Amex to open three new Centurion lounges in 2020, begin reopening of current lounges

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Cardholders of The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express receive exclusive complimentary access to Centurion Lounges worldwide. They’ve got all the main staples of an airport lounge, such as free Wi-Fi, plenty of outlets, and comfy seats. But Amex Centurion Lounges are extra fancy; you’ll find hot buffet-style meals, premium alcohol, spas, and even showers. One lounge actually offers a wine tasting experience. They’re some of the absolute best airport lounges in existence.

If you’ve traveled anywhere during this coronavirus nightmare, you may have noticed airport lounges were one of the many casualties of the recommended safety measures. Most lounges ceased operations — and those that lingered have offered a wildly inferior experience with limited food and drink options.

As lounges have slowly unbolted their doors, the top-notch Centurion Lounges remained closed. But Amex has released some fantastic news: They’re reopening Centurion lounges in just a few weeks and they plan to open a handful of brand new lounges in the near future.

Amex Centurion Lounges reopening

American Express will reopen its lounges in phases, with Philadelphia and Seattle as the first to again welcome travelers on October 5, 2020. The schedule for individual lounge opening will depend on the state of health for each location. If COVID-19 is rampant in the area, Amex will of course wait to reopen.

So what does a reopening mean? As you’d expect, the experience will be…modified. Amex now touts its “Centurion Lounge Commitment,” promising to fulfill its obligation to keep travelers and workers safe from the pandemic. This means they’ll enable social distancing by lowering their capacity and rearranging seats. They’ll introduce hand sanitizer stations and mandate face coverings. And, of course, they will clean often. You’ll even be able to check into the lounge by waving a QR code at the front desk.

Additionally, the hot buffets will become pre-packaged plates delivered to your table. We don’t yet know what that means exactly, or if the quality of food will suffer. We do know that some of the alcohol on offer will be limited. The bar will open, but the mixed drinks will not be as plenteous. Showers will remain closed and spa services will be limited to non-practitioner treatments, including Theragun massages and digital meditations.

New Amex Centurion Lounges opening

American Express Centurion lounges aren’t nearly as ubiquitous as other lounge programs, like Priority Pass (though you also get Priority Pass membership with the Amex Platinum card). You’ll only find Centurion lounges in major hubs.(enrollment required). Here’s a list:

• Charlotte (CLT)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
• Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
• Las Vegas (LAS) (currently being renovated until 2021, the new space will be 50% larger)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• New York-La Guardia (LGA) (currently being renovated until 2021 and will move to a new location in Terminal B — it’s going to be double the size of the previous Centurion Lounge at LGA)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Phoenix (PHX)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)
• Hong Kong (HKG)

And by the end of 2020, American Express will open three more Centurion Lounges:

• Denver (DEN)
• New York (JFK)
• London Heathrow (LHR)

Again, this is great news for Amex Platinum cardholders. These lounges are a huge selling point for the cards (they can save you tons of money at the airport), but they’re only useful if you actually commute through any of the limited locations. Centurion Lounges will soon serve 15 large airports by the end of the year, catapulting their value for literally millions of travelers.

Bottom line

Even if you aren’t interested in airport lounges, the Amex Platinum credit cards are some of the best travel cards around. They come with hundreds of dollars in annual statement credits, high-tier travel benefits like hotel elite status, and ways to help you save on everyday spending through Amex Offers. Read our Amex Platinum review and our Amex Business Platinum review to quickly learn how to save thousands with these cards.

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