

The $30 fee per child makes sense as a disincentive to have children in the lounge (which will surely be a positive change for those who prefer a childless lounge), but it obviously makes lounge access a poor deal for those who frequently travel with their kids. To be a fly on the wall the first thousand times a cardholders shows up at the lounge with a colleague only to be told that it’ll cost $50 to get them in. The new guest policy stinks and if it is applied to Escape lounges as well (since they are re-branding under the “Centurion partner” flag), that will indeed be bad news. This change makes sense if there had been inconsistency with these lounges as I imagine the majority of Amex cardholders with access are accustomed to the US Centurion lounge experience. Note that the Hong Kong lounge is already said to be on par with US Centurion lounges (I passed it by when I was at Hong Kong airport in late 2019 and later regretted not checking it out for comparison). Business Platinum and Delta Reserve cards are now charged a 50 fee for each guest (or 30 for children ages two through 17) or a comparable. International lounges in Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Sydney, Mumbai, Delhi, São Paulo, Mexico City and Monterrey will be improved to offer food, drink, and service more comparable to the US Centurion lounges. Escape lounges tend to be a nice step above the average airport lounge (and certainly better than most domestic airline lounges). Business Platinum Card Members will be charged a 50 USD fee for each guest (or 30 USD for children aged 2 through 17) or rate comparable in the currency of the country where the lounge is located (not to exceed 50 USD). That’s a nice deal for Reserve cardholders as Escape lounges tend to be pretty nice. Platinum cardholders still get access to both Centurion and Escape lounges, but now Delta Reserve cardholders also get access to Escape lounges.

Additionally, there are improvements coming to international Centurion lounges and Escape lounges are rebranding as “Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner”.
#Cheapest centurion lounge access free#
The biggest change is that guests will no longer be free as of 2/1/23 cardholders will pay $50 per adult guest or $30 per child age 2-17. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.Many have reported that American Express is making some changes to its lounge network. Plus, expansions are also underway in Seattle (SEA).Īdditional reporting by Joseph Hostetler and Ryan Smith.įor rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here. New locations are planned for Washington National (DCA), Newark Liberty (EWR), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) airports. The new Centurion Lounge guesting policy comes as Amex is working hard to expand and renovate its existing network of outposts.

You can avoid this charge by spending $75,000 on your Amex Platinum or Amex Business Platinum Card each calendar year or adding authorized users to your card.

Related: Is the Amex Platinum worth the annual fee? Bottom lineĪmex now charges $50 for adult guests and $30 for children aged 2-17 to access its Centurion lounges. Centurion Lounges are some of the nicest and most desirable. Authorized users on the Business Platinum cost a whopping $350 per year each (see rates and fees).Ĭhildren younger than 13 can’t be added as authorized users, so this is a noticeable devaluation for families who must shell out $30 to bring each kid into the lounges - some of which have dedicated family rooms. With the Amex Platinum Card, card members are allowed to access any of American Express’s own network of Centurion Lounges. You can add up to three Platinum authorized user cards to your primary personal Platinum account for a total fee of $175 per year (see rates and fees). ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY A handy workaroundįor those who can’t or won’t spend $75,000 per year on their Platinum card, a potential solution is adding authorized users to your Platinum card.Īuthorized users aren't subject to the $50-per-visit guest fee. The rules at all centurion lounges note that you can bring at least one guest especially with a platinum card in hand.
