LGA Centurion Lounge First Impressions
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Flying home from New York, I got my first chance to visit an American Express Centurion Lounge. There are currently well over a dozen lounges around the world, largely concentrated in the US, but we haven’t been to an airport with a lounge while it was open until now. We were flying out of La Guardia and had plenty of time to kill before our flight. The Centurion Lounge at LGA is located in Terminal B before gates 40-59. We were flying Southwest and luckily our gate was right nearby.
Checking In
We tried to check in when we arrived, but were told we could only get in 3 hours prior to our flight unless we were in La Guardia for a layover (which unfortunately we were not). We had to sit outside the lounge for about an hour and a half before being granted admission. On the bright side, La Guardia’s Terminal B has a really cool indoor waterfall with a show every 15 minutes.
To get in, I had to show my American Express Platinum card, my ID, and my boarding pass. Thomas didn’t have to show anything as he was my complimentary guest. Sadly, complimentary guest access is set to end on January 31, 2023, so we’ll have to upgrade Thomas from a gold level additional user (which is free) to a platinum level additional user on my account (for $175) for us to both to continue to access this lounge.
When we did finally get in around 6:30PM, I immediately realized why they have the 3-hour rule in place. The lounge was packed and we had to make a couple of laps before finding an open table. This was understandable given it was dinnertime and by 8PM, the lounge was fairly empty.
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Food & Drinks
After we scored a table, we were worried someone would try to swipe our seats, so Thomas and I went to get food in shifts (though we later saw plenty of people leaving their bags by their tables unattended without issues). Dinner was buffet style and featured a salad bar along with hot food and desserts. I tried the cold bean salad and didn’t love it, but the rice, cauliflower, and chicken thighs were amazing. On the surface, that’s a pretty basic meal, but they did a great job of elevating it with good seasonings and flavors. The cookies (chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin) were fine, but nothing fantastic. Each Centurion Lounge has a unique menu and I look forward to trying what the other lounges have to offer.
They did also have a coffee maker that I would have taken advantage of if it had been earlier in the day. Another smaller coffee bar was located near the entrance, along with a bowl of delicious butter mints.
At the bar, they had an impressive selection of cocktails, along with wine, beer, and hard ciders/seltzers. I ordered the Rustico Collins but didn’t love it, so I gave it to Thomas and ordered a Downeast Blackberry Hard Cider instead, which was delicious. The bartender did check our IDs before serving us.
All the food and drinks are free at the Centurion Lounge, which is a huge perk to save on pricey airport meals, although it is recommended to tip your bartender.
Other Amenities
While this wasn’t the most robust Centurion Lounge out there, it certainly fit our needs for a few hours. In addition to food/drinks, there was also fast free Wi-Fi and TVs – these weren’t really perks though because the LaGuardia airport offers the same thing by the gates. The staff was nice enough to change to the channel to the football game Thomas wanted to watch when he asked. There were also plenty of outlets everywhere, from standard outlets in the floor to USB outlets in the couches.
The most unique amenity the lounge had was a shower, which I didn’t use, but would probably be amazing during a layover after between long flights. The bathrooms were clean and even had L’Occitane en Provence Verbena hand soap which smelled incredible (as it should since it retails for $22/bottle). There was also a family room with toys for small children (which notably had a door to keep the noise away from the rest of the lounge), and a business center with a printer/copier. I appreciated the screens with flight info that allowed us to be alerted to delays, gate changes, etc. without having to go leave the lounge.
We had a late flight so we ended up closing down the Centurion Lounge. The bar closed at 8:30PM (with a last call announcement 15 min prior), the food closed at 8:45PM, and the lounge itself closed at 9PM on a Sunday. Announcements were made over the intercom to alert guests to these closures.
Ways to Get Centurion Lounge Access
There is no way to buy Centurion Lounge access outright. Instead, only the following are permitted:
- Platinum Card® Members
- Business Platinum Card® Members
- Corporate Platinum Card® Members
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card Members (only if flying a Delta flight the same day)
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card Members (only if flying a Delta flight the same day)
- Centurion® Members
Platinum Card members may bring 2 guests for free until February 1, 2023, at which point, the rate will go up to $50/guest. As previously mentioned, the Amex Platinum offers 2 types of authorized users: a free “gold card” (not the same at the traditional Amex Gold card) or a $175 Amex Platinum card. Only the latter qualify for Centurion Lounge access with or without the primary user, both currently and after the change takes effect in February.
Children are permitted and don’t count towards the 2-guest count if they are under 2 years old.
Also, if you’re flying standby, you can’t get access to the lounge until you have a confirmed seat and boarding pass.
Notably, you can only access the lounge before an outbound flight, not after you’ve arrived at your final destination.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we really enjoyed our first trip to a Centurion Lounge and will certainly continue to visit if it aligns with our travel plans. However, we won’t pick our flights or layover destinations around it and will only visit if it makes sense.
Despite being a major international hub, there is no Centurion Lounge in Chicago’s O’Hare airport, which is unfortunate since that’s our home airport. They just opened their newest location at the Columbus, OH airport, so hopefully they will continue to expand their network. Thankfully, having the Amex Platinum Card also includes a Priority Pass membership with access to over 1300+ additional lounges worldwide when Centurion Lounges aren’t an option (notably you can also get Priority Pass included with other cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Capital One Venture X).
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