Imagine paying almost $700 a year for a premium travel credit card to get into “exclusive” airport lounges … that feel anything but exclusive when you arrive, with lines of fellow cardholders out the door and virtually no space to sit once you make it inside.
That's the reality for all too many travelers trying to visit American Express Centurion Lounges today. Long regarded as the pinnacle of airport lounges in the U.S. and even abroad, Amex's flagship lounges have lost their luster in the post-pandemic travel boom while lounges from competing banks close the gap. And it's a problem of Amex's own making.
As American Express has lured in record numbers of new cardholders with *amex platinum card*, they've given more travelers a free pass into Centurion Lounges at many airports than they can possibly manage to squeeze inside. While new Amex lounges are bigger and even many old locations have been expanded, it's still not enough to handle the demand.
For years, Delta Sky Clubs were the poster child of overcrowded airport lounges. Now, that has shifted to American Express itself. And as banks like Capital One and Chase have gotten in on the action with next-level lounges, many Amex Centurion Lounges no longer measure up.
What went wrong – and what can be done to fix it? Let's take a look.
Read next: The Ultimate Guide to Amex Centurion Lounges
How We Got Here
After opening its first Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas (LAS) more than a decade ago, American Express quickly followed it up with another in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). Fast forward with stunning new locations open in Atlanta (ATL) and Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA), and the bank is up to 29 lounges in total … and even more are on the horizon.
But with every new lounge the bank announces or opens, the same joke always follows: “Is there a line outside yet?”
Building more lounges is great, but it doesn't solve the real problem. New or old, almost every Centurion Lounge in the country is overcrowded, leading to an experience inside that's a shadow of what it once was.
In some ways, American Express is a victim of its own success.
The company raised the bar on what an airport lounge could be: not just stuffy rooms with cheese cubes and crackers but comfortable spaces with great cocktails, hearty and delicious meals, and even some unexpected amenities like massage rooms or speakeasy bars. For years, we said there were Centurion Lounges … and everything else. They were simply that much better than the competition.
But the secret is out.
Let's be clear: While overcrowding has become unacceptably common, you won't find long lines at all hours of the day or each and every location. Visiting a Centurion Lounge can still be a pleasant experience at off-peak times … and some locations just fare better than others. A handful, however, are notorious for issues, like Centurion Lounges in Las Vegas, Dallas, and Denver (DEN).
Representatives from American Express did not respond to several requests for comment on this story. But the culprit behind overcrowding is clear: Even as its built more lounges and bigger spaces, American Express has opened the floodgates, letting too many travelers inside.
Once regarded as an exclusive space for business travelers, no company has made it easier to get into airport lounges than American Express. All you need is the right credit card: *amex platinum*.
With an annual fee now at $695 a year (see rates & fees), you might think the price tag scares travelers off. Just the opposite: Travel perks and especially eye-popping welcome bonus offers of up to 175,000 points have helped consumers look past the annual fee. For the past few years, American Express has bragged to investors about signing up record numbers of travelers for their premium cards.
“This quarter, we acquired 3.2 million new cards, with acquisitions of U.S. consumer Platinum card numbers again reaching a record high and increasing 20%, above last quarter’s record levels, demonstrating the great demand we’re seeing,” Amex's CEO, Steve Squeri, told investors in the summer of 2022.
That trend has only accelerated. Combined with a surge in social media influencers and (admittedly) sites like ours showcasing airport lounges and how to get in, premium travel and airport lounges have officially gone mainstream. And American Express has made it happen.
Plus, Amex has long positioned itself as a premium card issuer, catering to high-earners with more disposable income. That fact alone means that Amex cardholders are more likely to travel – and use a lounge – than those with cards issued from other banks.
And it's not just Amex's own marquee card that can get you into a Centurion Lounge. There's also a Delta problem.
Thanks to Amex's reciprocal access agreement with the Atlanta-based airline, anyone with a *delta reserve card* in their wallet can also get into the Centurion Lounges (so long as they're flying Delta that day). Add it all up, and there are a grand total of six different cards (business and personal) that will get you into Amex Lounges – far more than the competition at Chase and Capital One.
What's Been Done
As the bank has expanded its network of lounges – and the numbers of cardholders who can get in – crowding was inevitable. American Express has repeatedly tried to fix it with new policy restrictions.
They haven't moved the needle.
At first, the bank simply tinkered with ways to help. Way back in 2019, American Express stopped allowing access upon arrival and also restricts entry to three hours prior to departure. Neither change worked.
The supposed silver bullet to deal with lounge crowding was the elimination of free guest access. Rather than bringing two guests for free, as of early 2023, they now cost cardholders an additional $50 apiece – unless you're willing to spend at least $75,000 each year on your Platinum Card.
Spoiler alert: This still didn't fix the problem.
Neither did raising the cost of adding authorized users to the Platinum Card – who each get their own Centurion Lounge access – from $175 per year (total for three additional cardholders) to $195 each.
All the while, Amex has steadily increased the annual fee on the Platinum Card itself, making it more expensive to get in, period. What was once a $450-a-year card increased to $550, then again up to its current $695 price point. And they're not done yet: Amex has hinted that more card refreshes (and fee hikes) are on the way.
But those are all bandaids compared to the core issue: The growing number of cardholders who want to visit Centurion Lounges. Of course, the bank isn't likely to see that as a problem.
Where We're Headed
What's been done obviously isn't working. If you don't have to wait in line to get into a Centurion Lounge these days, it's practically a miracle. And once inside, you'll be lucky to find a seat … at least not one without dirty dishes stacked up next to it.
The point is that what initially set Centurion Lounges apart – great food and service in a relaxing environment – is no longer something you can count on.
But it can be done. You only have to look at one Amex's biggest competitors to see a way to thread the needle.
Capital One might have fewer locations (and far fewer cardholders with a *venture x*), yet its lounges in Dallas, Denver (DEN), and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) have grown equally popular. But compared to American Express, Capital One is putting on a masterclass on how to handle lounge crowding while maintaining a positive guest experience.
Unlike American Express, there's a bonafide mobile check-in option to reserve your spot in the lounge long before you walk up. But more importantly, Capital One is clearly managing capacity more tightly. Sure, that might result in a wait to get in the door … but that's well worth it for a better experience once you're inside. It all makes visiting a Capital One Lounge feel just as special as it did when the first one debuted in Dallas way back in 2021.
Amex might not be able copy that strategy to a T, but a true mobile check-in would be a great place to start. You can check on wait times in the Amex mobile app and generate a QR code to scan your way in. But being able to actually reserve your place in line while going through security should help reduce the number of people crowded outside the lounge and easily make it feel less busy.
The bank has already tried building its way out of this problem with expansions to several longstanding locations and the debut of its biggest lounge yet in Atlanta (ATL) – but in this case, maybe more is more. As new locations are added or existing lounges are expanded, the bank should focus on allocating more useable space for more guests. While shower suites and relaxation rooms are unique-and-appreciated amenities, they take up valuable square footage that could be used for more practical guest seating.
I hate to tempt fate, but another solution could be to limit access to a certain number of visits each year like Delta is planning to do with its popular Sky Clubs.
This would no doubt sting most for frequent business travelers who are in and out of airports every week – I can see the “Brutal” and “OUCH” headlines now. But for others, being limited to a dozen or so visits per year would likely be plenty.
By thinning the herd a bit, it might give customers who only get a chance to visit Centurion Lounges a few times a year a better shot at actually getting in and enjoying the space.
Finally, reducing the number of cards that can get in the door for free surely wouldn't hurt. Amex can't afford to upset Delta (and vice versa), but removing Centurion Lounge access from the list of benefits that come on the airline's top-tier *delta reserve card* (and its small business counterpart) would be a logical step. That could come with collateral damage: Platinum cardholders could lose Sky Club access altogether, for example.
Until Amex is ready to address the growing hoards of Platinum cardholders – and odds are, they're not going to – some sort of solution is needed to restore the once-vaunted Centurion Lounges to their former glory.
Bottom Line
American Express might have fired the first shot in the airport lounge wars, but the bank is increasingly falling behind.
They might have more lounge locations than any other bank, but it's become an issue of quantity over quality. With increasingly long lines to get in the door and scarce space inside, the Centurion Lounge experience is often unrecognizable compared to just a few years ago.
Without addressing the root of the problem – more and more cardholders looking to gain access – the bank needs to come up with a solution to deal with the overcrowding and poor service that regularly regularly plagues these lounges.
Sorry to say but I disagree. Never have an issue getting into the Centurion Lounge. Crowded at times yes, lines are always manageable, not annoying.
The easiest solution is found in the airlines…. To get free unlimited access you must spend 100k+ per year. Otherwise you get 4 a year. No exceptions.
It gets Amex more swipes, reduced the amount of people who can get unlimited to the actual target demographic and everyone else who barely travels had enough times.
Let me know when they introduce rhe tier between the platinum and centurion that will limit access once and for all. Until then I just cancelled the platinum card I had for 12 years.
And the crowds are also the reason for the three-hour admission limits (in reality, less than that unless you want to run for the plane) that make the lounges nearly useless when you really need them, like on a long layover. Annoying…
This is incredibly simple.
Instate a dress code.
If Delta Lounges restrict entry base on types of Fare, Amex Centurion should do the same on those that carries a DELTA AMEX Card, that would reduce a bit of traffic. Also I agree with increasing fees and making it harder to bring an entire family or kids in the lounges, that definitely adds to the overcrowding.
Here’s the real issue….Amex provides FREE cards to all active duty military. OK, all well and good. However, They don’t follow-up when people become inactive. I have met several people who laugh about this arrangement. They have not been active military for years and years, and yet American Express still provides them the Platinum card for free.
Therefore, there are thousands of people, not paying a penny for the Platinum card and they are filling up the Centurion lounges, and those of us that pay the $695 annual fee are eating the cost.
Nothing will change until American Express can get a handle on finding out who is active and inactive, and therefore clean up the roster of non revenue or free platinum cards.
Eliminate all the free cards in the AMEX Platinum Card network, these include the military cards. They don’t have to offer them for free, only while deployed. What little positive marketing they get is outweighed by the lower than average spending and additional stress on their network.
The overcrowded lounges are a joke. Flight schedules crowd the airport. So, going off peak is a ridiculous statement. Even the wait lines are bad. They could have a holding room lounge for waiting.
I honestly don’t feel the really care. They can show fancy pics and keep signing new members.
The real perk is for hotel bookings for me. 4pm check out is wonderful at times. The lounge is never something I count on. I don’t have their app. I do not want my account info on my phone.
So reserving should also be online. Tons of room to improve. It won’t. And many rude people greeting you. Especially the ones taking names for the wait list!!
The Platinum card used to be sort of exclusive, the lounges were a decent retreat from the airport masses, Just look at the pictures above, the guests of the lounge donning their fanciest t-shirts and baseball caps, looking more like attendees of a weekend outdoor festival than an AMEX lounge. They all stand at the meager buffets and swizzle cheap liquor from the bar like they are refugees who haven’t eaten or drank in weeks. For my $700 a year I’ll be dumping the card this year, I’ll pay to find a bar to hang out at between fights or stick to The Admirals Club.
Long time Platinum holder and this is all true and not improving anytime soon. My fee is due in November so I’ll cancel/not renew.
The issue is that military personnel are able to get the card with no annual fee. I don’t have a problem with that but they should be excluded from all benefits (lounge) because they are not paying for the card. I know people say it is our service members but what about teachers, doctors, etc. that have a much better impact on society.
I’ve had the card for over six years. It has been a constant stream of access devaluations. Exceptionally frustrating.
Additionally, it seems like all members have simply forgotten about the shameful way Amex handled the CL during Covid. And pretty much wiped their existence off the map. They just shut it down. While Delta kept a few Skyclubs open and worked very hard to accommodate all of the changes in the world.
I was and still am disappointed in how Amex handled the lounges.
Well. The congestion problem is indeed an issue. I don’t think anyone mentioned the key cost of it. I personally use lounge often and per my observations is that there are too many military personnel and families access the facility. Way too many. What I learned is that military personal can get amex plantium card for free. My take on of this is that amex should restrict non paid holder to access airport lounge. Otherwise the noise, crowd, food quality will continue deterrting.
I totally agree with you and they should stop giving their AU for free. I’ve been platinum card holder for 2 years. The only Centurion lounge that I used was in Hong Kong one, other Centurion lounges in US always packed. It’s not fare people pay their annual fee who can’t use the lounges.
As some who retired after 29 years of military service and got his Platinum card while on active duty, I agree with those who have pointed a finger at military members. It is a WELL known benefit.
It’s not Amex’s fault – it’s a loophole in the Military Lending Act. The intent of the law was noble but I don’t think lawmakers envisioned service members packing their wallets with high end credit cards. It’s meant to provide more affordable access to credit, but no one is going to win an election pledging to overturn this so we are probably stuck with it.
I would be curious if Amex and other issuers could issue the card with no fee but also limit services and benefits. “We are extending the credit and we are honored to help our service members, but we are not obligated to do it at a loss by providing free airline fee reimbursements and lounge access.”
Side note – for anyone saying “he got his benefit and now he’s complaining about others,” I’ve been saying this for years. We preach financial responsibility and many people, especially our young members, are not responsible enough to handle credit cards. Encouraging them to sign up is irresponsible.
This has never made sense to me. I guarantee you Amex is taking a bath on this and they are not any happier than the rest of us.
New Atlanta Centurion lounge has minimal vegan options. Eggs in everything! Sad.
Yet you continue to promote the Amex cards which adds to the problem. Add yourself and other bloggers to the cause.
We just avoid Amex Centurion, especially at DFW, always crowded and last time was quite filthy. Hours were short and amenities were a jumbled mess, food was lackluster. Admirals Club or anything else from Priority Pass is our choice.
All great points made by those in the comments section. I personally don’t do lines, I find a restaurant at the airport and just pay. The food and drinks are way better and I’m guaranteed a place it’s sit. Amex has to do a better job with these lounges that represent their brand.
I saw a couple of people in Miami this Monday holding their plate and eating while standing up. No place to sit, even at the bar. Thankfully the MIA centurion has an area facing away from the apron that most guests overlook, so it’s quiet with plenty of seating.
They need to eliminate access to authorized user cards, period. No way $195 a year is going to deter people from access, when you have to spend $40 at the terminal for lesser quality food and drinks.
Reduce the terminal prices, and you would definitely get people to stay outside. 10 bucks for water, 20 for a burger, makes you do the math and figure out that a 20 min wait isn’t so bad.
The wine selection is awful. For the amount of money these lounges are generating, they could have a lot better wine. A really cheap prosecco and $8-$12 chardonnay is below what you would expect. At least offer a sparkling wine from the traditional method.
As with Sky Clubs, I think the overcrowding situation would be solved in part if they offered carry-out food.
Whisper whisper…from the agents working the lounge front desk…”It’s the Military members with free cards..”
Nobody wants to say it or address it. You don’t want to be unpatriotic etc…however maybe it’s time to address the issue. Maybe Amex should sponsor better USO lounges?
(Shrug)
It’s this. ☝️
Amex needs to stop waiving the annual fee for active military.
I’m not sure that hordes of people not being able to enter your lounge is really a viable strategy for American Express. That’s just Delta. While – like every other human – I prefer an uncrowded lounge I think Amex does a pretty good job of balancing crowding and moving people quickly. Frankly, the lounge access is the primary reason I hang on to my business platinum card with an employee as an AU.
Once you introduce exclusivity to the masses, it no longer becomes exclusive. The other challenge Amex has is that since the masses can enter, they introduce those who are, let’s just say, not as desirable, to get into the space. In other words, torn shorts and t-shirts, sprawling all over the lounge, feet on tables, pilling their plates to the brim, kids running around, etc, Esssentially, it is just another area of the general airport. I have the Amex Plat card but I generally find a quiet empty gate area to get to work done and peace and quiet.
They could do a lottery like they do at the Augusta National for Master’s tickets (new lottery each year though), and really upset folks.
Why not offer 12 visits per year with a price or incentive for more. Then people can decide how to visit. They could allow you to bring guests with these passes and once they are gone, you need to wait until you pass Go (annual fee).
Look no further than “travel influencers” as to why lounge experiences (not just centurion) is a shadow of what it was like 10 years ago
Absolutely agree with the analysis. Amex Should discontinue the predatory signing bonuses until it comes up with sufficient capacity to reasonably accomodate existing members.
By far, the biggest issue I’ve seen is families. The lounges have become madhouses with children running around, spilling drinks and knocking plates off tables, along with the ridiculous amount of noise they bring. People don’t know how to act, nor are they raising their kids properly. ATL has a similar problem, though not so much the kids as just the general clientele.
Lounges should be quiet, not as noisy as the terminal. Easy fixes to the lounge issue would be no guests if you spend less than $75k, or, make the guest fee $100 with no discount for children. The card itself has little value outside the lounges. The Saks credit is worth very little, the travel credits are mediocre outside the $200 flight credit, and while the streaming credit and UberEats credit is cute, it adds no net value. I pay $695/year so I can have a less stressful travel experience in a world of increasingly frequent delays and cancellations. AmEx’s failure to maintain the quality of the customer experience is evident and in immediate need of correction, or I’ll quickly drop the card, as will many others.
Couldn’t agree more 👍
While I don’t disagree with overcrowding points being made in the article , AMEX solution of requiring a spouse , with the same last name, living in the same household, at the same address as the main account holder , and using a single Platinum account for all expenses , to have a separate platinum account for $195/yr to get into the centurion lounge with their main account holder husband/wife as the case may be , is totally ridiculous and pure abuse of loyal platinum members .
This article operates as a summary of already known information, rather than anything enlightening. The Centurion Lounge experience continues to be frustrating as it no longer is a peaceful haven for long-time Amex customers who travel often. They need to look at things like branded cards (e.g., Delta) and free Platium cards for military and the like.
And it will only get worse next year when the visit limit at Sky Clubs kicks in. DL fliers will opt for the Centurion lounge instead.
I just got back from Las Vegas and the wait time to get in was over 20 minutes and then it was packed inside.
I feel privileged that I managed to get into Las Vegas Centurion lounge without a queue; we even had choice of window seats.
I was a little underwhelmed by the bar and food offerings in comparison to the lounges offered by Qatar, Emirates and BA.
The lounge looked tired and a little dated.
We left after a couple of hours just as it was starting to get busy, but still no queue.
Upon leaving we were notified of a half an hour delay to our flight and as wr wdre a bit early anyway, we went into the Terminal A (if memory serves correctly) lounge on priority pass to the news of an assassination attempt on Trump and a lounge that resembled a hospital waiting room.
Grim was the only word to describe the place and it made me realise the Amex lounge wasn’t so bad after all.
Is that the standard of lounges in the US or is this isolated to Las Vegas?
I had thought I had been in some pretty poor lounges in the past in some smaller countries but this has to be the worst.
We did manage to get into a refreshed Centurion Lounge in Australia last year. Our travel companions went to the Admirals Lounge. They texted us their great view of the runways and buildings behind it and we texted them a view of the concrete wall we had. Next time we’ll go to the Admirals Lounge.