American Express to levy charges for guest access at Delhi American Express Lounge effective December 24, 2021

American Express opened its renovated American Express lounge in March 2021, and we reviewed it as it opened. The lounge is located on the domestic pier of the Delhi IGI Airport.

a group of people standing in front of a sign

American Express will amend policy for Platinum and Black Cardmembers effective December 24, 2021

Till so far, American Express permitted all their cardmembers, Platinum and Centurion, plus their supplementary cardmembers, to bring along two guests to the lounge in Delhi, apart from kids under 12 years of age.

American Express has now notified a change whereby, guests will be no longer be admitted to the lounge free of charge, effective December 2021. Here is an excerpt of a member communication sent out to Platinum and Centurion cardmembers:

While you and your Supplementary Cardmember have complimentary access, beginning 24 December 2021, a fee of ₹2,000, plus applicable taxes, will be charged to your Card for your guest at our lounge in Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

a room with white couches and tables

This change takes away the complimentary lounge access for accompanying guests. This might be looked at differently by different people. For instance, I have not flown out of Delhi with people this year, especially those without their lounge credentials. So it does not affect me at all for now.

However, others may look at it as a devaluation because they may frequently bring people to the lounge. Also, in my various trips to the Delhi lounge, I hardly spot people with a +1 or a +2. I do find that to be the case in the Mumbai American Express Lounge, though.

With this change, American Express is amending its policy to align with the global transition to their lounge access policy, which was notified earlier in 2021, valid for 2023 and onwards. Here is the excerpt from the policy.

a close-up of a card

If you have not visited the American Express Lounge in Delhi, here is a video about the lounge experience.

Bottomline

Complimentary guest lounge access for the American Express Platinum and Centurion Cardmembers’ guests will be withdrawn effective December 24, 2021. Each guest trip will cost INR 2000 plus taxes (INR 2,360) per head, nett.

What do you make of the change to the guest lounge access policy at the American Express Lounge in Delhi?


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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. Not a good move esp as India Platinum card fees is higher than the US version. Plus the go-live of this policy is earlier than in the US.

  2. I wish they would do this in the US now….of course they’ll probably be closing all the lounges again because CNN and King Fauci tells them to.

  3. Thank You
    Surprisingly date chosen is 24DEC!!! One day before Christmas and well advance for new year celebration travel!!!
    Very well planned by Amex!!!

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