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Cardholders of The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express now have to pay a fee to guest non-cardholders into Centurion Lounges. American Express' new Centurion Lounge guest access policy took effect on February 1, 2023 for U.S. cardmembers.
Despite American Express expanding existing Centurion Lounges, overcrowding remains an issue. So, Amex seems to be taking the next step in combatting overcrowding at Centurion Lounges by requiring Platinum cardmembers to pay to bring guests into lounges with them… or spend a lot on their card to avoid the fee.
- You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount - all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- Enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection, with over $500 of annual value if you visit Centurion Lounges and each of our partner lounges including Delta Sky Club® lounges when flying an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations) , select Lufthansa lounges when flying Lufthansa, Plaza Premium lounges and Escape Lounges, and enroll in Priority Pass Select. See terms.
- A Walmart+ membership can get you free shipping with no order minimum on eligible items shipped by Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive one statement credit for up to $12.95 (plus applicable taxes. Plus Ups not eligible) each month. Free Shipping excludes most Marketplace items, freight & certain location surcharges. Paramount+ Essential plan only, separate registration required.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card® Account. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
- $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. Receive up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for your CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the Platinum Card®.
- Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- Use Global Dining Access by Resy to access premium dining experiences. Receive Priority Notify and unlock insider access to some of the world's most sought-after restaurants with Global Dining Access by Resy. Download the Resy iOS app or log into Resy.com and add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile to take advantage of your special benefits and discover restaurants near you.
- $695 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
Amex Platinum Cardholders to Lose Complimentary Guest Access at Centurion Lounges
A revised version of the Centurion Lounge terms and conditions outlines how Centurion Lounge guest access changed. The terms and conditions were updated to show that American Express eliminated the Centurion Lounges guest access policy for Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Card cardmembers as of February 1, 2023.
Before this change, up to two guests could accompany Amex Platinum cardholders free of charge. However, this is no longer the case. Now, cardholders of U.S.-issued Amex Platinum need to pay $50 per guest to bring up to 2 guests with them into Centurion Lounges.
In short, if an individual does not have a Amex Platinum or Business Platinum Card card in their name, a fee will be charged to the Amex Platinum cardholder wishing to guest others into the lounge.
When this story originally broke, American Express removed the details about these changes from their website. However, AwardWallet confirmed with Amex that the Centurion Lounge guest-access policy would change as described above:
Beginning February 1, 2023, U.S. American Express Platinum and Business Platinum Card Members, and the Additional Platinum Card Members on their accounts, will receive complimentary lounge access for up to two guests if the total eligible annual spend on the account is $75,000 or more each calendar year (starting with the 2022 calendar year). If the annual spend threshold is not reached, Platinum Card Members will be charged a $50 fee for each guest they bring into Centurion Lounges. U.S. Additional Platinum Card Members will receive complimentary lounge access for up to two guests when annual spend at the account level reaches $75,000 or more in a calendar year.
New Amex Platinum Centurion Lounge Guest Access Policy
Here is the new Centurion Lounge guest access policy as of February 1, 2023:
- Up to two guests per Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Card cardholder (no change)
- Cardholders incur a $50 fee per guest that is not a Platinum cardholder (new)
- Authorized users do not incur a fee (no change)
- The $50 per-guest fee is can be avoided by qualifying for complementary guest access (for up to two guests). This applies when the primary cardholder spends $75,000 or more in a calendar year with their Platinum card. (new)
For many cardholders, this change may sound way worse than it actually is. If you think about who is typically guested into Centurion Lounges, it's often spouses, children, or close travel companions. In many cases, these guests may already have access themselves as an authorized user of the Amex Platinum.
However, if you are someone who does not travel with other Amex Platinum cardholders, this is a pretty big loss.
- Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 10/2024.
- Unlock over $2,000 in statement credits with business and travel benefits annually* on the Business Platinum Card. Terms apply. Learn more. *After meeting qualifying spend thresholds
- New! Enroll and get up to $150 in statement credits on U.S purchases directly with Dell Technologies on the Business Platinum Card and an additional $1,000 statement credit after you spend $5,000 or more on that same Card per calendar year.
- New! Enroll and get a $250 statement credit after you spend $600 or more on U.S. purchases directly with Adobe per calendar year on the Business Platinum Card.
- Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
- Make the Business Platinum Card® work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required.
- 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com
- 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on purchases at US construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- 1X points on other eligible purchases
- Use the Business Platinum Card® and get up to $209 back per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal).
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
Related: AwardWallet's Guide to Amex Centurion Lounges and Locations
Making Someone an Authorized User
One way to avoid having to pay to bring those traveling with you into Centurion Lounges is to make them an authorized user on your account. However, this does come at an added cost.
Currently, American Express Amex Platinum charges cardholders $195 for each additional Platinum Card for Authorized Users (Rates & Fees). If you haven't added a spouse, child over the age of 16, or other eligible travel companions as an authorized user, now may be the time to do so. Although you'll need to make sure they use the lounge enough to justify having them as an authorized user.
If you are concerned about how an authorized user might use their card, there are ways to manage the spending of authorized users. Primary cardholders can lock the cards of authorized users and set spending limits. Neither locking a card nor setting a spending limit will prevent the primary cardholder from bringing authorized users into Centurion Lounges as guests.
Other Ways to Access Lounges as an Amex Platinum Cardholder
One of the biggest selling points for Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Card cards is the ability to access Centurion Lounges while traveling. Centurion Lounges are among the best domestic lounges in the U.S. However, due to their popularity, access continues to become harder and harder to come by. Luckily, there are other ways to access lounges and clubs while traveling.
Priority Pass
Another fantastic benefit that comes with the Amex Platinum is Priority Pass. While American Express credit cards no longer receive complimentary access to Priority Pass restaurants and bars, Amex Platinum cardholders still receive complimentary access to over 1,300 lounges worldwide. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Delta Sky Club®
Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Card cardholders with a confirmed ticket on Delta Air Lines have access to Delta's network of SkyClubs. To clear up any confusion, Amex Platinum cardholders must be traveling on Delta Air Lines to access SkyClubs. I have personally used this benefit dozens of times. As long as you have your boarding pass on you, it's quite easy to access SkyClubs as an Amex Platinum cardholder.
The Bottom Line
This isn't great news for Amex Platinum cardholders. However, restricting access to Centurion Lounges appears to be done with the best of intentions. Despite already limiting who could access these lounges and even expanding the size of existing lounges, Centurion Lounges were still often subject to overcrowding.
Other than adding eligible travel companions as authorized users, the only way to avoid this new policy is to spend $75,000 or more with your Amex Platinum or Business Platinum Card in a calendar year.
What do you make of these changes? Do you plan on making any adjustments to your wallet as a result of this change?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
