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My Experience Using Amex’s Centurion Lounge App Check-In

Zach Honig
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Zach Honig is Editor-at-Large at TPG, with contributions ranging from articles digging deep on loyalty programs and credit cards to delivery flight coverage to drone photography and much more.
July 03, 2019
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3 min read
Amex Centurion Lounge SFO ZH
My Experience Using Amex’s Centurion Lounge App Check-In
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This month, American Express began offering a new option for checking into the issuer's network of Centurion Lounges. Now, rather than flashing your card at the desk, customers with the Centurion Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Business Platinum Card® from American Express can begin the entry process using Amex's regular mobile app.

Currently, mobile check-in is in a "soft launch phase" — it's only up and running at the New York (LGA) and San Francisco (SFO) locations and might not be active all the time, so you might want to carry your card with you (or use this option instead) just in case. I run through the process in detail here, but after having an opportunity to test it out at Amex's SFO location this week, I wanted to share my experience.

Amex's Centurion Lounge at SFO. (Photo by the author)

First, I should note that the lounge was almost empty during my Monday morning visit ahead of the July 4th holiday — the SFO Centurion Lounge is often bursting at the seams in my experience, but this time nearly every seat was open, so I didn't face the normal check-in queue when I arrived.

Instead, after checking in via the app a few minutes before, the agent simply asked "are you Zach?" when I approached the desk holding out my QR code, since my name appeared on his tablet. I was indeed! He checked my ID, wrote down my flight number and I was on my way in less than 10 seconds — definitely my speediest entry to date!

As I mentioned, mobile check-in only works at LGA and SFO right now, but Amex expects to roll it out to other locations "in the coming months." That means you'll soon be able to use it at lounges in Dallas (DFW), Hong Kong (HKG), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA), Philadelphia (PHL) and Seattle (SEA) — and eventually at upcoming lounges, as they open at Charlotte (CLT), Denver (DEN), Los Angeles (LAX), New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), Phoenix (PHX) and London Heathrow (LHR).

Featured image by (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.