I had been to the old Seattle American Express Centurion lounge several times, but hadn’t been to the new expanded one since it opened two years ago. Located in the airport’s Central Terminal mezzanine above the food court, they went from having just 4,500 square feet to about 14,000 square feet – a legitimately large lounge.
Since I was on a 9 a.m. flight, and entering the lounge a little after 7 a.m. off of my connecting flight, there wasn’t a wait – just a short queue at the desk to check in. Still, the lounge itself was pretty packed inside with just a few available seats. And I’ve seen plenty of reports of 30-40 minute waits by other frequent flyers.
Decor in the lounge is engaging with plenty of natural light, making it feel more open than many of their other lounges.
It’s one of the better Centurion lounges overall, alongside Atlanta, New York JFK and Denver. What makes it a good lounge are its size (though it still gets crowded), windowline, as well as the coffee shop. There are multiple types of seating, with family rooms, communal tables, and phone booths. And you can see the mountains on clear days.
I was there during the breakfast hours, so didn’t check out the cocktails, beer, or wine. But it was the first Centurion lounge with a full service barista serving cold brew, espresso drinks, smoothies, and kombucha. Notably, though, like the Alaska Airlines lounge coffee bar in the terminal there is no whole milk. Excellent fruit, though.
Food is o.k. I guess. I don’t want to judge a lounge food program based on breakfast, though perhaps I should. It’s something easy to get lazy and cheap with, and doing well with breakfast makes you especially a stand out.
Access is available to American Express Platinum and Business Platinum cardmembers, Centurion cardmembers and Delta Reserve cardmembers with a same day Delta boarding pass.
Since February 2023, guests aren’t complimentary for Platinum customers unless they spend $75,000 on the card each year. Guests are $50 for adults and $30 for minors. This hasn’t solved the crowding issues, just as limiting access to 3 hours prior to departure (unless connecting) didn’t and eliminating paid access for other Amex cardmembers didn’t.
Nice review. Haven’t been since they expanded. The old one was tiny, so this is an improvement. Looking forward to the new DeltaOne lounge at SEA whenever it’s finally opened.
It’s already open
@VisitSEAWithD – it literally opened two years ago, as i note even in the title
@Gary Leff — I think @VisitSEAWithD may have been referring to the new DeltaOne at SEA, which I thought was scheduled to open this ‘summer,’ and just saw on Reddit as well that it may have officially opened on June 24, 2025. If so, that’s a big deal!
https://www.reddit.com/r/delta/comments/1ljts37/its_finally_here_sea_delta_one_lounge_is_open/
@VisitSEAWithD — Did you mean DeltaOne at SEA? If so, cool!
It gets crowded during cruise season, but otherwise is not too bad. I do not fly much now, but the prior two years I used it most weeks on Monday or Tuesday and usually did not have to wait or wait long on the occasions I did. I prefer it over any other lounge at SeaTac, but have not seen the new Delta One lounge.
I like the Amex lounge at SEA but like Gary, have only been there during breakfast hours. I like thar they have lots of fresh fruit for breakfast and the coffee bar is terrific. FYI, the coffee bar also has a few baked goods, which are usually very good.
I was never in the Amex mini-lounge on Concourse B so have no basis for comparison. Yes, this lounge can get crowded and sometimes the wait is long to get in. I think Amex has overcompensated with the waitlist, though. When I do finally get in, there are usually a lot of empty seats available.
SEA has seen a bigger increase of overall lounge space on a percentage basis than probably any airport and yet they are all doing well.
Given that Amex is targeting new and larger lounges heavily in DL hub cities, this also helps overcrowding in DL SkyClubs.
People are willing to spend for higher levels of service across the board which is good news for everyone.
@Tim Dunn “Given that Amex is targeting new and larger lounges heavily in DL hub cities, this also helps overcrowding in DL SkyClubs.”
That is not an accidentally, it was a requirement Delta pushed for.
I was there last year. It was crowded and the air inside was stuffy with a smell of human sweats. They should install addition AC and/or ventilation for the space.
The buffet counter was messy and empty tables let uncleaned for a long time. They should hire more cleaning staff. Fortunately, I have access to Delta lounge, which is a little bigger and better.
of course, Gary. It is part of DL’s strategy to deal w/ overcrowding in Sky Clubs even if comes at the cost of some of the $500 million/year that DL gets from Amex for non-DL branded Amex cards.
and it highlights how effective Amex is at in getting cards in the hands of people that want lounge access – which other card companies are trying to copy
@Tim Dunn — Did Delta officially open the new DeltaOne lounge at SEA in late June?
I’ve been there in the afternoon… I don’t even bother anymore. Last time I went round and round until an employee started making people take their bags off chairs and “assigned” me a spot crammed between two others at the bar. I set my plate of food down and walked out and went back to the Alaska Lounge.
Glad they are cutting down on bag-spreading.