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Many have reported that American Express is making some changes to its lounge network. 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. Additionally, there are improvements coming to international Centurion lounges and Escape lounges are rebranding as “Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner”. Platinum cardholders still get access to both Centurion and Escape lounges, but now Delta Reserve cardholders also get access to Escape lounges. That’s a nice deal for Reserve cardholders as Escape lounges tend to be pretty nice.
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. 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). 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.
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. 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 $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. A cardholder traveling with a spouse and two kids would need to pay $110 to get into the Centurion lounge, which certainly doesn’t make lounge access feel like a benefit in that situation.
For solo travelers, these announcements are a net win since they will likely mean less crowded lounges in most cases.
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If there was any question whether to cancel my platinum Amex before the renewal fee the answer is clear. Had layovers coming and going at Phoenix (which has a centurion and escape that share an entrance). Both times (Friday around 11am and Saturday evening at 6pm) both lounges had wait lists so couldn’t even use a lounge for either 2 hour layover. What’s the point of the benefits if you can’t use them?
2023 is a long way away. Light years even. Lets see how this evolves.Wonder why they announced it so early? It’s almost 20 months away, well beyond the 12-month cardmember year for anyone,
Centurion lounge access for me and spouse is the only reason I keep Platinum, certainly dumping it after new policy in place. Sadly all the Globalist, Platinum statuses because of this year’s generous offers also come to end in Feb 2023…
Laughable that all but three of the Escape lounges are shuttered due to COVID.
Same with Int’l CL
Even the CL Lounges have had limited hours since reopening due to COVID.
I have the DL Reserve, and was initially excited about this development, but now I’m not sure that it makes much difference from what is already in existence for DL Reserve cardholders (use Centurion Lounge when flying Delta), unless these T&C’s will be changing? Will the DL card will still require a DL boarding pass? And actually, even in some international markets where DL has flights, it still seems to not be allowed (HKG and LHR only?).
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card Members are only eligible to visit The Centurion® Lounge when flying on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight and eligible lounges only include all Centurion Lounges located in the United States, Hong Kong, and London.
They should allow cardholders to put their airline credit towards the lounges to be used for paying guest entry fees.
Good idea!
Why should you use one card benefit to pay for another advertised card benefit – especially on a card with a $695 AF.
I would be ok if it was for a 3rd guest or for a guest(s) at Delta club.
I think most people agree that not allowing guests for a $695 credit card is a dramatic and possibly deal-breaking change. I’m merely suggesting this as one solution if they are committed to the no guest policy.