Amex Plat Lounge Guests - Will Policy Change?

[creditrizz]

Amex plat got rid of the centurion lounge 2 x guest passes this year since the lounges were getting so crowded.  All good with me, as it had to be done - some of their lounges had become wild jungles, and they're only a little better now but at least they're mostly enjoyable.

Currently if you spend $75k per year (on that card only) they give you guest passes for the remainder of the year, and for the full next year + a month into the subsequent year.  They also extend the 10 delta lounge visits per year to unlimited for the same period.  I'm currently about $20k away on my biz platinum from hitting this goal, but I'm getting kind of tired of spending on that card.  The AMEX points aren't that flexible compared to Chase, and the multipliers on the platinum are mostly non-existent.  You're basically just looking at 1 point per dollar spend for the most part.  AMEX points just don't get me a ton of value as I'm not patient enough to search for award flights and all that. I might get 1.2 cpp out of them which is alright, but the lack of multipliers  annoys me.

I'm wondering if now that air travel is on a significant decline, and other card issuers are competing with new loungest of their own, if anyone thinks they may bring the standard guest pass benefit back for 2025?   If so, I would mostly be able to stop wasting significant spending on that card and just put on a 2x card like the BBP.  I'll still keep the plat as I get a pretty solid net positive on things I'd pay for anyway that are credited on that card.

[Dadof31978]

Why does it matter what we think? Do we get a vote on it. 

[creditrizz]

Yeah you get a vote.  Polling station is in the dumpster, go cast yours.

[swankytiger]

doubt it since they give cards with centurion lounge access out like candy. 

[MissLiz]

I thought air travel was steadily increasing?

[4sallypat]

Yes, it is increasing according to the TSA but currently, it's on a decline due to post summer shoulder season, increasing debt by travellers, etc..

I do enjoy the Centurion Lounge but the wait list at LAX has to be a joke.  

LAX has the most crowds accessing the lounge and there are no other options.

I prefer the smaller PP lounges - my favorite is flying out of ONT and using the Escape lounges.

[creditrizz]

That LAX amex lounge is such a pain but really the only non-airline option we have there so I'm stuck with amex plat for a while.  They're getting a sapphire lounge, but it'll be half the size of the Amex lounge so I'm sure the line will be a struggle there as well.

[swankytiger]

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@creditrizz wrote:

That LAX amex lounge is such a pain but really the only non-airline option we have there so I'm stuck with amex plat for a while.  They're getting a sapphire lounge, but it'll be half the size of the Amex lounge so I'm sure the line will be a struggle there as well.

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also based on data points the sapphire lounges are just as crowded as the centrurion lounges.

[Im-back]

AMEX needs to do more to cull the herd. There are just too many people wanting access. Interested in hearing what others think of something like $100 per guest of a platinum cardholder.