It’s a fantastic week when it comes to lounges at Salt Lake City Airport (SLC). First we saw the opening of a new 34,000 square foot Delta Sky Club, more than doubling Delta’s lounge capacity at the airport. That’s not all, as we’ve also seen the opening of the new Amex Centurion Lounge, which is the 31st lounge in the card issuer’s network.
In this post:
Basics of the new Amex Centurion Lounge SLC
The Amex Centurion Lounge network has just expanded, with the opening of a new lounge at Salt Lake City Airport. This is the first ever credit card lounge at the airport, so that’s a pretty cool milestone.
The Amex Centurion Lounge SLC is nearly 18,000 square feet, has seating for around 350 guests, and is located in Concourse B, near gate 31. The lounge is open daily from 4:45AM until 11:15PM, so it has very long hours.
This new outpost is described as setting a new standard in lounge design for the Centurion Lounge network, taking inspiration from the region’s natural landscape and outdoor spirit. The lounge has warm, earthy tones, and open spaces, intended to reflect the city’s surrounding mountains and open skies.
This lounge has some cool amenities, including:
- A hearth room inspired by a lodge experience, with a 360-degree fireplace encircling a seating area
- An outdoor, year-round terrace with views of the Wasatch Mountains, offering fresh mountain air and the ability to relax by a fireplace, while enjoying mountain views
- A recovery room with plush loungers, including wellness amenities like compression boots and massage guns, along with health conscious bites
- Seating for all types of travelers, including armchairs, cafe tables, dining banquettes, quiet workspaces, group seating, reservable meeting rooms, and a VIP room for Centurion members
- Signature Centurion Lounge amenities, including shower suites and restrooms, private phone nooks, plenty of charging ports, and high speed Wi-Fi
The food and beverage menus in the lounge are curated by the Culinary Collective by The Centurion Lounge, with a rotating selection of seasonal dishes and drinks from chefs Kwame Onwuachi, Mashama Bailey, Mike Solomonov, and Sarah Grueneberg.
The lounge also boasts a Blue Roast by American Express barista coffee bar, with espresso drinks, cold brew, and rotating seasonal specialties. That’s on top of the lounge having two bars and a buffet.
My take on the new Amex Centurion Lounge SLC
Salt Lake City is of course a fortress hub for Delta. The airport has undergone a very nice redevelopment in recent years, and it’s awesome to see just how much lounge capacity has been expanded.
Up until this week, the airport’s primary lounge was a 28,000 square foot Delta Sky Club in Concourse A. Now this week we’ve seen the opening of a 34,000 square foot Delta Sky Club in Concourse B, plus a new 18,000 square foot Amex Centurion Lounge in Concourse B.
Given the largely overlapping access requirements of Delta Sky Clubs and Amex Centurion Lounges, that means lounge capacity has gone from 28,000 square feet to around 80,000 square feet. That’s absolutely awesome for customers. Fortunately there’s even more coming for other flyers. Next we should see the opening of a new United Club in Concourse B.
It’s not surprising to see Amex opening a lounge at a Delta hub, given the close partnership between Amex and Delta. Those with an Amex Platinum Card who are flying Delta have the option of visiting the Delta Sky Club or Amex Centurion Lounge (with certain limitations), while those with an Amex Platinum Card not flying with Delta are able to use the Centurion Lounge.
I still wish we’d see some more “competing” lounge options in Salt Lake City, whether it’s a Priority Pass lounge, Chase Sapphire Lounge, or Capital One Lounge. Regardless, this is a move in the right direction, and it’s nice to see the overall growth of lounge capacity at the airport.
Bottom line
We’ve just seen the opening of the new Amex Centurion Lounge Salt Lake City. The roughly 18,000 square foot lounge is located in Concourse B, and it looks like one of the best Centurion Lounge locations to date. Best of all, the lounge has opened the same week as the Delta Sky Club Concourse B. Talk about a great week for premium flyers based in SLC!
What do you make of the new Amex Centurion Lounge Salt Lake City?
SLC Airport is a hidden gem, I was shocked to not see it being on the top 10 list for US airport rankings. It's beautiful, clean, and most importantly, the bathrooms are great. Like Portland, they have the rule where prices of things inside the airport can't be more expensive than what they charge in the city. I always show up at the airport like 90 minutes before a flight and never had an issue....
SLC Airport is a hidden gem, I was shocked to not see it being on the top 10 list for US airport rankings. It's beautiful, clean, and most importantly, the bathrooms are great. Like Portland, they have the rule where prices of things inside the airport can't be more expensive than what they charge in the city. I always show up at the airport like 90 minutes before a flight and never had an issue.
The only downside is since Delta has kind of a monopoly here, prices flying out of SLC is really high... :/
Wow that's gorgeous design, excited to fly thru on Monday. I really hope they renovate the existing Centurion lounges with this new design. LAX for example just downright looks like a hospital cafeteria.
Flying through here on the 5th, cant wait to check it out, Centurion holder so hoping the 'VIP room' is more than a roped off corner!
Flying thru on Monday. If I remember, I'll come back here and comment on the Centurion section.
Excellent! Please let us know!
They do have a Centurion section, it's small but has really nice views and is completely private in a separate room. Located on a corner with two walls of windows and a chandelier.
Overall really impressed with the new design and appreciated the barista coffee shop. I do slightly miss the living green wall, but it's worth losing it for the new luxury design.
Fresh Mountain Air is Miami resident code for airplane, tug, luggage hauler, and de-icer engine exhaust mixed with temp inversion valley smog. Mmmm!
Great point; Miami International Airport only gets fresh ocean breezes (unless... the wind is from the North... then you get those 'Hialeah' smells... from the nearby Medley Landfill.) And, if you prefer FLL, you get to fly right over that Dania beach 'mountain' when coming in from the West. Ahh.
You can keep MIA, FLL, TPA, RSW, & PNS; the only part of Florida that’s worth visiting are my secret spots in the Bahamas. Oh, wait..
You say that, but, let’s be real, unless you pay for VIP assistance, the entry immigration and customs at NAS is hellish during the season, like at least an hour wait. As much as I also like the Bahamas, they really could do a bit better with that. At least it’s a super short flight from MIA and FLL.
Epic. SLC has come a long way. The new terminals are excellent; really enjoy the initial ‘new’ SkyClub in concourse A, and looking forward to trying the new SkyClub and this Centurion in B, next time. Can’t wait for the new DeltaOne lounge, too. This will serve them well for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Also, the new Pendry near Park City is great, too, and it’s on FHR, so use those $300 credits!
You seem to be familiar with SLC - which lounge do you think will be better? The new SkyClub or the new Centurion?
Centurion just opened, today; so I have not seen it in-person yet; I try to visit Utah at least once a year. Was just there two months ago.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the new SkyClub in A; if Amex manages the crowds, it could be superior, because they tend to do food/beverages well. (Then again, at other airports, like LGA, ironically, the Chase lounge has better food than Amex there).
A few other commenters seem...
Centurion just opened, today; so I have not seen it in-person yet; I try to visit Utah at least once a year. Was just there two months ago.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the new SkyClub in A; if Amex manages the crowds, it could be superior, because they tend to do food/beverages well. (Then again, at other airports, like LGA, ironically, the Chase lounge has better food than Amex there).
A few other commenters seem to be routing through SLC soon; so, hopefully they report back here once they do!
Any idea why Centurion would open the same time as the new SkyClub? You would think Amex would want the better press maybe a week later - let the DL news drown it out. I am also really, really confused by the Delta/Amex lounge overlap strategy. I'm starting to think Amex Plat will lose all access to DL lounges - that's why we're seeing them pop up in Delta hubs. At DCA...the Centurion is right...
Any idea why Centurion would open the same time as the new SkyClub? You would think Amex would want the better press maybe a week later - let the DL news drown it out. I am also really, really confused by the Delta/Amex lounge overlap strategy. I'm starting to think Amex Plat will lose all access to DL lounges - that's why we're seeing them pop up in Delta hubs. At DCA...the Centurion is right next to the Delta gates, E in Atlanta, JFK (T4, Delta terminal), and look at SLC - not a lot of NON delta traffic
You’ve raised a lot of points, so I’ll try to walk through each one:
There’s really no downside to opening both lounges around the same time. Adding more lounge capacity benefits everyone, since this isn’t a zero-sum situation. Amex and Delta aren’t competing businesses here — their strategies are aligned, and both clearly see enough demand from travelers to justify multiple lounges.
Both Amex and Delta gain positive visibility from these openings, and the impact...
You’ve raised a lot of points, so I’ll try to walk through each one:
There’s really no downside to opening both lounges around the same time. Adding more lounge capacity benefits everyone, since this isn’t a zero-sum situation. Amex and Delta aren’t competing businesses here — their strategies are aligned, and both clearly see enough demand from travelers to justify multiple lounges.
Both Amex and Delta gain positive visibility from these openings, and the impact is actually synergistic across their audiences. Their partnership is one of the strongest in the industry, so these moves reinforce that relationship rather than compete with it.
Their partnership is worth billions (with a $10B target), and the economics make sense for both sides. Amex benefits when Delta flyers use Platinum or cobrand cards to access lounges, while Delta gains from the improved customer experience and increased loyalty those cards drive.
It wouldn’t make sense for either company to limit lounge access as that would undercut their shared success. In fact, Amex has been adding Centurion lounges in Delta hubs at Delta’s request, precisely to increase capacity and improve the experience for Delta customers.
It seems you might have a misconception that Centurion Lounges and SkyClubs are competitors, or that lounge demand is already saturated. In reality, lounge crowding remains a major challenge across the industry, just search for recent stories about long wait times at both Centurion and SkyClub locations. Increasing lounge options helps both brands, and ultimately makes Delta a more attractive airline choice for frequent travelers.