I’ve been in the American Express Centurion Lounge in San Francisco twice in the last week. Both times I had to wait for a seat. It’s an all-too-common problem for American Express.
Addressing this issue, American Express is now limiting access during peak hours to departing flights within three hours.
When American Express pulled the same stunt earlier this year at Seattle and Miami during peak hours, I penned an op-ed arguing that the move was shortsighted.
> Read More: American Express Makes a Foolish Mistake in Limiting Centurion Lounge Access
I remain of the opinion that the move was foolish, even while acknowledging that American Express simply MUST do something to combat crowding. The solution remains to limit guests, at least during peak periods. Of course this will cause outrage as well. Who doesn’t love taking their friends or loved ones in as a guest? Who wants to sit in the lounge alone while your spouse waits outside? But isn’t that better than telling a card member, key word being member, she cannot have access? It is not an ideal solution, but it strikes me as a better solution.
Every time I fly up from Burbank to San Francisco, almost always in the morning, I like to go into the American Express Centurion Lounge for a cup of coffee and light breakfast, sometimes a shower, whether I am connecting or ending my travel in SFO. To take away this benefit is to take away where I derive tremendous value on my Platinum card, which is hardly cheap at $550/year.
CONCLUSION
I love the staff at SFO and I love the food. I’m happy to admit that. It truly is an excellent lounge and I’ve spent literally days there this year when you add up all my lounge visits.
American Express must find a solution to overcrowding, but its chosen strategy strikes me as counterproductive.
> Read More: Another Attempt to Control Crowding in American Express Lounges
> Read More: A Warning to American Express
At least you now have some other options at SFO…
> Read More: Yankee Pier SFO (Priority Pass Restaurant) Review
(H/T: View from the Wing)
They probably can’t limit guests unless they change the T&C’s on the card, though i 100% agree that they should do what they can to let as many cardholders in as possible by limiting guests or families
We all agree Amex has do do something about the crowding. The majority of their customers are looking for a place to kill a couple hours before a flight and have a drink and some food. So I think eliminating the people who enter after a flight or stay all day working (and taking up chair space meant to turn over once an hour) are fair cuts to make. I see how these instances are valuable to certain card members, but if there core focus is giving someone somewhere to wait BEFORE there flight then these are the best options to cut.
I think another point to make is you used the word “member”. We aren’t members of the Centurion Lounges, we are card members with access to the lounges….kinda like when we had access to the Admirals clubs. We had restricted access versus a paying full member. I think people who want to set up shop or visit after a flight should look more at a traditional airline club that have laxer access rules.
I’m ORD based so no Centurion lounge at my home base makes it a mute point for me, but if there was, what I would like to see is a paid add-on to be a “member” of the lounge. For people who don’t want to pay, they keep the same free access, limited to three hours prior you boarding time w/ the same guest policy. Then offer an add-on full membership at say, $250, which gets you access whenever you want. You can access before, after, or even if you aren’t flying. They could also allow guests to include immediate family (win for families >3 people). This allows people who use it more than the average cardholder to still have expanded access but pay their fair share.
I know people in the miles/points game want to extract as much value as they can for the cheapest possible cost. But I think people forget that the Amex Platinum card is supposed to be a high end card for people who can afford it….not a breakeven card for Amex.
At times I have eaten breakfast standing with my plate on the check in counter. There are a lot of people with plat cards in the Bay Area.
How about they build a super large club? We’re all paying major solars for Amex and probably all spending major coin on the card. So if me and my kids or my buds want some short rib and cocktails, aren’t you a cheapo company to start “limiting” during “peak” tones?
I was at the Seattle lounge last month and it was very crowded. Upon entering, the checking desk apologized in advance and warned us we might not find a seat.
By the looks of it, many travelers seems to be settled in long term.
The only real solution is to get a bigger lounge space, it feels like one of the smallest ones I’ve been to in the US.
It’s called the “Centurion Lounge”. It should be for Centurion Card holders and their guests ONLY.
I am sorry but that is your problem. Most people like me leave airport after flights arrive. We don’t hangout at the airport any longer than they have to, hence no need for lounge access on arrival.
I have to fly up to SFO today for a business meeting. The meeting was early and I had several hours before my flight back to Burbank. Even though the Centurion lounges in a different terminal for my Southwest flight I decided to go there to kill a few hours before my flight. I was surprised at the desk when I was told I did not have access to the lounge until 3 hours before my flight’s departure time. I failed to notice I was six minutes away from the 3-hour window and the customer service agent of the desk neglected to tell me that. I insisted on speaking to a manager and was told exactly the same thing and that the new policyvstarted in March 2019. I’m finding it harder and harder to justify the $550 a year for the Platinum Card. Lounges are always crowded, they make it harder and harder to get in, more and more features from the platinum membership are disappearing. Seems like next year we’ll really have to consider whether to renew the card or not. Would be a shame as I’ve been a platinum customer for 20 years