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American Express to Adjust Centurion Lounge Access Policies
In a bid to reduce crowding at its popular airport lounge locations, American Express has announced two upcoming tweaks to its access rules.
About the Amex Centurion Lounge Updates:
This summer, Amex will be instituting some new rules at its Centurion Lounge locations.
First, there will soon be a time limit on when travelers with layovers can enter the lounge. Starting July 8, members will not be able to enter the lounge more than five hours before their connecting flight. Moreover, same-day round-trip flights are not considered connecting flights. Previously, card members on a layover were exempt from the entry time limit. Meanwhile, the regular “three-hours before departure” entry rule applies to non-connecting travelers.
In addition to this new rule, Amex is updating its guest eligibility rules. Also starting July 8, cardholders will only be able to bring a guest into the lounge if that guest is traveling on the same flight as them. Prior to this, there was no such restriction.
Note that these updates apply to Centurion locations in the United States, while international locations may retain their own rules and policies.
How to Access Centurion Lounges:
Entry into American Express Centurion Lounges is a key perk of The Platinum Card. Currently, primary cardholders can enjoy access for themselves, while those who spend at least $75,000 per year on the card can unlock access for up to two guests per visit. Alternatively, authorized Platinum users are also entitled to complimentary entry. Adding an authorized user comes at a cost of $195 per year.
Another Amex card that offers Centurion Lounge access is the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card. However, Reserve cardholders must be flying a Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight in order to be eligible for entry.
My Thoughts:
When I saw a headline on TPG about these changes, I feared for the worst. However, these are some very specific tweaks that I think make sense overall. In fact, I’m almost glad that they’ve now defined a time limit for layovers, as I’ve seen anecdotes of lounge employees denying entry to those with connections, citing the broader three-hour rule. So, having it stated that it’s five hours instead of three makes things clearer, rather than the connecting flight exception just being an easy-to-miss asterisk. Also, five hours is still quite fair, in my opinion.
As for the guest entry update, this would have impacted me a few years ago when I treated my brother to the lounge before he set off back to Phoenix, and I to Missouri. However, that was back before you needed to spend $75,000 on the card to even gain guest access. So, this update is moot for me now, but I might be annoyed if a similar situation were to pop up again.
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