Roundup
Mastercard's first Asian airport lounge is open in Hong Kong, and from October most cardholders pay $85
Taste by Priceless opened near gate 40 at HKG on August 5. Only World Legend cards get in free; World Elite and World Mastercard holders now pay US$85 a head, which puts it up against some strong free alternatives.
By Lounge Frog Editorial ·
Details checked as recently as September 2026.
At a glance
- lounges
- 6
- airport
- 1
Kyra Lounge / Taste by Priceless (Gate 40)
HKG · Terminal 1 · Hong Kong
3.7/5 overallThe Level 7 space near gate 40 that now houses Taste by Priceless, Mastercard's chef-led dining club. Opened August 5, 2026.
Dining and relaxation areas, work booths and a staffed bar; last entry is 23:30.
Get in with: Priority Pass
The Centurion Lounge
HKG · Terminal 1 · Hong Kong
4.7/5 overallAmex Platinum's answer, with craft cocktails and four showers. Not available to Mastercard holders, which is rather the point.
Opened 2017. Rated 4.7/5 across 13 measures. 4 showers. U.S. personal/business Platinum: HKD 380 per adult guest, HKD 230 ages 2–17; under 2 free.
Get in with: Centurion Lounge
Kyra Lounge (Gate 23)
HKG · Terminal 1 · Hong Kong
3.8/5 overallThe surviving Kyra Lounge, still on Priority Pass, with a proper bar and cocktails but no showers.
A separate location from the Kyra lounge near Gate 40.
Get in with: LoungeKey, Priority Pass
News and analysis · Sources checked October 6, 2026.
Mastercard opened Taste by Priceless at Hong Kong International on August 5, 2026, its first airport venue in Asia and the second in its dining-club series after São Paulo. It is on Level 7 of Terminal 1, up the escalator before gate 40, in the space that used to be the second Kyra Lounge, according to InsideFlyer. Hours are 06:00 to midnight daily.
This is not a buffet lounge. Business Traveller describes two rooms: The Counter, a small tasting-menu space, and The Cove, which serves tapas-style plates and cocktails with apron views. Dishes reported so far include tsukune skewers and beef short rib. You need a physical Mastercard, a same-day boarding pass, and you can only arrive within three hours of departure.
Who gets in, and what it costs
The launch pricing was a flat US$70 walk-in rate through September 30. From October 1 the tiered structure kicks in, per Business Traveller:
- World Legend: free and unlimited, plus three guests.
- World Elite: US$85 (HK$700) per person, plus one guest at the same rate.
- World Mastercard: US$85 per person.
- Other cardholders and extra guests: US$100 per person.
World Legend is the new top tier Mastercard introduced in 2026. Upgraded Points lists the US cards that currently carry it: Citi Strata Elite, the Bilt Palladium card, and the Citi / AAdvantage Globe and Executive cards. If your Mastercard is World Elite, which covers most premium US Mastercards, you are paying.
Priority Pass gets a mention too. Business Traveller says a Priority Pass membership linked to an eligible Mastercard can be presented instead of the physical card. Read that carefully: it is an identification route, not a free visit. The old Kyra Lounge at this address accepted Priority Pass; the new tenant does not, at least not for free.
How it compares at HKG
Hong Kong is unusually well served, and almost all of it is free to the right card. The Plaza Premium Lounge near gate 35 is the highest-rated lounge at the airport on our scale, with a full bar and four showers, and it admits Priority Pass, DragonPass and LoungeKey. Its gate 60 and gate 1 siblings are nearly as good. Amex Platinum holders have the Centurion Lounge. The remaining Kyra Lounge near gate 23 is still on Priority Pass and has a decent bar.
Taste by Priceless has no showers, which matters at an airport where most of the competition does. What it has is cooked-to-order food, a proper cocktail list and, for now, very few people in it.
Our take
Mastercard has built a restaurant with a door policy, not a lounge, and it should be judged that way. At US$85, a World Elite cardholder is paying restaurant money for a tasting menu and a seat with a view. That is a fair trade if you were going to eat a proper meal at the airport anyway and have three hours to spare. It is a poor trade if what you wanted was a shower and a quiet chair before a long-haul, because a free Plaza Premium room a few gates away does that better.
The real audience is the handful of World Legend holders, for whom this is an excellent free perk with generous guesting. For everyone else, the honest comparison is with the airport's restaurants, not its lounges, and Mastercard has priced it accordingly.
Related lounge guides
Quick answers
Which lounge networks get you into these lounges?
Priority Pass opens 5 of the 6; LoungeKey opens 4 of the 6; DragonPass opens 3 of the 6. Each lounge's page lists every program and card that admits you.
Written and checked to our editorial standards. Scores follow our methodology. Join the discussion below.
