On my recent trip to Costa Rica, we changed planes at DFW – Dallas Fort Worth. Of course, we stopped in at the DFW American Express Centurion Lounge. Even when that lounge gets crowded, I find that it is still somehow workable and a pleasant experience – though I did question whether it was worth going there when our layover was short, and neither our arriving nor our departing flight was at the same terminal as the Centurion.
Fast forward to our flight home, which was via MIA – Miami Airport. Honestly, I try to avoid flying through Miami if I can help it. It just always seems like a hassle. Going through Global Entry was a breeze so I was hopeful that things had changed . . .
Neither our originating terminal nor our departing terminal was located near the Centurion. Still, I had never been to that lounge and was eager to see it. It looked ok until I turned the corner.
What the? The lounge was jammed! It was unworkable! I felt like a sardine! It was so crowded – there were no seats available.
The food was flying off the buffet faster than the planes taking off from the runways outside.
Has the concept of an airport lounge being a calm place to regroup and get ready for the rest of ones’ journey gone out the window? The situation was frenetic, and I felt stressed – the antithesis of what I thought one is supposed to feel at an airport lounge.
Do I need to rethink my airport lounge strategy? Should they change the motto from #MemberSince to #MemberTill?
If lounges are this crowded, are they worth it? I’ve justified renewal of my American Express Platinum cards in the past based on the access to Centurion lounges. Don’t get me wrong – the Centurion food is still better than the food at nearly every US domestic lounge. And, if I wasn’t in a lounge, I might be out there shopping or spending $15 or more for a glass of wine.
Of course, I could just go to a Priority Pass lounge, as I get access to those lounges from at least 3 of my credit cards. I also have access to Admiral’s clubs via the Prestige MasterCard from Citibank (at least until July, when that benefit disintegrates).
I pondered the question, and then I saw this. I was reminded that nothing is perfect. I smiled and boarded my flight.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Amex needs to limit lounge access to one guest for platinum card holders and 3 guests for centurion card holders. Authorized users should be able to gain access, but not have any guests.
Miami was the first Centurion lounge I have ever gone to. I was in shock. It was a Sunday and it was packed. They kept running out of wine and cocktail glasses. They would try to hurry up and wash but all the glass tasted like soap. Kids running like crazies with their parents enjoying many cocktails. I also decided to try the massage, I had a women and literally I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad but honestly I thought maybe I was just imagining that the pain was horrible, well its April and my neck and shoulder still hurt. I hope I get to try another American Express lounge and I have a better experience.
The MIA Centurion Lounge is as bad as that lounge could be. Firts of al it is too small compared to other Centurion Lounges and it is always overcrowded since the early morning hours till late at night.
I fly every week out of MIA and I no longer bother to stop by the lounge as I know it is going to be a pretty bad experience.
When was this? I’ve flow out of MIA twice in the last two weeks and was in the lounge from 8am-11am. Both times it was SIGNIFICANTY less crowded than my previous visits which were often around the same time. I had a conversation with the staff about this and they said that in the last few weeks it’s been less crowded. They seemed fairly confident that it was because of the fee increase & new policy.
It was April 12th at about 5-6 pm
With the exception of an early AM instance in Vegas, this is how each and every Centurion Lounge I have visited appear every time. I have given up on them. And don’t bother mentioning it to Amex – they have yet to respond to any of my comments.
MIA is an awful airport, too spread out with too many peak periods of banked flights arriving and departing (particularly with AA in whose terminal pier the lounge is located). I’ve used the MIA lounge many times and while I agree it’s always crowded, I’ve always been able to find a relatively quiet seat in the side corridor most people don’t know about (thank goodness). On my transit earlier this month I was even able to book a shower and shoulder massage, have some brisket for lunch, and catch up on emails, etc. Agree there always seems to be too many unruly children, but this is a vacation spot so it’s unavoidable unless Amex introduces a restriction on anyone under 16/18…adults only. But that won’t happen. The structure of the terminal makes expansion impossible unlike aaA’s ability to use an entire mezzanine level hallway to expand its clubs at MIA. Short of a second lounge, not sure what more Amex can do.
For example Citi-Banamex in Mexico has 5 lounges in differents airports in Mexico, the Platinum /CitiPrestige/ CitiPremier cardholders has 10 individual access per year for the “CitiBanamex Beyond lounge”.
AMEX must do something like that in US.
Given that space is constrained at many of these places Amex should really investigate some sort of rollerboard storage system at check-in. I suspect that many of these places would seem a lot less crowded if we weren’t all either trying to navigate through the mess with our own or tripping over other’s.
I also think that they should let people get their own soft drinks so you don’t have to wait at the bar for a coca cola
They *used to* have storage. The TSA told them that was an unacceptable security risk and AmEx removed it from all the lounges that had it.