Centurion Lounge in Miami Seeing Lots of Abuse, Raises Concern at American Express
I just got off the phone with American Express Platinum customer service. I realized I hadn’t linked my Hilton Honors account to my American Express account. This meant I wasn’t receiving my complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. I also wanted to request a new Platinum Card as my chip appears to no longer work.
Towards the end of my conversation, I decided to bring up my recent experience at the American Express Centurion Lounge in Miami. My mom and I were laying over in Miami and decided to try for an earlier flight. Because of this, we lost out seat assignments for the later flight. When we checked into the lounge, we were told we couldn’t come into the lounge as we didn’t have seat assignments. My mom and I both questioned the agent as we had both been allowed into the lounge without seat assignments before. The agent said that there was nothing she could do. After we had continued to question this rule, the agent began to show some attitude. Needless to say, we were not happy about our brief visit.
Anyway, I asked the Platinum Card representative if this was indeed a rule and he said yes. As a matter of fact, any lounge that isn’t affiliated with a particular airline won’t allow you into their lounge unless you have a seat assignment or boarding pass from another flight with a seat assignment. He explained to me that many agents don’t enforce this rule. However, he did say that the American Express Centurion Lounge in Miami is the one exception in which this rule is enforced 24/7.
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Miami Location Seeing a lot of Abuse, Freeloaders
I asked why any one location would be singled out and he replied, “The Centurion Lounge in Miami sees a lot of abuse, it’s actually going to be at the center of a staff meeting in a couple of days.”
According to this American Express representative, the Miami location has seen an absurd amount of non-passenger managing to get into the lounge. I assume this also includes airline and airport employees. Note that, for obvious reasons, airline employees are not allowed to visit American Express Centurion Lounges when traveling on non-revenue passes. As someone who occasionally gets to non-rev, I can vouch for this.
However, I’m still amazed that non-passengers are such a big issue at this lounge or any lounge for that matter. When the representative said “abuse” he confirmed that “Quite a few non-passengers and people without tickets have been using the lounge. Apparently, it’s a really nice lounge.” Now I don’t know about the Miami lounge being “a really nice lounge” but it is always very crowded. Supposedly, a bunch of people with fake tickets who managed to get past the TSA checkpoints had been stopping by for some food and drinks.
Breakfast at the American Express Centurion Lounge LGA
I honestly don’t know how this can be that big of an issue. I know (or hope) that non-revenue passengers can’t be the source of this abuse because only passengers with seat assignments get into the lounge. Non-revenue passengers (from my experience) don’t get seat assignments until boarding commences. Additionally, once they have a boarding pass, there’s virtually no way of telling it apart from a revenue customer. This means that there are actually people forging tickets or using alternate boarding documents to force their way into the lounge. That amazes me.
As previously mentioned, this issue is going to be at the center of an upcoming staff meeting. The Platinum Card representative also told me that the poor customer service I received would also be addressed.
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I’m still a little curious to who is “abusing” the American Express Centurion Lounge in Miami. Before I received my Platinum Card in September, I tried visiting the Miami lounge with my Gold Card and was told that non-Platinum Card holders would be restricted from accessing the lounge till further notice. This means that there’s a bunch of freeloaders with Platinum Cards out there! Hopefully, this issue gets addressed, and the lounge won’t be as busy.
What do you think about the representative’s claim of lounge abuse? Have you heard anything about this?
There has long been abuse of CL access both by revenue pax buying fully refundable tickets and then cancelling them and by non-revs who aren’t traveling. It was a huge problem at DFW so much so that it was being used at the after work happy hour hangout for HDQ employees. They changed the rules to require a seat assignment, but savvy non-revs would just peruse NRTP for a wide open flight and be given a seat assignment at airport check-in and then cancel their listing once ensconced in the lounge. At LGA, reportedly locals would come to the airport… Read more »
Josh,
Thanks for the insight. As someone who as non-reved, I always wondered how easy it must be to print a boarding pass and just stroll in. Non-revs aren’t actually allowed into the lounge but most agents (as long as your boarding pass has a seat assignment) don’t seem to look closely at your BP.
-Max P.
Not to split hairs but this is what American Express says with regard to non-revs: Who is eligible to visit The Centurion Lounge? Access to The Centurion Lounge is complimentary for global Platinum Card® and Centurion® Members. To access The Centurion Lounge, the Card Member must present The Centurion Lounge agent with the following upon each visit: his or her valid Card, a boarding pass showing a confirmed reservation for same-day travel on any carrier and a government-issued I.D. Note: The Centurion Lounge is a Day of Departure lounge requiring confirmed travel plans. Passengers holding standby tickets and non-revenue standby… Read more »
I think an element of this is that AMEX Centurion Lounges are a victim of their own success. I believe they became much more popular than AMEX expected, which is further proven by the expansion of some lounges (like SEA) and the opening of new ones. The other issue, is that AMEX is marketing their Platinum Card as a “luxury” product that gives people the “highest” personal service. They have managed to market it in a way that makes people WANT to feel they are special. Alas, there is nothing very special about AMEX Platinum, and the service (overall) is… Read more »
I read a few things, and read the Amex page on access policies. My best guess would be buddy pass flyers are their complaint.
I could definitely see that. The airline employees that I know are very strict about their travel privileges. Buddy pass travelers would be a logical explanation.
-Max P.
That also makes zero sense. The buddy would have to have a Platinum card.
Hmmm…. I don’t get the part about “getting past TSA” as if TSA were getting reports of multiple fake BP letting people through, that would get solved at that point. Another possibility though, say you’re an airport staffer who enters regularly with your badge no need to show TSA a fraudulent BP. You have an Amex Plat. You print up a plausible looking but fake BP at your office, and drop by lounge(s) for lunch. This seems the most likely scenario to me. Another scenario, I have on occasion escorted an elderly relative through TSA to their gate by telling… Read more »
Interesting. Again, when the Platinum Card rep told me that people were abusing the lounge, I was confused. If you have a seat assignment and a valid boarding pass, how can you be abusing the lounge. Sounds like a cop out for bad service and over crowded lounges.
-Max P.
Agree. Full-timers wouldn’t bother. It’s got to be other passholders or non-airline airport employees that have badges.
I agree. I know airline employees (flight crew and pilots) and they don’t like to spend time at airports. Probably people with buddy-passes.
-Max P.
“Note that, for obvious reasons, airline employees are not allowed to visit American Express Centurion Lounges when traveling on non-revenue passes”
What are these obvious reasons? We airline employees who have a Platinum card pay the same fee as anyone else. We have a boarding pass with no seat assignment that the TSA is quite happy to let us through security with. Why isn’t that adequate to enter the lounge?
I was also wondering what the obvious reason would be.
Yeah what is this “free loader” argument that OP is making? Airline employees pay the same fees to Amex as everyone else. How we get the boarding pass shouldn’t really be any of their business. If TSA says it’s fine why does Amex care?
I wasn’t calling airline employees freeloaders. I think they should get access for the same reason. They pay the now $550 annual fee, let them in with a seat assignment. When I said freeloaders, I meant the Platinum Card rep made it sound like people with fake boarding passes or documents some how get into the lounge.
-Max P.
AMEX cares because they don’t want people hanging around the lounge for hours on end monopolizing seating, talking about their non-rev privileges within an earshot of revenue passengers and they especially don’t want people in uniform which gives the impression it’s a glorified employee waiting room. At AA it wasn’t until shortly after the merger that anyone traveling as a non-rev could access the Admirals Club on their own credentials (membership, Citi Prestige/Executive Card, etc). There was a case a few years ago that abusers were referred to their carrier of employment for discipline.
Josh,
I’ve never experienced this and I’ve been to countless of lounges. Also, if a non-rev has a Citi Prestige/Executive Card it doesn’t matter. The last time I checked it didn’t matter what airline you were flying.
-Max P.
That’s because since Jan 2014 non-revs can access the Admirals club based on their own credentials. Before then the Citi Prestige didn’t provide access anyway and that perk is being phased out in a few months. I too have NRSA privileges and also fly revenue with elite status. I’m not one of those FTer “non-revs ruin my experience” type, but there certainly have been cases both in AA operated and third party lounges that non-revs (mostly D3s) have tried to access lounges has raised confrontation in front of revenue passengers. AMEX just doesn’t want people staying for ages, which by… Read more »
The obvious reason is that airport employees could easily list for flights and use their priority cards or boarding passes to enter the lounge anytime. Note that the Amex Platinum Card is not what gets you access to the lounge, it’s the Amex Platinum Card and a Confirmed Revenue Ticket. They only want passengers who paid for tickets to access the lounge. The TSA is a different story. Airport’s are (in the US) public facilities that anyone can access with any boarding document regardless of whether or not you are a confirmed or standby passenger.
-Max P.
Well, after my 25 years in the airline industry (now a wide body captain), your answer isn’t obvious to me at all. This simply can’t be a big problem. Airline workers at the airport are at work, they don’t have copious free time to list for a flight, check in, get a boarding pass, change out of uniform, go to a lounge (often in a different terminal), eat free food (they can’t drink for “obvious” reasons), change back into uniform, head back to their work area and go back to work, all in their 30 min lunch break. It’s absurd.… Read more »
Mark,
I agree. I don’t see how “abuse” is that big of an issue at any lounge, especially post-security.
-Max P.
Dude can I give you some advice? Constructive I hope criticism? Do act entitled. You were turned away from a lounge for a valid rule. I know it’s hard in this game to sometimes “keep your feet on the ground” if you pardon the huge pun. Most of us aren’t actually VIPs or even incredible customers that deserve the royal treatment. I’m an ex airline captain, present mileage gamer that is always grateful to be in any lounge or any elite cabin that I didn’t pay anywhere near full price, and any time I get outsized value. I travel like… Read more »
Not so much entitled as I was confused. That was the first I’ve heard of that rule. When I asked the agent about the rule, she copped an attitude. I left and that was that.
Thanks for the constructive criticism though.
-Max P.
How exactly was he acting entitled? Because he wanted to use a perk of his credit card that charges a huge annual fee? This seems like a bizarre rule to begin with.
Nsummy,
Thanks. I’m glad someone understands where I was coming from. Also, I appreciate your comments above.
-Max P.