Amex will significantly overhaul the Las Vegas Centurion Lounge

As demand for air travel recovers, flyers will likely experience airport lounges as they’ve never seen before. And not necessarily in a better way.

The buffet will likely be consolidated or removed, shower and spa facilities might be closed and bar service could be curtailed. The goods news is that once airport lounges reopen, overcrowding shouldn’t be much of an issue.

However, when travelers once again take to the skies in pre-coronavirus numbers, we’ll likely return to a time when lounge overcrowding becomes a reality again (and amenities are restored).

For more travel tips and news, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Though many lounges suffer from overcrowding, perhaps the most consistently overcrowded are the American Express Centurion Lounges. That’s because the issuer has built spaces that people actually want to visit. Plus, the food and beverage selection is well above-average for domestic airport lounges.

Fortunately, Amex has taken that feedback to heart with its recent openings in Charlotte and Los Angeles, which maximize all available space.

But what about its existing outposts? Well, TPG’s the first to share that Amex has started construction on an expansion to its first-ever Centurion Lounge that opened roughly seven years ago — the outpost in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.

The expansion will increase the footprint by about 50% — from nearly 9,000 square feet to more than 13,400 square feet — making it one of the largest lounges in the network. The newly designed lounge will offer additional multipurpose rooms, new private telephone booths, reimagined workspace areas and a redesigned reception area. According to the company, the expansion and redesign should be completed in 2021.

This week an eagle-eyed traveler shared pictures of the work that’s just getting started in Vegas. Per recent building permits issued in Clark County, Nevada, the first step of the work involves relocating a set of stairs that are adjacent to the existing lounge. Based on the photos of the work, it appears that this is indeed progressing. 

At the moment, all Centurion Lounges are currently closed, and there’s no word yet on when they’ll be reopened. The good news is that once the network reopens, the Las Vegas location will be able to do so too, even while construction progresses. In the meantime, if you’re really missing your favorite lounge cocktail or appetizer, you can check out Amex’s dedicated site for bringing the Centurion Lounge to your home.

The expanded and redesigned LAS location joins three other outposts that are currently under construction — Denver (DEN), London Heathrow (LHR) and New York (JFK). The latter two were scheduled to open in the first half of 2020, but the coronavirus will likely throw a wrench in those plans.

Related: The ultimate guide to the Amex Centurion Lounge

Nonetheless, this is great news for travelers who frequent LAS airport. Hopefully, this isn’t just a one-off, and Amex is also considering expanding some of its other popular locations too. In recent years, the issuer has expanded the Dallas, Miami and Seattle locations.

Along with the expansion coming to the Centurion Lounge network, Amex has sweetened the deal for would-be travelers currently stuck at home. The updates to The Platinum Card® from American Express include added credits for streaming and wireless telephone carriers for the rest of the year. And then, once travel resumes, Platinum cardholders can once again enjoy the Centurion Lounge, especially since the network will be bigger and better than before.

Featured photo of the current Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas by Zach Griff/The Points Guy