Starting this July, American Express is tweaking its policy regarding Centurion Lounge entry in an effort to maintain an exclusive — and perhaps, less crowded — feel for guests. The new policy primarily involves who counts as a guest, as well as how early you’re allowed to enter when you have a layover flight. Here are the details.
What We Know About the Lounge Rule Changes
The first major policy change has to do with who is allowed to enter Centurion Lounges. Previously, cardholders were allowed to bring in any two guests, regardless of whether they were traveling on the same flight as the primary cardholder. That is changing. Moving forward, your guests will indeed have to share your flight itinerary in order to join you in the lounge.
The second rule change involves when you’ll be able to visit a lounge. You will still be able to enter the lounge up to three hours before your first flight — that’s not changing. However, cardholders will only be able to access the lounges during layovers up to five hours before the next flight’s departure.
As for the where? The new rules will affect all U.S.-based Centurion Lounges as well as the following locations:
— London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR)
— Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND)
— Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
— Sydney Airport (SYD)
— Melbourne International Airport (MEL)
Which Cardholders Will Be Impacted?
Cardholders who have Centurion Lounge access will be subject to the new rules once they go into effect. The cards that come with lounge access include:
— American Express Platinum Card®
— The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
— The American Express Corporate Platinum Card®
— Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
— Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
[Read: Travel Credit Cards]
Are the AmEx Centurion Lounge Access Changes a Big Deal?
The AmEx Centurion Lounge rule changes aren’t likely to have any broad impact for cardholders since they are situational. For example, if you happen to be someone who routinely travels with coworkers who may be on a different flight than you going home, then yes, this new rule could be a bummer. Or, if you just booked a flight with a seven-hour layover, you’ll have to find a way to kill the first two hours of your wait before you can enter the lounge.
Overall, the updates lean more toward a fine print tweak that most won’t even notice rather than a game-changing revamp that might have cardholders rethinking their membership.
Alternative Card to Consider
If you’re interested in airport lounge access without a high annual fee, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a less expensive luxury travel card to consider. It has an annual fee of $395, and cardholders get entry into exclusive Capital One Lounge locations as well as a Priority Pass membership. The card also earns 2 miles per dollar spent across all purchases. If you use Capital One Travel to book trips, you’ll earn 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars, and 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation packages.
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New AmEx Centurion Lounge Rules to Take Flight originally appeared on usnews.com