Back in the good old days, an AMEX Platinum card granted access to American, Continental, Northwest, and USAirways lounges.
One by one, those airlines merged and stopped allowing lounge access for AMEX Platinum cardholders. You can still access Delta lounges, though you can no longer bring in any guests with you. The good news is that additional cardholders do get access to Delta lounges.
Originally, Centurion Lounges were designed for free access only for Centurion cardholders. You know them as those black cards that cost a whopping $2,500 per year with a $7,500 initiation fee that used to give top-tier elite status on airline like Continental and USAirways but no longer do.
Once the Platinum card started losing airline lounge partners they opened the Centurion lounge up to Platinum cardholders for free as well. Platinum cardholders used to be able to bring a spouse and kids into a Centurion lounge for free, but now you are limited to 2 guests besides for the cardholder. The good news is that additional cardholders also get access and can bring in 2 guests as well.
Centurion lounges offer services that vary by location including free spa/massage services, showers, complimentary food, drinks, cocktails, etc.
AMEX also added Airspace lounge access, Priority Pass lounge access, and other benefits like an annual $200 airline fee credit to make up for the loss of the airline lounges.
Currently, there are Centurion Lounges in:
- Dallas/DFW (Terminal D, near American)
- Houston/IAH (Terminal D, near United)
- Las Vegas (Concourse D, near United)
- NYC/LGA (Central terminal B upstairs, before security)
- Philadelphia (Terminal A West, near American)
- Miami (Concourse D, near American)
- Seattle (Concourse B)
- San Francisco (Terminal 3, near United)
International locations include:
- Buenos Aires/EZE
- Delhi
- Hong Kong (Terminal 1)
- Mexico City
- Monterrey, Mexico
- Sao Paulo/GRU
- Sydney
- Toluca, Mexico
In early 2019, AMEX will open a 2 level Centurion lounge in JFK terminal 4. Terminal 4 includes airlines like El Al, Asiana, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, KLM, Singapore, South African, Swiss, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
Delta also has a shuttle that connects terminals 2 and 4 airside after security.
While Delta has a lounge in terminals 2 and 4, those are limited to Platinum cardholders only. The Centurion lounge will be open to cardholders plus 2 guests.
The chart below summarizes all of the differences between the consumer and business versions of the Platinum card. It features the superior benefits in red font when there is a difference between the consumer and business card.
Note that the lounge benefits for additional cardholders as described below is only for additional Platinum cardholders, not for additional Gold or Green cardholders.
However, additional Gold and Green cardholders do qualify for free Global Entry/PreCheck memberships!
Additionally if you pay for a ticket with a Consumer Platinum card and you also have a Business Platinum card, and you choose to have it rebated with points, you will still earn a bonus 4 points per dollar. More info on how that works in this post.
| Consumer Platinum | Business Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $550 | $450 |
| Additional Cardholder Fee | -Up to 3 additional Platinum cardholders for a $175 fee ($58.33/card with 3 cards). -No fee for additional Gold cardholders | -$300 for each additional Platinum cardholder. -No fee for additional Green cardholders |
| Annual Airline Fee Credit | $200 | $200 |
| Points earned on airfare | 5 per dollar from airlines (including online travel agencies) and on AMEXTravel.com | 5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com |
| Points earned on hotels | 5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com | 5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com |
| Points earned on large purchases of $5,000+ | 1 per dollar | 1.5 per dollar (Up to 1 million bonus points per year) |
| Uber Benefits | VIP Status $15 in monthly credit plus $35 credit every December | None |
| Rebate on points redeemed for paid airfare | None | -35% rebate on a US airline of your choice in coach. -35% rebate on all airlines in business or first. -Maximum rebate of 500K points per calendar year. |
| Gogo In-Flight Wi-Fi | None | 10 Gogo flight passes per year |
| Card design | Metal | Metal |
| Elite status | Hilton, Marriott, and SPG Gold for primary and secondary cardholders | Hilton, Marriott, and SPG Gold for primary and secondary cardholders |
| Centurion lounge access | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests |
| Priority Pass membership | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests |
| Airspace lounge access | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests | Primary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests |
| Delta SkyClub access | Primary or secondary cardholders only. Must be flying Delta. | Primary or secondary cardholders only. Must be flying Delta. |
| Global Entry/Pre-Check Fee Refund | Once every 4 years for Primary and for each secondary cardholder | Once every 4 years for Primary and for each secondary cardholder |
| Boingo WiFi | Unlimited worldwide for Primary and secondary cardholders | Unlimited worldwide for Primary and secondary cardholders |
| Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits | Early check-in, room upgrade, daily breakfast, Wi-Fi, late checkout, and an additional special amenity. | Early check-in, room upgrade, daily breakfast, Wi-Fi, late checkout, and an additional special amenity. |
| Lost/Stolen/Damaged Item Protection | Covers items up to $10,000 for losses within 90 days of purchase, up to $50,000/year. | Covers items up to $10,000 for losses within 90 days of purchase, up to $50,000/year. |
| Return Protection | Covers items up to $300 within 90 days of purchase if the store won't take a return or charges a restocking fee, up to $1,000/year. | Covers items up to $300 within 90 days of purchase if the store won't take a return or charges a restocking fee, up to $1,000/year. |
| Premium Roadside Assistance | Free towing up to 10 miles, jump starts, flat tire changes, lockout service, and delivery of fuel, up to 4 times per year. | Free towing up to 10 miles, jump starts, flat tire changes, lockout service, and delivery of fuel, up to 4 times per year. |
| Extended Warranty | Doubles the manufacturer's warranty up to 1 additional year. Covers up to $10,000/item and up to $50,000/year. | Doubles the manufacturer's warranty up to 1 additional year. Covers up to $10,000/item and up to $50,000/year. |
| Car Rental Perks | -4 hour late return fee-free grace period at Hertz. -National Executive | -4 hour late return fee-free grace period at Hertz. -National Executive |
| Open Savings | None | 5% cash back at Fedex, HP, Hertz, and 800-Flowers |
| Counts against Chase 5/24 guidelines | Yes | No |
| Foreign transaction fee | None | None |
What is your favorite AMEX Platinum perk?
Leave a Reply
27 Comments On "AMEX Adding JFK Centurion Lounge; AMEX Consumer Vs. Business Platinum Card Benefit Comparison Chart"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
AWESOME News!
Sure is.
if my citi card is converting over to the new hilton ascend by end of january does the new card come with lounge passes?and how do i register with them thanks
Yes, you’ll get 10 Priority Pass uses per year.
There should be a link to signup once the card is released.
Is the 100k bonus only if you never got one before?
Usually, but read the terms listed.
Is it worth noting that the national executive can then be status matched to hertz five star.
How does it work with the premium roadside assitance you put the towing charges on your platinum card and it gets refunded after you call up? also if i have a additional cardholder how does he register with hilton lets say for them to give him gold statues?
Just call up AMEX for premium roadside assistance and they’ll take care of it. Just used this myself a couple weeks ago to have our van towed to the dealer. No charge on the card at all.
It’s also a much smoother and faster process than non-AMEX cards that offer roadside assistance.
Call AMEX to register for Hilton gold.
There is no Uber credit for Platinum Business Cards?
Nope.
The chart is correct as published.
Not that exciting if you fly DL. As an AMEX holder you already have access to the DL Lounge. Also, I assume the lounge will be in the middle by security (where the Wingtips lounge is). That is a solid 20+ min walk to the gates if you’re at the B34+ gates.
This will have more amenities than the Delta lounge.
You can use your expired platinum card until the expiration date to take advantage of the lounges.
Not Centurion or Priority Pass.
May want to specify in the chart, access to SkyClub only when flying DL.
Indeed, thanks.
Why is it that if I buy a ticket from an airline on my gold card I get 3x but on my Platinum only 1x
Consumer Platinum earns 5x.
How do you get Hertz 4 hour grace period?
Has anypne used this?
Yes! Simply apply the amax code in your reservation.
You can even pre-book it that way. (i.e. if you book a reservation with a 1PM pickup and a 5PM return, it will only charge you for 1 day….note that this does NOT cover other items like insurance or neverlost)
Can Centurion lounges be used on arrival?
Yes.
how do you get to it if it’s after security
Domestic arrivals are after security.
For the Platinum Amex consumer, are there any lounges in Istanbul airport? (during my layover)