American Express Is Opening A Previously Unreported Lounge In Shanghai — But Not Where You’d Expect

American Express is opening a new lounge at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport that has not been publicly announced, with travelers spotting signage in the terminal. The location is especially notable because it appears to be at Hongqiao rather than Pudong, pointing to a strategy focused on premium short-haul business traffic in China rather than primarly international travelers – or Americans.

This looks to be Shanghai Hongqiao’s domestic terminal 2. There’s a billboard which reads “AMERICAN EXPRESS LOUNGE COMING SOON” and, in Chinese, “美国运通贵宾室 即将盛大启幕”. The American Express Centurion lounge network site lists Amsterdam and Newark as upcoming lounges, not yet Shanghai.

AMEX Lounge – Shanghai Hongqiao
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I’m actually not certain where this lounge is exactly. This appears to be domestic terminal 2 rather than international. Signage shows security screening, not immigration. And there was an airport tender for a lounge project on Hongqiao T2 South Pier last year for space between gates 67 and 68 there (1,023 square meters or about 11,000 square feet).

However, while my detective skills in Chinese are limited, it looks like that gate 67/68 lounge may become a China Southern lounge so it’s possible the American Express lounge will be elsewhere in the terminal. Since the billboard appears to be landside in the departures hall, rather than near the lounge itself, it’s not a clue to exact location.

It’s interesting to see this in Shanghai Hongqiao rather than Shanghai Pudong, and says a lot about American Express strategy. Obviously they take space where they can get it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did take space in Shanghai Pudong which is the much more international-focused airport. However,

• This is clear focused on the Chinese market, rather than Americans traveling to China. There’s far less of that business than there used to be.

• American Express wants to be where their cardmembers are and where the spend is. Mainland China has Amex-branded cards through local partnerships like ICBC, and Amex got a license to clear local currency transactions in mainland China in 2020. It’s Chinese joint venture works with more than 30 Chinese banks, third party payment providers and mobile wallet operators. Amex cards can now be linked to Alipay.

Shanghai Pudong operates over 540 daily international flights (including Hong Kong and Macao, which involve immigration).

Hongqiao has flights to Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taipei. But it’s also where you find major business shuttle markets. It’s a great lounge location for Amex to reach customers in the premium short haul business segment of the Chinese market.