Rumor has it that just a scant two weeks after opening, the new American Express Centurion Lounge at Dallas Fort-Worth is already hitting capacity.
Last Saturday, traveler Nathan Totusek tweeted a photo of a sign outside the Amex Lounge that stated, “Due to high traffic in our lounge at this time, we can only welcome Platinum Card Members who enter within three hours of their boarding pass departure time. We apologize for any inconvenience.” A follow-up tweet stated that Totusek saw “at least one person with an inbound boarding pass turned away” from the check-in desk.
A customer service rep responded to Totusek’s post from the @AskAmex Twitter account, saying, “Hi Nathan. Thanks for tweeting. Due to peak travel periods, we are limiting access to the lounge for same day departing flights within three hours of departure or connecting travel only. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.”
However, another traveler responded to Totusek’s tweet by stating that she had flown in and out of DFW that same week without seeing the capacity sign posted outside the lounge. “Maybe [restrictions apply] only peak hours?” she speculated, adding that she had spent less than 30 minutes in the lounge each time, both times with guests.
American Express told TPG, “During times when we’re seeing high capacity in our Centurion Lounges, we may choose to limit access to only Platinum Card Members who enter within three hours of their boarding pass departure time. This policy, however, does not impact the guest policy in our lounges, which for Platinum Card Members is up to two complimentary guests.”
The restrictions are not exactly new. Centurion Lounges have been known to implement this three-hour prior to departure restriction before. Nonetheless, it’s a bit surprising to see the newly opened DFW location already resorting to the measure.
Featured photo by Katherine Fan / The Points Guy.