in international premium economy.
• SkyTeam Elite Plus members (earned from a program other than Delta) can access when in international economy.
• Having the right credit cards (the Delta Reserve or American Express Platinum). However, there are usage limits:
  • The Delta Reserve gives 15 day passes to access Delta Sky Clubs (unlimited annual access if you spend $75,000 in a calendar year).
  • The Amex Platinum gives 10 passes.
  • To access, you must be flying a Delta-operated or Delta-marketed flight (a Delta-marketed WestJet flight works too).

Getting access via credit cards

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

There are four main credit cards that will earn you access to Delta Sky Clubs:

• Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card (not sponsored)
• Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card (refer-a-friend link)
• Platinum Card by American Express (not sponsored)
• Business Platinum Card by American Express (not sponsored)

One small but nice thing is that you can just scan your boarding pass to gain access to the lounge rather than producing your card at entry. To do that, you’ll just need to do the following:

• Add one of these credit cards that give access to your Delta profile before your flight
• Include your Delta SkyMiles number on your ticket

Once you do that, you just need to scan your boarding pass at the machines to get access. If you need to invite one or two guests, that can also be handled via the machines. If you have a larger number of guests, you’ll need to chat with a customer service representative.

Guest passes from the Delta Reserve cards

Each version of the Delta Reserve card gives 4 guest passes annually.

One thing to note is if you are using your guest passes from your Delta Reserve cards to bring in others. With the recent changes to how access works, one thing that has mostly gone unnoticed is that guest passes also work for a 24-hour period. Guests are able to use Delta Sky Clubs at departure, during connections, and on arrival. You can do all three with a guest pass and only use 1 for the whole 24-hour travel period. Just let the agents know that you already redeemed the passes earlier so that new ones aren’t used.

Food and Beverages

Delta Sky Clubs are best compared to American Admirals Clubs and United Clubs, as they are all membership-based lounges and not based on the cabin flown. On average, I find Delta Sky Clubs to have better food options than the others and this location just adds to the sentiment.

Buffet

Let’s jump right into the food. Once you enter the lounge, you’ll find the buffet right around the corner. I was here in the morning for breakfast. Hopefully on a future visit, I will document the food available in the afternoon.

There are two rows full of options for you. The first row contains plenty of baked goods and pastries, along with some fresh fruit.

The second row has salad, yogurt, and several hot items. Unlike the LAX Sky Club, there didn’t seem to be a chef cooking on a griddle.

There are four hot items to choose from. I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to take photos of the items as they were in the middle of being refreshed and I didn’t have much time in the lounge. However, the options were:

• Hash brown potatoes
• Broccoli and cheddar quiche
• Pork sausages
• Beyond breakfast sausage

If you’ve been to other Delta lounges for breakfast, it’s similar to what you would find there for hot items.

Drinks

You’ll have several options for drinks. The first is the typical soda fountain with Coke products.

There’s also a section with juice, iced tea, lemonade, and a coffee machine.

Lastly, you’ll find a beautiful bar near the buffet. It wasn’t staffed when I was here in the morning, but one thing I especially like about the bars in Delta Sky Clubs is the expanded options available. The last time I was at a United or American lounge, there were no more than two options for beer. However, I find that Delta lounges have several for free, which might include a local option.

If you want to spend SkyMiles on premium drinks, you’ll get 1.5 cents/point on the redemption, which isn’t terrible. Otherwise, the cash price for premium options tends to be reasonable. But I find it’s easy to stick to the free options.

Extra section in the back

I’d be remiss to point out that there is a small section in the back that has some fruit and more drinks.

There’s also a small bar in the back, which is just as beautiful as the bar in the front. Perhaps because of the timing of my visit (before 7:30AM on a Sunday), there was absolutely no one in this back section of the lounge.

Seating

This is a large lounge, which is a little surprising given Chicago isn’t a hub for Delta. The hope is that all the seating here will help make the lounge not feel all too crowded. Quite a few seats here give a great view of the apron outside.

As is the trend with many of the Delta lounge refreshes, the Delta Sky Club ORD also has individual pods if you need quiet space to take a call.

If a giant TV is more of your thing, you’ll find it in the back section of the lounge by the drinks.

I ended up spending my short time in the lounge near the bar. Not because it was open but more because I liked sitting in the corner with all the natural lighting.

Amenities

I’m going to have to take a look at the showers during my next visit to the lounge, but the Delta Sky Club ORD has these self-help machines. These machines are where you can join the waitlist to get a shower. Now that Delta announced nonstop flights between LAX and ORD, maybe I’ll be here more often to give it a try.

I think it’s awesome that Delta has made an effort to give loyal customers a reason to fly them in Chicago. There’s a decent change you’ll end up connecting if you’re traveling, and it’s fun when airlines build a great lounge in essentially what can be considered hostile territory. The Delta Sky Club ORD is worth a visit.

Have you been to the ORD Delta lounge?

Suggested reading:

• WOW: Delta One Lounge LAX is Incredible
• Review: Domestic Delta A350 First Class LAX-ATL
• How to Take Advantage of SkyTeam Lounge Access Updates
• Why I Always Check a Bag with Delta
• Making Memories on the Plane with Delta Trading Cards