Phoenix Sky Harbor May Be Getting an Amex Centurion Lounge
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American Express has been on a roll lately, with the revamping of the American Express® Gold Card, American Express® Business Gold Card, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Today it announced that it will be building a Centurion Lounge at London Heathrow airport, which comes soon after plans were uncovered to build a Centurion lounge in Charlotte International (CLT).
Now it appears that the likely next location of American Express' acclaimed lounge program will be at Phoenix Sky Harbor's International Airport (PHX).
Today, AZ Central reported that the Phoenix City council is voting on a proposal to approve a new lounge in the airport to replace The Club, a lounge not affiliated with a credit card program or airline. The Club was apart accessible via Priority Pass but apparently wasn't popular enough to renew its lease at Sky Harbor, despite a rapid rise in visits.
Last month the airport staff selected MAG USA Lounge Management to run a new lounge operation where The Club was located. In minutes of the meeting obtained by AZ Central, the company proposed splitting the space into two different lounges, with one being an American Express Centurion lounge and the other being an Escape Lounge (also accessible with Amex Platinum cards).
The minutes revealed more details about how the space would be designed and included Amex's signature wall of foliage, a "chef's table" and an area that could be closed off for private events. The plans suggested a December 2019 or January 2020 opening date.
After reading this, we reached out to American Express to confirm if the credit card issuer was indeed interested in putting a lounge in the airport. American Express provided a statement that appears to confirm the news:
We are always looking at opportunities to bring our premium Centurion Lounges to more airports across the globe and are working closely with the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as this location is certainly of interest for both us and our Card Members. We hope to have plans to announce soon.
The Phoenix City council will vote on the proposal today so it will likely soon be confirmed if Sky Harbor, an American Airlines fortress, will indeed see a Centurion Lounge.
Currently there are eight Centurion lounges in the US including Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA). Amex will also open lounges in Los Angeles (LAX), New York Kennedy (JFK) and Denver (DEN) in 2019.
You'll need one of the following products to access the Centurion Lounges:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express (including all varieties like Schwab, Ameriprise, etc.)
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Centurion and Business Cardholders
This isn't the only good news for Phoenix based travelers, American has invested heavily in its Admirals Club lounges over the last few years, including some of its Phoenix locations. Delta plans on opening a SkyClub in Terminal 3 early next year and United will build a new lounge when it moves its operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.
For more, read our Ultimate Guide to Amex Centurion Lounges.