Tag Archives for centurion lounge.
At the start of 2020 the Austin airport was on the verge of getting a new lounge accessible by American Express Platinum cardmembers. But a contracting dispute, the pandemic, and then American Airlines happened.
The Austin airport was supposed to be getting a new lounge accessible by American Express Platinum cardmembers. A contract was set to be awarded right before the pandemic. But the owners of Priority Pass disputed the award, wanting to build their own club. This stalled the process, the award was cancelled, and now the airport says they have no plans to try again.
When you build a nice airport lounge it’s going to be busier than you expect even after accounting for the knowledge that it’s going to be busier than you expect. People come to the airport earlier. They stay longer. They go out of their way to reach the lounge by changing terminals. Add in that the food and drink is actually pretty good in American Express Centurion lounges and they’ve become so busy nobody goes there anymore.
The Port Authority of New York New Jersey is scheduled to consider an agreement for an American Express Centurion lounge at Newark airport this Thursday.
Atlanta’s airport has selected American Express to build a new Centurion lounge over rival bids from Airport Dimensions (Collinson, which owns Priority Pass and The Club lounges) and Plaza Premium group. The Atlanta city council’s finance committee is expected to approve the 10 year lease with two 5 year renewal options today.
Currently American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders can bring two guests into a Centurion lounge.
Starting in 2023, only Centurion cardmembers as well as Platinum cardmembers who spend $75,000 per year or more on their card will continue to receive free guest access. Platinum cardmembers who do not spend that much on their card will have to pay $50 per guest.
American Express plans to open a new Centurion lounge at Washington National airport at the end of 2022. It will be at the southern end of the B concourse, and by the time it opens B, B/C and C will all be connected post-security through a combined checkpoint (“Project Journey”).
The lounge will be 11,500 square feet. The lounge will offer shower suites and “floor-to-ceiling windows will offer airfield views ”
A report suggests that American Express will be building out a new Centurion lounge at Washington’s National airport. It also notes significant planned expansion at both San Francisco and Seattle, which matches what I already know.
A couple of weeks ago I called on Centurion lounges to open or at least for American Express to speak to its plans for re-opening. They’ve now done so. American Express tells me that on October 5 they will re-open their Philadelphia and Seattle lounges “with more locations to follow.” They’ve also detailed plans for 5 new and expanded lounges.
The argument that food and beverage is key to the Centurion lounge experience, but is hindered by Covid precautions, is a cop out. Far from being another reason to keep lounges closed, fewer passengers makes it easier to deliver individual portions. Airlines and independent lounges are re-opening. American Express needs to speak to a timeline for bringing Centurion lounges back on line.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
