Amex Centurion Lounge updates: Newark, Amsterdam, Sidecar

The American Express Centurion Lounge network is already the largest of any credit card issuer, but that’s not stopping Amex from investing in more.

The issuer is in the final pre-opening stages at two outposts, reconfiguring the space at two others, and more changes are coming.

I caught up with Audrey Hendley, the president of Amex Travel, to learn what travelers can expect from Centurion Lounges in the coming months. (This is on top of the big updates to the Fine Hotels + Resorts program.)

Here’s what she said.

Newark and Amsterdam: opening soon

Amex has two more lounge openings planned for 2026.

There’s the long-awaited outpost in Newark’s Terminal A, plus the issuer’s third European location in Amsterdam.

The Newark lounge has been in the works since 2021, and with 17,000 square feet overlooking the airfield and the Manhattan skyline, it’s one of the openings I’m most excited about.

(Amsterdam won’t be too shabby either. It’ll measure 6,000 square feet and sit between Concourses E and F.)

The good news is that both projects are close to their debut. “Coming very soon” was how Hendley described them. (Reading between the lines, I’d expect both to open by the winter holidays, if not earlier.)

Overcrowding is here to stay

Whenever I speak to an airport lounge executive, I ask about long lines, and I (almost) always get the same reply.

Hendley dished the usual talking points — “the biggest limitation in the airports is space” — before pivoting to a reminder that lounges are only crowded during peak travel times. (Which, lately, has felt like every hour of every day except Tuesday mornings.)

Either way, I can’t blame travelers for wanting to spend time inside the lounge, though I’ll personally take a quiet nook in the terminal over a packed lounge.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Get the front-row look at the evolving world of travel, loyalty, tech and lifestyle — delivered directly to your inbox.

I’ve long been a proponent of innovative ways to address lounge overcrowding, and Hendley did share a few solutions, which I’ll get into below.

But the one she kept coming back to is the digital waitlist. You can add yourself to the waitlist for a Centurion Lounge in the Amex mobile app, and when it’s your turn, you’ll get a text that lets you skip the line.

Capital One offers a similar feature. Chase doesn’t, and it’s long overdue.

Renovations at 2 locations

Amex would love to physically expand many of its existing lounges (like it’s about to do in Dallas-Fort Worth), but airport real estate is limited, especially when Amex is bidding against other deep-pocketed issuers.

Short of an expansion, the issuer is renovating and reconfiguring existing lounges with updated furniture in more space-efficient layouts.

That work recently wrapped at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and it’s underway in Las Vegas.

This is the third time Amex has breathed new life into its first-ever — and perennially overcrowded — Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas. (It first opened in 2013.)

Sidecar is a hit

Amex debuted a new lounge concept, dubbed Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge, earlier this year.

The first 33-seat, speakeasy-style outpost is in Las Vegas, and it’s been doing “extremely well” since it opened in March.

Sidecar is built to get you fed quickly before your flight — you’re only allowed in within 90 minutes of departure. The goal is to turn tables fast — you order via QR code, and dishes are designed to arrive within eight minutes. Because of these quick turns, Sidecar helps add lounge capacity without requiring the same amount of space as a full lounge.

Amex has confirmed a Sidecar outpost for Charlotte in 2027, and Hendley said more are in the works.

Any guesses on where?

Subscribe to the newsletter

Get the front-row look at the evolving world of travel, loyalty, tech and lifestyle — delivered directly to your inbox.