Jan 24, 2019, 7:51 am
Last edit by: mia
Policy Changes effective March 22, 2019
Source: https://thecenturionlounge.com/info/access/
NOTE: FOR PLATINUM CARD MEMBERS ONLY
The Centurion Lounge is a day of departure lounge. We will not admit arriving Platinum Card Members with boarding passes for flights that have just landed. We will admit Platinum Card Members with layovers or connecting flights who produce proof of connecting flight.
We will not admit Platinum Card Members more than 3 hours before the departure time on the Platinum Card Member’s same-day, confirmed boarding pass. This does not apply to Platinum Card Members with a connecting flight.
We will admit children under 2 years of age free of charge, provided an accompanying parent or guardian is able to produce a “lap infant” boarding pass or proof of age
The Centurion Lounge is a day of departure lounge. We will not admit arriving Platinum Card Members with boarding passes for flights that have just landed. We will admit Platinum Card Members with layovers or connecting flights who produce proof of connecting flight.
We will not admit Platinum Card Members more than 3 hours before the departure time on the Platinum Card Member’s same-day, confirmed boarding pass. This does not apply to Platinum Card Members with a connecting flight.
We will admit children under 2 years of age free of charge, provided an accompanying parent or guardian is able to produce a “lap infant” boarding pass or proof of age
Centurion Lounge crowding (2015-2019)
Nov 26, 2017, 11:18 am
#1186
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA
Programs: AA EXP, UA GLD, Bonvoy Titan, HH Dia, WoH Exp
Posts: 2,673
My take on the over-crowding at MIA and SFO has to do more with where these CLs are located. They are located right in the midst of all the gates where the domestic flights depart out of. If SFO CL were located in Terminal G and MIA CL located in E, they would probably get less traffic. IAH and DFW CLs are located in the airport's "International" terminals and although they can get crowded at times, they don't feel like a zoo.
Dec 27, 2017, 10:22 pm
#1187
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta Platinum and Marriott Platinum Elite
Posts: 39
Can someone help me out. I have the platinum card and my wife is an AU. When visiting the centurion lounge at the same time. Does this mean I can bring in 2 guest and my wife can also bring in 2 guest under her card? I've asked around and have gotten different answers
Cheers
Cheers
Last edited by DeltaAddict; Dec 27, 2017 at 10:32 pm
Dec 27, 2017, 11:06 pm
#1188
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Dec 28, 2017, 3:18 pm
#1189
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: BOS
Programs: B6/Mosaic/AF/VX/AS Gold Hertz PC HH Dia. AMEX Plat SPG/Marr Gold Nat. EE FPC Plat
Posts: 833
My take on the over-crowding at MIA and SFO has to do more with where these CLs are located. They are located right in the midst of all the gates where the domestic flights depart out of. If SFO CL were located in Terminal G and MIA CL located in E, they would probably get less traffic. IAH and DFW CLs are located in the airport's "International" terminals and although they can get crowded at times, they don't feel like a zoo.
Dec 29, 2017, 3:39 am
#1190
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Earth
Programs: UA MM Platinum; HH Diamond; Marriott Gold; Starwood Gold; Hyatt Discoverist; Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 1,527
SFO, and specifically, the "United terminal" (T3) at SFO, must be its own strange beast in terms of lounges. It seems as though the UA lounges are always crammed full. The CL usually seems to be at capacity. Is there something about the nature of the Bay Area which makes lounge access particularly popular (younger, tech crowd that's more credit card-savvy)? Is the lounge capacity somehow limited compared with UA's other hubs?
It's true the SFO CL would probably be less crowded if it were located more inconveniently. I'm not as great a fan of the IAH CL food, but at least I can always find a place to sit after I trek through the bowels of the airport.
It's true the SFO CL would probably be less crowded if it were located more inconveniently. I'm not as great a fan of the IAH CL food, but at least I can always find a place to sit after I trek through the bowels of the airport.
Dec 29, 2017, 6:27 am
#1191
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: TLV
Programs: UA Platinum, Avis Chairman, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, GA Pilot
Posts: 3,225
Was there last week with my kids. We did manage to find a table to sit, and there was food, but there was a long waiting list for the shower - at least a few hours' wait which made it impossible to use. I do hope they can find a way to expand or build another one somewhere. Also hope they open the UA lounge again soon which should take some heat off.
Dec 30, 2017, 12:46 am
#1192
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 44
There are only two ways to solve the overcrowding problem. Either you restrict access to the lounges or you make the lounges larger. If a small number of card members use the lounge a disproportionate amount of times it would make sense to limit access. If use is evenly spread amongst card members then restricting access doesn't make much sense.
A few potential ways to help alleviate the problem of overcrowding:
1. Primary cardholder is allowed two guests.. Up to two additional children (under 18) are $25 a piece, no additional adults (18 and over) permitted.
2. Authorized cardholders are allowed one guest only. No additional adults permitted. One additional child permitted for $25.
3. Guests on non connecting flights should not be allowed to enter the lounge more than 2 hours prior to their time of departure without paying a $25 fee. The lounge should be mainly utilized by connecting passengers with long layovers, not people who plan on arriving early on purpose to score a free meal.
4. Each lounge location can only be visited twice in one month. Cardmembers can pay $25 per visit if they wish to access the lounge more than twice a month in a single location.
5. No lounge access for cardmembers who have arrived at their destination and aren't flying anywhere else in the next 24 hours.
6. The platinum business cardholders should be restricted to two guests (but no guest may be under the age of 18). The card is only supposed to be for business use and if you are traveling with children chances are you arent traveling on business.
7. American Express can offer an enhanced lounge access package for an additional $499 a year. The package would come with unlimited access for the cardholder and three additional guests. Additional adult guests / children can be granted access for $25.
A few potential ways to help alleviate the problem of overcrowding:
1. Primary cardholder is allowed two guests.. Up to two additional children (under 18) are $25 a piece, no additional adults (18 and over) permitted.
2. Authorized cardholders are allowed one guest only. No additional adults permitted. One additional child permitted for $25.
3. Guests on non connecting flights should not be allowed to enter the lounge more than 2 hours prior to their time of departure without paying a $25 fee. The lounge should be mainly utilized by connecting passengers with long layovers, not people who plan on arriving early on purpose to score a free meal.
4. Each lounge location can only be visited twice in one month. Cardmembers can pay $25 per visit if they wish to access the lounge more than twice a month in a single location.
5. No lounge access for cardmembers who have arrived at their destination and aren't flying anywhere else in the next 24 hours.
6. The platinum business cardholders should be restricted to two guests (but no guest may be under the age of 18). The card is only supposed to be for business use and if you are traveling with children chances are you arent traveling on business.
7. American Express can offer an enhanced lounge access package for an additional $499 a year. The package would come with unlimited access for the cardholder and three additional guests. Additional adult guests / children can be granted access for $25.
Dec 30, 2017, 9:49 am
#1193
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,193
There are only two ways to solve the overcrowding problem. Either you restrict access to the lounges or you make the lounges larger. If a small number of card members use the lounge a disproportionate amount of times it would make sense to limit access. If use is evenly spread amongst card members then restricting access doesn't make much sense.
A few potential ways to help alleviate the problem of overcrowding: <snip>
A few potential ways to help alleviate the problem of overcrowding: <snip>
Dec 30, 2017, 10:32 am
#1194
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: AA, DL, Avis, Enterprise, National, IHG, HH, SPG/MR
Posts: 1,852
That’s a good thing for the rest of us, but very bad for AMEX so unfortunately it will never happen.
The suggestions weren’t even remotely draconian. They don’t go far enough. No more guests at all will go a long way. They should also double the plat AF or only allow Centurion cardholders lounge access.
Dec 30, 2017, 10:59 am
#1195
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Marin County, California
Programs: Amex Centurion
Posts: 412
The quantity of Cardmembers in the overall base this would actually affect would be very low. But for handful of cardmembers (so-callerd road warriors) that use the lounge literally every day, this would go a long way to reduce the crowding issue.
Dec 30, 2017, 11:29 am
#1196
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 57,078
SFO, and specifically, the "United terminal" (T3) at SFO, must be its own strange beast in terms of lounges. It seems as though the UA lounges are always crammed full. The CL usually seems to be at capacity. Is there something about the nature of the Bay Area which makes lounge access particularly popular (younger, tech crowd that's more credit card-savvy)? Is the lounge capacity somehow limited compared with UA's other hubs?
Dec 30, 2017, 12:07 pm
#1197
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Marin County, California
Programs: Amex Centurion
Posts: 412
However, I think the core issue of overcrowding at the SFO lounge is the fact that a relatively small group of SFO to LAX and other close-in destinations "commuters" use the lounge constantly. I know there are commuters that use the lounge well over a hundred times per year. But Amex has this information as well and for whatever reason don't want to deal with it by limiting number of visits per cardmember.
Dec 30, 2017, 12:33 pm
#1198
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NB, Canada
Programs: Fairmont, Amex MR, Marriott
Posts: 2,531
How many people have the plat just for, or mostly for, lounge access? I’m guessing a lot. Anything AMEX does to address overcrowding, except for aggresively expanding lounges, is going to drive people away.
That’s a good thing for the rest of us, but very bad for AMEX so unfortunately it will never happen.
The suggestions weren’t even remotely draconian. They don’t go far enough. No more guests at all will go a long way. They should also double the plat AF or only allow Centurion cardholders lounge access.
Amex already knows how much every person who utilizes their lounges spends, as they can only gain access by their card. They also know how often they visit. They just need to determine how many people will drop their card if lounge access is restricted in some way, and who those cardmembers are.
If they feel lounge overcrowding is actually causing people to drop their card / not sign up.
Dec 30, 2017, 11:33 pm
#1199
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,209
That's not who I usually see in the lounge - it appears to be disproportionally full of younger techie/geek-types probably using cards issued by their employers.
Dec 31, 2017, 12:14 am
#1200
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Marin County, California
Programs: Amex Centurion
Posts: 412
How interesting. That's not at all what I see at SFO. My observation is lots of "road warriors" commuting between SFO and LAX and other destinations with 1 to 2 hour flights. Most commonly in some sort of sales position. I often share tables with them as sharing tables is the norm due to capacity crowds. Not a bad thing, as it usually works out that meeting people is a good thing. While I have met some that would be considered "Captains of Industry", more typically, I meet sales professionals in many different industries including high tech. Can't ever remember sharing a table with a "techie/geek" but I'm sure they exist.