RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 5 – Morning in New York

By Nige on January 22, 2026 at 1:39 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: JFK | New York

In my many walks around airports on this trip, I found that they were in a constant state of change; always being refurbished and/or extended. That was very true of New York JFK.

The lower and upper concourses were having new stores and restaurants being added – some looked very plush. They were clearly trying to keep JFK at the top end of airports to transit through.

For my 6 hour layover, I could have rushed into Manhattan and taken in some sights, but that would tire me out and I’d just be under pressure to get back in time for my next flight. So I decided to just chill at the airport.

From Gate 39, it didn’t take me very long to reach the T8 Lounge complex, where I asked whether I was allowed into the Chelsea Lounge. Based on the most recent info I had, I suspected that although I was GGL, I would only have been allowed in the Chelsea Lounge if I was on a First Class ticket, or on a transatlantic/transcontinental flight (e.g. JFK-LAX or JFK-SFO). I was on a lowly flight to Dallas DFW.

However, none of that really mattered! The Lounge Agents were so taken with my shiny new CCR card and how odd it looked, that they were more than happy to allow me into the Chelsea Lounge.

The Chelsea Lounge was empty; so too was the Soho Lounge. I dumped my stuff in a corner of the Chelsea Lounge and headed out to Starbucks. It was that time of the day. It was also the first time that I had been able to use the mobile order capability on the Starbucks USA app!

After catching up with the Vickster, I enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the lounge. Being the only passenger around, I think I was spoilt a little bit, but I was more than happy to accept.

After breakfast and catching up with the blog, it was time to take advantage of the nice shower facilities available in the lounge complex. Much nicer than the BA showers back at Heathrow, although not as nice as some of the Asian/Middle Eastern airport facilities.

A shower is a shower after all! The important outcome is that I felt clean and fresh afterwards and ready for a walk around the terminal to get my steps in for the day.

Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026