American Express Changes Centurion Access

Overcrowding in airport lounges has become a serious issue over the last few years. More and more people are getting credit cards with lounge access and the lounges haven’t been able to keep up with the demand. Capital One is restricting lounge access as of February 1st. I guess American Express thought it was the perfect time to announce their two latest restrictions on their own Centurion Lounges.

American Express Centurion Lounge ATL

Amex Adds Entry Time Limits For Lounge Access

Starting on July 8th, 2026, there will be two new restrictions on accessing the American Express Centurion lounges. These are fairly minor and likely won’t do anything to reduce overcrowding but it is something to keep in mind. Only those with the American Express Platinum, the American Express Business Platinum, or the Centurion card are able to access the Centurion lounges.

First, any guest a cardmember brings into the lounge must be on the same flight as the cardmember. Currently, guests are not required to be on the same flight.

Second, if you are connecting, you can only access the lounge within 5 hours of departure. Currently there is no restriction on when your departure time is on your layover. The same restriction on when you can access the lounge remains at 3 hours before departure on the first flight of your itinerary.

Line for American Express Centurion Lounge CLT

Wrapping Up

Amex is adding two new extremely minor restrictions on access to their Centurion lounges. While lounge overcrowding is a serious issue, this will not help in the slightest. This is going to be a annoyance for a small handful of people.