Peppep

I'm on a TAM flight this afternoon, should I go to the LAN or AA/IB lounge? My priorities are fast wifi and a decent red wine.

tuchop

Definitely the LAN one. At the moment I think it's the best lounge in EZE, unless you have an American Express Centurion Card. Wine selection in the LAN lounge was pretty good last time I was there. And WIFI..well it will depend on how full the lounge is. The AA/IB lounge is not very big si if your flight is at Around 8pm, it will be full. The wine selección was meh last time.

ndesq

I'm on a 10pm departure out of EZE in BusinessFirst on United, and I have an AmEx platinum (but NOT centurion) card. Between the Star Alliance lounge and the all-access Centurion Lounge, which is going to be the better option in your opinion? I guess maybe this is a two parter: (1) which is going to be less crowded at 8-9pm; and (2) which is going to have better wine/booze/food?

Thanks!

tuchop

Hey ndesq! Unfortunately, the Centurion Lounge will remain closed during November, under maintenance and who knows what else. You'll have to stick to the Star Alliance one.
If your flight is after November 31st, it will depend on your likes. The Star Alliance Lounge is OK in my opinion. So is the Centurion Lounge as far as I've been told, because I have not used the platinum part. At that time in the night there are a couple of USA departures, and the Centurion Lounge has been full for some months (lines outside the lounge ). There has been some modifications in the entry requirements for this Lounge last week. So when it opens again, there will be a lot less people.
So, I'd just head directly to the Star Alliance one, and if your flight is after November maybe go and see for yourself the Amex one.

ndesq

Thanks, tuchop! Flight is in very early January '15, so I think both options will be open. We'll see for ourselves! Too bad we are not able to access the special Centurion room because it looks spectacular...

tuchop

No problem! Then I'm sure the Centurion Lounge will be a lot quieter and with less people in it. The entry modifications (which affects Argentine people) will be 100% applied as of January '15. I'll keep this thread updated when I get news of the maintenance and (if there are) modifications to the lounge. The entry changes are to make this lounge more like the new ones in the USA, so maybe they upgrade the catering since less people will visit it. Who knows? We'll see.

upinsmoke

Do you know what the entry modifications will be?

tuchop

Hey upinsmoke! The entry modifications will be the following:

-No more American Express Credit cards allowed for free (note: CREDIT cards, not charge cards).
-The Argentine ARPLUS Platinum Card is not allowed any longer (as of January 1st).
-Bank-issued American Express cards appear to have lost the entry benefit (not all confirmed).

So, to sum up:
TO ENTER, you'll need one of the following:

-Centurion, Platinum or Gold* Charge cards.
-Gold Corporate Card
-Paying U$50 with any Amex card.


* Gold cards are still eligible to enter for free at the moment. Amex said they are keeping Gold cards for now to align with the general South American lounge entry policies (Mexico, Brazil, etc). But they also said they are targeting the USA Lounge product, so don't be surprised if they take this within the next years.

upinsmoke

Thanks tuchop! It had been getting so crowded that they had to do something. I didn't realize that the entry requirements were that much more open than the DFW/LAS/LGA Centurion lounges.

MSPeconomist

Will people with free entry be allowed to bring guests for free, or will any guest cost $50?

tuchop

'Till no long ago Centurion members could bring up to 2 guests for free, and Platinum Members could bring 1 for free. I just checked and Centurion members can only bring 1 now, so not sure about Platinum ones. Yes, they are still different "rooms" so they might still have that free guest. Golds don't have free guests.
Minors under 16, related to the cardholder, have free access.

EDIT: Just checked, and Platinum Cardholders can bring a (one) free guest.

GUWonder

Yes. And given how crazy busy the Amex EZE lounge is, the limitation on guests isn't all that surprising.

A few weeks back, I didn't notice any sign there allowing Gold cards, but there was some language about guest counts being limited for Platinums and Centurions. The inclusion of the Centurions in the restriction surpirised me.

upinsmoke

Hopefully they'll keep the 1 guest (or immediate family) for Platinum charge cards. The Centurion lounges in the US allow for 2 guests!

tuchop

Gold cards are allowed, they just can't bring any (free) guests. And I guess the restriction to guests makes sense if there's a long line of people waiting to get in the Lounge.
Every time I've been to the Centurion Room, it was pretty full.. so I can imagine why they've been restricting the guests.

Immediate family guests apply to those under 16 and there's no restriction to as how many you can get in. I'm sure they'll keep the 1 guest for Plats, since by January 1st all access restrictions will be active and a lot less people will be using the Lounge.


Also, ndesq. I just got pointed out that the Star Alliance lounge is having long lines of people trying to get in. It makes sense, since the Amex lounge is closed now and the SA Lounge is the only one in EZE to take Priority Pass.
But it got me thinking, most banks offer PP in Argentina on their High End cards. Most of them used to go to the Amex lounge (Centurion Lounge accepted High End Amex Bank cards). Amex is restricting their access as of January '15, as I said. That means that maybe the Star Alliance Lounge will be very full with lots of Priority Pass guests next year, unless they do something.

fedechat

Wow, I din't know that with just one Amex CC you could access to the Amex Lounge. No wonder is always crowded (well, not anymore).