Over the years, we’ve seen quite a bit of innovation when it comes to the credit card airport lounge landscape. While Amex Centurion Lounges were the first, arguably we’ve seen Capital One Lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounges raise the bar in recent years.
With that in mind, Amex has just made an interesting announcement, with plans to introduce a unique lounge concept, for those who are short on time.
In this post:
Amex’s new lounge concept for those in a rush
Amex plans to introduce a new lounge concept, known as Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge. These will be distinct lounge spaces at airports that already have Centurion Lounges.
The idea is that these lounges will be for those people who don’t have much time. Specifically, they’ll only be open to passengers with a flight departing within 90 minutes. Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge will offer a speakeasy-inspired concept, with a small plate menu, cocktails, and more. So it’ll be a more intimate and personalized experience than you’ll find at the typical Centurion Lounge.
The expectation is that the first location will be open in 2026 at Las Vegas Airport (LAS). Coincidentally (or not), that was also the US airport with the first Centurion Lounge back in the day, so it’s cool to see this new concept launch there as well. Don’t expect much in the way of amenities, other than restrooms.
Access requirements for the Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge locations will be the same as at Centurion Lounges, with the only difference being that you need to have a boarding pass for a flight departing within 90 minutes.
As Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel, describes this, “many of our visitors spend less than an hour in our lounges, and we’ve created Sidecar specifically for them.”
My take on Amex’s new lounge concept
I’m delighted to see some innovation from Amex on the lounge front, and this seems like a smart new concept. Here are some initial thoughts that come to mind:
- Often it can be difficult to find large vacant lounge spaces at airports, so this is a good way to be able to expand capacity when smaller airport real estate becomes available
- This should help alleviate crowding in the main Centurion Lounges, which everyone with access will benefit from
- This almost seems similar to the Capital One Landing concept that we’ve seen launched in recent times, though this is a scaled down version of that
- It’s interesting how this concept is focused on airports that already have Centurion Lounges, rather than expanding to airports that don’t
I do wish that Amex would reinvigorate its core Centurion Lounge concept, because I think Capital One and Chase have done quite a bit to innovate there, and Amex hasn’t necessarily kept up. Amex of course has the advantage in terms of the scale of its network, though.
As part of this latest announcement, Amex has also revealed that on July 29, 2025, it’ll launch what it calls the Culinary Collective. The idea is that rather than each Centurion Lounge partnering with a local chef, there will be four chefs overseeing the food offerings at all US Centurion Lounges.
I can’t say I have strong feelings there one way or another. After all, typically the limiting factor in terms of the quality of food offerings is the total amount invested and how the food is presented and served, rather than which chef endorses the menu.
Bottom line
Amex is planning on debuting a new lounge concept, named Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge. The idea is that these facilities will be built at airports with Centurion Lounges, for those who are short on time.
The speakeasy-inspired spaces will boast small plates and cocktails, exclusively for those with flights departing within 90 minutes. I’m looking forward to learning more details, as the opening date of the first location, in Las Vegas, approaches.
What do you make of the Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge concept?
I could see this working best with a setup like the PHX Centurion. That is next to an Escape (Centurion Studio) Lounge. When the main Centurion fills up, or they take down the buffet, they encourage people to go to the Escape. If you had a Sidecar in that setup, they could encourage people close to their flights to go there (hopefully with a shorter waitlist).
If this leads to fewer chicken thigh dishes and some sort of acknowledgment of Chicago-based flyers, I’m all for it.
I would rather see a "grab and go" concept similar to what United has in some hubs.
Be interesting how bloggers/reviewers rate these Sidecar spaces - they usually give lower scores to smaller spaces then larger ones, regardless of the services offered or crowds during that visit.
Line out the door at LAS is a joke. Anyone waiting in line miscalculated and arrives at the airport way too early except if they want to wait in line. Why anyone would wait in line like it was Southwest boarding makes no sense. They should be handing out refunds for annual fees when the line looks as bad as it is at LAS.
Unless there is zero wait, this isn’t a good idea.
90 minutes -30 minute wait = zero minutes if you want to board with your group for overhead space or hoping for an upgrade which the too often give away if your name is called and your not there.
They're probably banking on the kind of people who get to the lounge an hour before their flights to not show up to these things
Lol. They don't need to build a lounge at all. Just a store front. It would be like a game show. "Sorry your time is up. Now go catch your flight!"
Hopefully this will alleviate the "upscale soup kitchen" feel at most Centurion Lounges these days.
As much as I like the idea of a smaller speakeasy-style bar/lounge, I think in practice it will overcrowd really quickly despite the time limit. The better food selection would probably drive that the most I think. Seems like you'd need a good number of these spaces scattered around in conjunction with one bigger lounge in order to prevent overcrowding to a meaningful degree, but the bright side with the smaller spaces is that you...
As much as I like the idea of a smaller speakeasy-style bar/lounge, I think in practice it will overcrowd really quickly despite the time limit. The better food selection would probably drive that the most I think. Seems like you'd need a good number of these spaces scattered around in conjunction with one bigger lounge in order to prevent overcrowding to a meaningful degree, but the bright side with the smaller spaces is that you can actually find more spots around the terminal for it.
But surely the costs for Amex go up with your model? 1 x kitchen/bar/toilet-suite vs 3 in a terminal? And more staff are required for 3 Sidecars.
Yes, it would be more expensive for Amex. That's the trade-off though. Do you want to actually address overcrowding relatively quickly? You'll need a lot of extra staff to run the more of the smaller lounge concepts. Do you want to address it slowly and more cheaply? You'll need to wait longer until you can get space for an additional large lounge that needs less staff, while maybe having one Sidecar next to each.
I think it’s more about opening up more space to those who have longer layovers, in the main lounge.
….And Don’t Call me Shirley!
I would argue that that's a part of addressing overcrowding lol. I just don't see how this won't result in the Sidecars becoming hideously overcrowded, even with the time limit.
Whatever happened to the Centurion Studio concept that debuted at SEA circa 2015-2016? Wasn’t that meant to be a smaller lounge format for smaller markets? AXP moved to a larger space at SEA
Escape Lounges are now labeled as Centurion Studio Partner lounges.
What if your flight is within 90 minutes, and you get in the lounge, then the flight gets delayed 4 hours, can you stay in the lounge?
When it happens, you'll find out.
It looks like a pretty small space to stay in for 4 hours
I assume the LAS Sidecar will be near the existing Centurion. LAS is so crowded since AA doesn't have a lounge in LAS (like UA does) and the AmEx one is in the AA terminal pier.
AmEx will need one in DFW as well. I understand AmEx tried to get back the old DFW location to add a 2nd Club, but the airport would not let them have it back (even though still vacant).
"Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge will offer . . . a small plate menu . . . ," which suggests food will be served as opposed to being patron-accessible. Better vibe & food quality control. And, eliminate the "load up the gym bag at the buffet" types, which might lead to lesser crowds. If this is successful, perhaps the primary lounges move to this format. A welcome change that might help restore Amex' sullied brand image.
How will this help with crowding? It adds capacity but will people just move from the main lounge to this one at 90 minutes mark?
There could be a "one or the other" feature. They'll figure it out.
I really like the QR code full menu ordering the Chase lounges have. The buffet at Amex lounges isn’t as appealing.
"It’s interesting how this concept is focused on airports that already have Centurion Lounges, rather than expanding to airports that don’t"
This is probably the case because if these Sidecar lounges were to open at new airports, then the demand for them would be more than they can handle from AMEX users.
By being side-by-side, Amex can perform an "A/B" test to see which format is more successful.
This is already offered at the Centurion Longe MEX Terminal 2.
I stand corrected. A similar grab and go concept is available at MEX. Not a separate sidecar lounge.
I don't get this concept. Limiting access to only those customers within 90 minutes of departure doesn't seem to make sense. That's still a considerable time. Why not just make a grab-and-go lounge? That would probably help.
Read my comments (and replies) above. Something bigger might be afoot. Amex might be completely rethinking its concept of a lounge. It knows that it needs to do something.
90 minutes before boarding is 30 minutes in the lounge (maybe 45 if it happens to be close to your gate). Makes perfect sense. And eliminates all the people on 5 hour layovers.
I agree- this could be an interesting concept. At least it's definitely worth a try on Amex's part- not much to lose IMO.