Originally Posted by
RedSun
TPG just stated exactly what I stated above.
Dear Amex, please don't charge little kids $50 for lounge access (thepointsguy.com)
Children are old enough to be authorized users on a Platinum or other American Express card starting on their 13th birthday. Assuming there are no impending changes with authorized users being able to access the Centurion Lounges (please, don’t change that), perhaps a natural age cut-off for continued complimentary access could be for children 12 and under. This would allow families to add children 13 and up as paid authorized users who would then have access, and those with kids 12 and under could continue to access the lounge as before.
Another idea would be to build in a certain number of included guest visits per year — maybe somewhere between six and ten annual guest visits sounds about right. This would allow Platinum cardholders to treat their family once or twice a year or introduce friends to the lounge. Who knows — they would then want a card of their own.
In a civilized society, a lot places, including mass transportation, museum and many other places, give free or discounted access to young and old people.
Mass transit and museums are all non-profit, I'm not sure how you can compare trains and museums to private airline lounges. Should kids fly for free or heavily discounted?
EDIT: TPG is in the business of referrals, that's how they make money. Of course they're against the change, that means less of a selling point for people who are on the fence about the Amex Platinum and less referral revenue.