Review: Amex Centurion Lounge Houston

Houston is a legacy Continental hub, and the platinum card used to get you into the Continental lounges (pre-merger). So I'm not sure that explains it either.

@ ssk -- Right, but that goes back over five years. I imagine more people have canceled their card more than five years after a benefit changed, rather than American flyers in Dallas or Miami, where the lounges were added around the same time that Admirals Club access was taken away. I certainly could be wrong.

Hi Ben. Great work as always! I must be the only traveler on the planet that is not in love with the Centurion Lounges. I have only been to SFO, but was bitterly disappointed. It was 10 pm and the place was packed. Bar line took 10 minutes. Three items at the buffet and it was only sporadically replenished. Standing room only. And the place was filthy as no staff were cleaning the tables. Guess I am going to have to give it a second chance because clearly I am missing something....

Lucky -

Since the SFO Centurion club is always jammed (and there's no easy way to get to/from the lounge for passengers other than UA and *A international, I don't think that the theory about UA pax not having Platinum Cards explains why it's not crowded.

I suspect it has more to do with it being in D. Depending upon your departure gate, it's easily as much of a schlep as trying to get from T7 at LAX to the *A lounge at TBIT. Only true lounge geeks (myself included) make that trek. There are too many easy United Clubs around.

I find it hard to believe that the lounge is only accessible via elevator. We do have fire safety standards in Texas.

@ Rich -- I actually asked the attendant specifically about that, and his response was "don't worry, we'll get you out if there's a fire."

John H - SFO Centurion lounge kitchen closes at 10pm, hence the lack of food. I would recommend going earlier.

Meh - I am dissappointed I live in Houston so I was planning to get plat for this but I don't see anything spectacular about this lounge. Plus, if necessary, I can pay $50 to enter and since I won't be in the lounge 9 times out of a year, it would be cheaper to do so. All the other benefits that plat offers, I will get it from citi prestige.

I hate the furniture in Centurion lounges. Looks and feels like some cheap IKEA crap. The photo of ZZ Top in the business center is pretty cool, though.

LMAO at the "business center". I suppose most business travelers have their own laptops, but I'd much rather grab a drink and hop on a full size desktop any day. My favorite setup are the Macs at The Wing in HKG.

+1 for @greg99's comment. I went there last night after arriving on a United Domestic flight. I didn't know it closed at 9pm and I arrived at 8:59. It is a long (20 minutes +) schlep from Terminal C where I landed and Terminal D is very lightly utilized. No Pre getting in, no services getting out. When I left I had to go to Terminal E (another long schlep) to catch an Uber, they don't pick up at Terminal D.

@stannis, the biz center at the Pier is even better; great lighting, huge desks and privacy at each station. i worked for a good 7 hours straight there a few months ago, then had dinner at the restaurant. can't beat that.

We always use the family room at the AMEX centurion lounge when we travel to/from SFO, which is almost on a monthly basis. We certainly appreciate the space where our kids can be kids, and I'm sure the other folks in the lounge appreciate being separated from them. I found your comment on the family room unnecessary. Otherwise I love your blog and reviews.

I'd say the family room is one of the reasons I keep the Plat AMEX. It's a great spot to let the kids be, on their own, while we sit outside. The door closes and noise is good to stay inside the room. True, the size is large if it's just one or two families, other than that it's a great space. My older kids liked asking for games and controllers from the front desk and being able to be in charge! AMEX wins, hands down, for including a family space in their lounges!

@dg - I agree with paying a la carte, except your math is wrong. Subtract the $200 airline credit from the annual fee and now you're looking at 5 lounge visits...

Weird! I was in the Centurion lounge yesterday between 16:30 and 18:00 after I flew LHR-IAH. I guess we just missed each other!

FYI, I was also surprised by the fact that it wasn't too crowded, but I think that has to do with the fact that it was a new lounge. A lot of first-timers were there and were checking it out, but I overheard a couple saying that they probably wouldn't use it on a regular basis due to the fact that it's in Terminal D.

The lounge IS accessible by stairs, but I think the stairway entrance is in terminal C right where it connects to D. I fly United domestic about once a month and I always pass by a stairway behind glass doors that say CENTURION on them and people have definitely walked up and down them. It's a bit weird, but not a bad location for us United loyalists that don't care for the United Clubs.

I believe the uncrowding is due to it being in Terminal D which is for international travel other than on United. There'd be more people if in Terminal C or E, or even B.

I believe Amex evaluated where they have a high threshold of Plat card users and built the lounge in that location. Houston was the likely next biggest hub with the highest concentration of users. That said, terminal D is really the pits!

We must agree with John H who visited SFO. Not all Amex lounges are wonderful. Hot stuffy temperatures, lines, lack of replenishment, dirty.

Complained to AE and just received a template letter reply.

I got to go yesterday when they were open (my previous visit they were just closing). It is now my new favorite Centurion Lounge. Terminal D is a drag, no Pre reminded me just how bad the vanilla version of TSA can be. And the elevator only access took a while because there were a lot of people with wheelchairs and luggage going from TSA up to the gates which use the same two elevators. There are at least two exit stairways in the hall from the elevators to the lounge, but I think they are both alarmed. The Lounge is what I imagine SF, Seattle, or Vegas would be if they weren't so overcrowded. There were places to sit, the tables were clean, the food was plentiful, the bartender was friendly and chatty. I had a great experience. On the way out I found that if you turn right from the elevators (towards D7) instead of left (towards D5) it is only a five minute walk to Terminal E and maybe 10 to Terminal C. Coming to the lounge from Terminal C, definitely don't follow the signs to D, just go to E first, then follow the signs.

Late to the party but I must say as a parent of a toddler I need those kids' rooms to make everyone else's experience better. Maybe I break the rules and drink my cocktail in there as well. 😉 I'm surprised you haven't seen them well utilized, since that's not my experience. Been through DFW twice in 2 months with 2-3 families in the room at once. The kids' room in the fancy one world lounge at MIA had a similar situation in December. Maybe it's because I usually travel during peak "kid" times like the holidays?

I am a mother of 2 and am planning a trip to Disney with a layover in Houston. I fully plan on utilizing the family room. I know you are surprised by the amount of space but if there wasn't this space people would complain about children being loud in the other common areas.

Excellent move - AMX. Love the family room!

I was here on the Sunday before Christmas, so it was a fairly busy day at IAH. But, even then there were no evident crowding issues in the lounge. I had to find a seat at the big wooden conference table since all the other seats were taken. At peak traffic, even all the chairs at the conference table were occupied, including the business station. The private telephone booth though was respectfully left vacant. However, at no time did I see anyone standing around waiting for a seat to free up, and the kitchen staff did a good job in making sure all food options were readily available at all times.

Disappointments: Crowded 9/10 full with guests taking multiple seats for single person placing belongings on chairs and having to be asked to clean to allow others to sit. Accommodations: hectic environment. Staff uninformed and not helpful. Ex: asked about the historically excellent black iced tea not found in the common area now. Waitress told me directly and clearly that it was NOT available and I could have a hot heat if I wished, I was surprised as good authentic iced tea is something of a icon in the South. Confirmed this is what she was saying and then asked to speak with manager. Manager advised that black iced tea was available in the kitchen and not deployed to common area as they were renovating that alcove.

Food: Still overly complicated and over thought. Cook is trying too hard to be a gourmet and not provide healthy readily consumed nutrition to passengers. In on this day the ONLY protein was some unappetizing "Braised Beef with Tomatillo Sauce". As dietary and religious restrictions preclude eating of red meat I and my family were "out of luck". Accompanying dishes were "Madras Vegetable Cury, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey Vinaigrette, French Beans Brown Butter Yellow Tomatoes, Tumeric & Tomato Steamed Rice, Corn Potato, Coconut Chowder" Basically very little here for someone who can not eat red meat or overly spiced food. Very disappointing considering the sizable expense of membership to access this lounge.

Results: Priority Pass Lounges are an option, United Polaris an option. Likely to weigh heavily on my decision to renew my Amex Credit card this year. Since access to the lounges are one of the major determining factors to choose Amex over Chase Sapphire. And with Amex's lessening offering and lesser services such as inferior insurances and travel expense refunds the math is backing up the decisions