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American Express Changing Centurion Lounge Access Rules (2026)

Written by Matthew Justice on Jul 4, 2026
Front desk and entrance inside of the LAX Centurion lounge with one person at the desk.

Key Takeaways

  • Starting July 8, 2026, guests must be booked on the same flight itinerary as the cardholder to enter a Centurion Lounge.
  • Layover entry is now capped at 5 hours. You can still enter up to 3 hours before a departing flight, but during a layover you can only access within 5 hours of your next flight's departure.
  • Guest fees remain unchanged. Platinum and Delta Reserve members still pay $50 per guest and $30 per child (2–17); kids under 2 are free.

This is a reminder for some news announced earler this year. Starting on July 8th, 2026, American Express is tweaking two entrance rules regarding Centurion Lounges. These rule changes are related to guest access and how early you are allowed to enter the lounge during a layover.

What lounge entrance rules are changing?

The first policy change has to do with who is allowed to enter a Centurion Lounge. Previously, cardholders were allowed to bring in any two guests, regardless of whether they were traveling on the same flight as the cardholder. Moving forward, included guests must be on the same flight itinerary. This applies to complimentary guests as well as paid guests.

Guest fees remain unchanged. Platinum and Delta Reserve card members still pay:

Note: Platinum card members who spend $75,000 in eligible purchases during a calendar year qualify for complimentary guest access (up to two guests). However, Delta Reserve card members are not eligible for this spend offer.

The second rule change involves when you'll be able to enter a Centurion lounge. You will still be able to enter the lounge up to three hours before your departing flight. However, cardholders will now only be able to access lounges during layovers (connections) up to five hours before the next flight's departure time.

The new rules will affect all U.S.-based and three international Centurion locations, including:

  1. Hong Kong International (HKG)
  2. London Heathrow (LHR)
  3. Tokyo's Haneda (HND)

Note: at the Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge, all card members must still enter within 90 minutes of the departure time stated on your same-day, confirmed boarding pass.

Which card will be affected by these changes?

Cardholders with Centurion Lounge access will be subject to the new rules once they go into effect. The following card will be included in this change:

* Must be flying on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight.

To learn about all current access rules and policies, see Access to The Centurion Network on the American Express Centurion website.

Closing Thoughts

The new rules are primarily designed to reduce overcrowding. I can't think of a single situation I have been in where this new policy change would have impacted me, unlike the Centurion Lounge changes that happened back in 2023 related to guest access did. Overall, this seems like a smart idea and will hopefully help with crowding.