Amex Platinum lounge access at Amsterdam: what it opens after the Lufthansa cut

First, the thing that changed#

On October 1, 2026, American Express ended its Lufthansa lounge partnership. If you have held a Platinum Card for any length of time you probably used it at some point: a same-day Lufthansa Group boarding pass got you into a Lufthansa Business Lounge if you were in economy, or a Senator Lounge if you were in business, and Centurion cardholders got the First Class Lounges at Frankfurt and Munich on any ticket.

It was not a US-only cut.

The lounges that took Priority Pass, the Lufthansa Business Lounges at JFK, Dulles and Detroit, remain reachable through the Platinum Card's Priority Pass Select membership. The rest, including everything at Frankfurt and Munich, are closed to you unless you have Star Alliance Gold or a business class ticket.

At Amsterdam, the useful question is which side of passport control you use.

Why Schiphol is different#

Lufthansa does not run a lounge at Schiphol. The Lufthansa Group is Star Alliance, and at Amsterdam its passengers use the shared Star Alliance Lounge on the non-Schengen side, which the Amex partnership never covered.

What actually matters at Amsterdam is an opening, not a closure. Two weeks before the Lufthansa cut took effect, Amex opened a Centurion Lounge here, and it changes the Platinum Card's value at this airport more than any partnership ever did.

The Centurion Lounge, open since September 17#

Amex announced the Centurion Lounge Amsterdam in June and opened it on September 17, 2026.

The small lounge sits between piers E and F in non-Schengen Lounge 3, serving the long-haul departure area.

If you are flying within the Schengen zone, to Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Copenhagen, you cannot use it. Schengen flights board from the B, C and D piers without passport control, and there is no way to get to the Lounge 3 area for a flight that does not pass through it.

Inside are a Blue Roast coffee bar, cocktails, a hot buffet with Dutch dishes, workstations and a phone booth. There are no showers, an omission I would notice on a long connection.

Hours are 6:00 to 21:30 daily. Entry is up to three hours before a confirmed departure, with the usual Centurion rules: no arrival access, connecting passengers admitted with proof of the onward flight. Platinum, Business Platinum and Centurion cardholders qualify, as do Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardholders flying Delta the same day. Guests are $50 per adult and $30 per child aged two to seventeen, unless you have spent $75,000 on the card in a calendar year, in which case two guests are free. Those fees have been in place since February 2023 and they are the same at every Centurion Lounge worldwide.

Priority Pass: the two Aspire lounges#

Priority Pass Select supplies the other two options: Aspire lounges on each side of passport control.

Aspire Lounge 26 is on the Schengen side, up on level 3 in the Lounge 1 area near the D gates. For any Platinum cardholder flying within Europe from Amsterdam, this is the lounge, full stop, and it is a good one.

Aspire Lounge 41 is the non-Schengen counterpart, on the third floor of the Lounge 2 area between the D and E gates. The bar is self-service rather than staffed, which is a step down from Lounge 26, but it has two showers, which Lounge 26 does not and the Centurion does not either.

Remember that Amex-issued Priority Pass is lounges only. No restaurants, no spas. At Schiphol that costs you nothing, because there are no Priority Pass restaurants here and the two Aspire lounges are the whole Priority Pass footprint.

Everything the card does not open#

The Delta Sky Club benefit on the Platinum Card, ten visits a year with a same-day Delta flight, is useless here because there is no Sky Club at Schiphol. Delta passengers use KLM Crown Lounge 52, the enormous non-Schengen lounge with twenty showers, and Amex's benefit covers Sky Club-branded lounges only.

KLM Crown Lounge 25 on the Schengen side and Crown Lounge 52 on the non-Schengen side both need SkyTeam Elite Plus status or a KLM or Air France business ticket. The Star Alliance Lounge, rated 4.6, needs Star Alliance Gold or a premium cabin; this is the lounge Lufthansa passengers use and it was never part of the Amex deal. The oneworld Lounge needs oneworld Sapphire or Emerald or a business ticket on British Airways, Cathay or another member.

The three Privium lounges are for members of Schiphol's paid fast-track program and are not accessible with any card. Plaza Premium and Escape Lounges, both on the Platinum Card's partner list, have no location at Schiphol.

How to use it, by situation#

For non-Schengen departures, I'd try Centurion first and Aspire 41 if entry is restricted. If a shower matters, I'd reverse that order.

Flying Schengen: Aspire 26. That is the entire list, and it is a perfectly good one.

On a long non-Schengen connection, I'd consider Aspire 41 for a shower, then Centurion when eligible. Both are in the non-Schengen area.

Flying Delta: Centurion, because the KLM lounge Delta sends you to needs status you probably do not have.

The bigger picture#

For an Amsterdam traveler, the addition of Centurion is a real improvement. The useful choice still depends on passport control, opening hours and whether a shower matters.

The Amsterdam Schiphol page lists all ten lounges by pier, our Priority Pass at AMS guide goes deeper on the Aspire pair, and the best lounges for food at AMS ranks the dining. Confirm the Platinum Card's current access rules with American Express before you plan a trip around any of this, and read our methodology for how we score lounges.