American Express operates a clutch of lounges worldwide at major airports, which are only accessible by American Express Platinum and Centurion Cardmembers and their guests. Previously, all these lounges used to enable lounge access for the cardmember and two guests of the cardmember. However, policies had been changed for US Cardmembers earlier this year due to the overcrowding of the lounges. Now, it is the turn of American Express in India to do the same.
American Express Platinum Reserve cardmembers to lose Centurion Lounge access.
Amex India has notified cardmembers who hold the Platinum Reserve Credit Card that they can no longer access the American Express Centurion Lounges at Mumbai and Delhi, effective September 1, 2023. The Cardmembers have been served a one-month notice. They will continue to be able to access third-party lounges up to twelve times in a calendar year, though.
American Express Platinum Cardmembers are to be subject to reduced guesting privileges.
Simultaneously, American Express notified their Platinum Cardmembers about reduced guesting privileges. Currently, primary and supplementary cardmembers enjoy complimentary access and can bring along up to 2 accompanying guests to the American Express Centurion Lounges in Delhi and Mumbai. Effective September 1, 2023, all card members can invite only one accompanying guest to the lounge. More guests will still be allowed but against the payment of a fee.
Bottomline
American Express is acting on reducing crowds in the Centurion Lounges in Delhi and Mumbai now that the lounges are already running, not at full occupancy. Earlier in the year, many Platinum Cardmembers, including yours truly, have either been admitted to the lounge and made to wait (standing) or not been able to access the lounge altogether. So now, Platinum Charge Cardmembers can get one less guest along per cardmember, and Platinum Reserve Cardmembers won’t be able to access the lounge at all. Changes go into effect on September 1, 2023.
What do you make of the new changes to the Centurion Lounge access policy?
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The law of diminishing value
Amex first started throwing Taj gift vouchers for everything which in itself was difficult to use (not to forget the badly designed taj app and the web ) by calling their reservations desk
Iam not sure about others but the concierge is almost good for nothing I had asked them for an international cruise holiday and after over a week of repeated calls by them saying “they are working on it “ they finally dumped a terrible itinerary. Almost all the time they have not been able to do as much as a basic reservation as their price is guaranteed to be always higher.
Now even the most trivial lounge access is being nickel dimed so I wonder if it will ever be able to justify their annual fee and my relatively high value of business to them also gives very poor earn ratio .