Amex Platinum makes Lufthansa lounge access benefit permanent

Since 2017, holders of The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and invite-only Centurion black card have been able to access select Lufthansa lounges when flying on an Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa or Swiss flight. That said, the benefit was only offered on a temporary basis and was extended multiple times over the years. The benefit was most recently scheduled to expire on Apr. 30, 2021.

Thankfully, the benefit has been extended again — and this time it's permanent.

Now, it looks like American Express has made this a permanent benefit. As first spotted by One Mile at a Time, the German Amex website no longer shows an expiration date and states that all Platinum and Centurion cardholders are eligible for access if they meet entry conditions. The Lufthansa lounge landing page on the U.S. Amex website still shows the Apr. 30 expiration date. I expect the U.S. page to be updated in the near future. TPG has reached out to Amex for comment and will update this post with additional information.

As a reminder, Amex Platinum cardholders can access select Lufthansa business class lounges when flying on an economy ticket on an Austrian, Lufthansa or Swiss flight. If ticketed in business class, these members can show their American Express card and boarding pass for entry to the Senator lounge.

On the other hand, Centurion cardholders can access Lufthansa first class and Senator lounges regardless of their class of service.

Unfortunately, your Amex card will only get you into a very specific set of Lufthansa lounges, including:

• Satellite area of T2 in Munich Airport
• T1 Concourse B in Frankfurt Airport

To access a lounge, you'll need to show your eligible Amex card, boarding pass for a same-day confirmed flight (on Austrian, Lufthansa or Swiss) and a government-issued photo ID. According to the German Amex website, both primary cardholders and additional cardholders are eligible for entry.

Also, remember that most Lufthansa lounges in the U.S. are a part of the Priority Pass program. A Priority Pass membership is included with the Amex Platinum and Centurion, so you can enter these lounges so long as you bring your Priority Pass card with you and have a boarding pass for a same-day flight. (Enrollment required).

In addition to Lufthansa and Priority Pass, you can use your Amex Platinum to enter these lounge networks (enrollment required):

• American Express Centurion Lounges
• Delta Sky Club lounges (when flying Delta)
• Priority Pass Select lounges
• U.S. Escape Lounges
• Airspace lounges
• Plaza Premium lounges
• International American Express Lounges

Related: Lufthansa details the future of its first-class experience

Bottom line

While a minor benefit, it's great to see Amex extend this benefit for its Platinum and Centurion cardholders. This could come in handy when the E.U. (hopefully) reopens this summer if you find yourself flying from or through Frankfurt or Munich on your journey. It's also a huge benefit for those based near these airports.

Feature photo by EQRoy / Shutterstock.com