Originally Posted by
QtownDave
That would be worthy of a call to Amex.
As an update: I called and was told that the general Centurion policy is that Centurion holders are always allowed in, and Platinum holders are allowed in on a "space available" basis. However, the lounges are individually managed and the decision as to which cardholders will be allowed access on an individual day is at the discretion of management. Further, management is allowed to make that decision in advance of crowding if they anticipate a high-volume day. Finally, if a lounge is granting access to Platinum card holders on a given day, there is no fee ot the cardholder for access.
My takeaway: The Seattle lounge (which I'm aware has crowding issues) had proactively decided to restrict access on that day. Is this a regular occurrence? No idea. So, the staffmember was correct to deny me entrance. However, the staffmember was incorrect when they told me a that on other days, I can pay for access.
Bad luck on my end, I suppose, but no major policy change it sounds like. That said, it was pretty annoying as it was the least crowded I'd ever seen it. Oh, well... If this keeps happening, I might downgrade my card since the lounge access is the main benefit I use... and I get better Priority Pass from my CSR.