In mid-2021, we learned that the Amex Centurion Lounge network would be expanding to Atlanta. There’s an exciting update, as this lounge will be opening tomorrow, Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
In this post:
Basics of the Amex Centurion Lounge Atlanta
An Amex Centurion Lounge is finally opening at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The new lounge is roughly 26,000 square feet, making it the largest Centurion Lounge by far. As a point of comparison, the previous largest Centurion Lounge was in New York (JFK), and that lounge is around 15,000 square feet.
The Amex Centurion Lounge Atlanta is located in Concourse E, near gate E11. All terminals in Atlanta are connected airside, so this lounge can be used by all passengers.
What should we expect from the amenities of the lounge?
- The lounge features a locally-inspired menu from Atlanta-based Chef Deborah VanTrece, behind restaurants Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, Oreatha’s At The Point, and La Panarda; food options include Black Eyed Pea Biryani, Za’atar Grilled Chicken Thighs with Green Tomato Chimichurri, and Twisted Soul Salad with Strawberry Peppercorn Vinaigrette
- The lounge features The Reserve by American Express, a whiskey bar serving signature cocktails designed by Jim Meehan, Centurion Mixologist, along with a selection of classic and new American whiskeys
- The lounge features three (!!!) outdoor terraces, as this is the first time we’re seeing a terrace at a Centurion Lounge
- The lounge’s design is inspired by Atlanta’s reputation as “the city in the forest,” with an abundance of trees, including a 50-year-old olive tree and a 3,850 square foot custom light sculpture that represents a forest canopy
- The lounge features the typical Centurion Lounge amenities, including dedicated workstations and phone booths, and restrooms and shower suites
I’ve gotta say, the pictures look very nice, and this is probably the most impressive Centurion Lounge we’ve seen yet. Admittedly competition is heating up when it comes to the quality of credit card lounges, between the Chase Sapphire Lounges and Capital One Lounges (though Amex still has the advantage when it comes to the size of its lounge network).
This Amex Centurion Lounge will be very popular
It’s really exciting to see an Amex Centurion Lounge finally opening in Atlanta. For context, prior to this opening, Atlanta Airport has a total of a dozen lounges, including:
- Nine(!!!) Delta Sky Clubs
- One American Admirals Club
- One United Club
- One “The Club”
As you can see, Delta passengers have plenty of choices, while others… don’t. So it’s an airport with a good amount of lounge capacity, but not much variety.
It’s a good thing that the Amex Centurion Lounge Atlanta will be the largest one to date, because I imagine this will also (by far) have the most guests of any Centurion Lounge. That’s because of the close partnership between American Express and Delta, which offers a lot of lounge access for premium card members.
Atlanta Airport has nine Sky Clubs for a reason, and a large percentage of the people accessing those lounges will also have Centurion Lounge access. Amex Centurion Lounges in general have crowding issues, given the huge demand for these lounges. In Atlanta I could see this playing out in one of two ways:
- Those eligible for Sky Club and Centurion Lounge access will go to the Centurion Lounge for the superior food and drinks, which will make the Sky Clubs a bit less crowded
- Since just about everyone eligible for Centurion Lounge access also has Sky Club access, maybe people will just go to the lounge closest to their gate, and not seek out the Centurion Lounge
Personally I think the former is a much more likely outcome than the latter, but I could be wrong.
Bottom line
As of February 14, 2024, a 26,000 square foot Amex Centurion Lounge is opening at Atlanta Airport (ATL), making it the largest Centurion Lounge to date. The lounge looks beautiful, with three outdoor terraces being a first-ever feature for the lounge network. No matter how you slice it, more lounge capacity in Atlanta is a good thing.
What do you make of the Amex Centurion Lounge Atlanta?
Would imagine it'll get pretty crowded. Given how insanely over-generous credit card perks are in the USA it would seem nuts to be a traveller and not have a premium Amex card, you basically get the fee back in credits which is way different to everywhere.
I'm sure the extra capacity will help with skyclub crowding. It will attract travelers with gates at D, E and F. It seems like E is nearly always the most crowded club. But I do wonder if in 2025 things are going to get a little crowded with the vast majority of people with access to nine lounges all with capped visits trying to preserve those visits. I'd love to know what percentage of DL cardmembers use more than 15 visits a year.
I tend to think folks will still choose the lounge closest to their gate. I'm Miami-based, and with the Sky Train undergoing routine maintenance (err... experiencing structural cracking in the support columns after only 13 years of operation due to a corrupt bidding process and shoddy construction), I will only use Centurion Lounge if my gate is in low D. Anything on the other end of D or out in the punishment gates in E...
I tend to think folks will still choose the lounge closest to their gate. I'm Miami-based, and with the Sky Train undergoing routine maintenance (err... experiencing structural cracking in the support columns after only 13 years of operation due to a corrupt bidding process and shoddy construction), I will only use Centurion Lounge if my gate is in low D. Anything on the other end of D or out in the punishment gates in E and I'll use the Admirals Club at D30. It's just too far of a walk otherwise.
My flights are usually from T,A or B E is far away even if the plane train is running
Long lines as they block the 10 tables with couches and chairs with a "reserved for black card" sign, and 90% will stay empty, always.
Wow Thats exciting news It’s looks beautiful So cool to have the option of of outdoor seating The food sounds scrumptious!
ATL is my home airport. It's a horrible place for lounge access through Priority Pass or for frequent flyers with other airlines besides DL. Although all terminals are connected airside after security, it is a long train ride from the T-gates (which I love as they are close to security) where majority of UA/AA flights leave from, the Club is at the other end of the airport. The other issue is overcrowding at the Club....
ATL is my home airport. It's a horrible place for lounge access through Priority Pass or for frequent flyers with other airlines besides DL. Although all terminals are connected airside after security, it is a long train ride from the T-gates (which I love as they are close to security) where majority of UA/AA flights leave from, the Club is at the other end of the airport. The other issue is overcrowding at the Club. So, addition of the Amex Centurion lounge is welcome news indeed.
This is welcome news as ATL aiport sucks when it comes to lounges.
Only choice for peioeity. Lin members is “The Club” which is pretty basic with long wait times.
Admirals club can be accessed only when flying American and so is the case with delta .
So ,it is finally great to have a decent lounge which you can access no matter what airline you fly.
I am looking forward to trying it
If Amex's new lounge at ATL can replicate the experience of Delta's *new* lounges (such as at LAX), great. But, if it ends up simply being a larger version of the same experience at other Amex lounges, no thanks.
What is the phenomenon that causes people here to react to unmitigated good news (i.e. significantly more lounge capacity at an airport that desperately needs it) with negativity and snark? People, just be happy for a minute!
Big or not. I expect this to be a big giant clusterF. Just with the DL reserve holders trying this lounge for the first time. Than you have people with limited visits to SkyClub.
More Chicken Thigh:(
I, for one, welcome the chicken thigh. While it has more fat than the breast, this helps avoid overcooking which is common in breast, particularly when its been sitting in a warmer too long....
lol of course they are serving chicken thighs. Has anyone been to an Amex lounge recently where that wasn’t the main protein option?
Delta just released its 2023 10K (annual report to investors filed with the SEC) and one of the categories of OTHER is miscellaneous. It is under that subcategory which DL says is "primarily composed of lounge access, including access provided to certain American Express cardholders, and codeshare revenues."
In accounting, the largest item is usually first.
Delta reported about $550 million for that category in 2021, almost $900 in 2022 and $1.1 billion...
Delta just released its 2023 10K (annual report to investors filed with the SEC) and one of the categories of OTHER is miscellaneous. It is under that subcategory which DL says is "primarily composed of lounge access, including access provided to certain American Express cardholders, and codeshare revenues."
In accounting, the largest item is usually first.
Delta reported about $550 million for that category in 2021, almost $900 in 2022 and $1.1 billion in 2023.
If even half of that category is AmEx payments to DL for non-DL SkyMiles cardholder access (such as the non-DL Amex Platinum card), Amex is paying DL a fortune for SkyClub access.
It thus makes all kinds of sense for Amex to build its own lounges as well as, to the extent possible, get some revenue from DL customers using Centurion lounges.
Amex's opening of such a large club in ATL is to stem the amount of money they have to pay DL and will also reduce overcrowding in SkyClubs.
Gorgeous!
If you are planning to fly through ATL any time in the next few months, it would likely be a good idea to go ahead and get on the wait list for this lounge. I anticipate that is the only way you'll get it.
I was just in a DL lounge in ATL. The food was better than most centurion lounges.
The F Delta lounge (i.e. the one in the international terminal) is actually pretty good
It's going to be packed once every Amex Plat and DL Reserve cardholder have used up their 5 and 10 annual visits to the Delta Club Lounge after 2024.
I thought according to the internets everyone has dropped the Reserve and Amex Plat., and everyone had status matched to AS, AA and B9 after the late 2023 DL status nerfs.
One would think so with all the noise on the internet. (and I do understand that your comment was tongue in cheek). However, Delta's load factors continue to be high and they don't appear to have reduced frequencies. I most commonly fly DCA-ATL. They've doubled the base price on that route in the last few months. And get a little closer to departure and they go through the roof. I tried to book one way...
One would think so with all the noise on the internet. (and I do understand that your comment was tongue in cheek). However, Delta's load factors continue to be high and they don't appear to have reduced frequencies. I most commonly fly DCA-ATL. They've doubled the base price on that route in the last few months. And get a little closer to departure and they go through the roof. I tried to book one way DCA-ATL in late March last night -- economy was between $500 and $700 ONE WAY over the course of the day. I popped over to American and booked for $210. I'd prefer the frequencies of DL on that route and the fact that they fly it themselves. AA's are (at least some of the time) operated by their regional partner. On the other hand I'm pretty much guaranteed an upgrade on AA on that route and it's unlikely on DL (i'm both AA EXP and DL Diamond)
But I digress. DL is NOT suffering from a mass exodus of customers. ATL may be their biggest hub and ATL travelers may be captive, but if they were losing connecting traffic, it would be noticeable.
so true the DSC will be empty...
Incredible that DCA is still a work in progress. Ridiculous.
The DCA Centurion lounge, originally scheduled to open in December 2022(!), is still ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .
I wonder every time I walk by... is there ANY construction going on in there?
Don’t forget it’s in E, so many won’t go all the way down to E.
Totally agree. E is one of the least used concourse at ATL. I can imagine a lot of F passengers going there as Delta's F lounge is always packed and The Club is terrible and also packed.
It'll also likely be popular with
1) DL fliers as long as there are lines and those fliers have time to get to/from E, and
2) DL employees with Amex cards that had lounge access revoked (except when traveling on revenue tickets) in early 2023.
Amex also requires a revenue ticket to access the Centurion Lounges, so sadly DL employees will still get shut out
DL employees traveling non-rev (standby) can't access Centurion lounge any ways without a confirmed seat.
Concourse E is primarily used for Delta's international flights, or widebody domestic flights. At least that is the intention.
One interesting thing to consider here is that the Amex Platinum and Amex Delta Reserve, as of now, still have unlimited visits to Centurion Lounges. Next year, both of those cards will have caps on SkyClub visits (unless you spend $75K in 2024). So where both Centurion Lounges and SkyClubs exist, a lot of cardmembers will want to visit the Centurion Lounge so they don't use one of their SkyClub visits.
I look forward to checking this lounge out, looks sweet.