Charlotte Will Get a Centurion Lounge in 2019

by Gary Leff

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Platinum Card from American Express cardholders have access to Priority Pass (with opt-in), Plaza Premium, Escape, and Airspace lounges. They have access to Delta lounges when traveling on the airline same day. And they have access to Amex’s own network of Centurion lounges.

These lounges have hot and cold buffets, complimentary bars, stylish furnishings — and in some locations complimentary spas, kids rooms, and showers. They’ve upped the game in US airport lounges, and we’ve seen improvements from US airlines.

However a lesson that all lounge operators eventually learn is that no matter how you model lounge usage, passengers will come to the airport earlier and spend more time in lounges than anyone expects. As a result many Centurion lounges get super busy and they then need to restrict access (such as to departing passengers only within 3 hours of flight). American Express said and then denied they’d be moving to an advance reservation system.


Bar of Philadelphia Centurion Lounge During Pre-Opening

American Express Centurion lounges currently open are Dallas Fort-Worth, Las Vegas, Miami, New York LaGuardia, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia and Hong Kong.


Centurion Lounge, Hong Kong

Denver, New York JFK, and Los Angeles are confirmed to be in progress.

On Monday the City of Charlotte is expected to approve a 10 year lease (and two five year extension options) to American Express for building of a Centurion lounge at their airport. This item is on the council’s agenda.

Here’s the detail:

  • 13,295 square feet
  • Anticipated opening fall 2019 (airport construction projects are often delayed)
  • Will be part of the ‘East Terminal Expansion Phase II project’ between concourses D and E. That project is supposed to open summer 2019.
  • Cost to American Express: “a one-time payment of $5,000,000 and a minimum of $3,000,000 of on-property advertising expenditures over the initial 10-year term” plus “$525,701 with a total 10-year lease value of $10,500,000.”

The lounge is going to be on the third level.

Currently the Priority Pass option in Charlotte is a Minute Suites next to the main food court which I used earlier in the month.

(HT: Doctor of Credit)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Pingbacks

  2. […] We’ve currently avoided American Airlines (AA) for most of our travel since we don’t have elite status. Since most of our interests involving AA are Caribbean locations, we would generally have to fly through CLT and there are no lounges or places for us to rest and relax there for layovers. Gary Leff recently shared this bit which may encourage us to fly AA more (or at all): Charlotte Will Get a Centurion Lounge in 2019 […]

Comments

  2. Charlotte has two big bank employers and a major airline employer with a major airline hub? Sounds like CLT is a perfect place for a Centurion lounge. But as I tend to avoid flying via CLT when I can or otherwise have tight connections there, I likely won’t get too much use out of the CLT Centurion lounge

  4. Charlotte is in dire need of a lounge that is not AA. I mean they just got Minute Suites but really I consider these lounges to be like a coffin. No doubt the AMEX lounge will be busy as heck..

  5. Charlotte Will Get a Centurion Lounge in 2019…and it will soon be overcrowded like all other CLs

  7. I can hear the hogs at the trough lining up. That place will be over run with the poor ex-US Air slobs. No thanks.

Comments are closed.