Amex Centurion Lounge rules, explained: guests must share your flight, and layovers cap at five hours

American Express's tighter Centurion Lounge rules have now been in place for three months. Two changes took effect on July 8, 2026. Guests must now be on the same flight as the cardmember. And on a layover, you can enter only within five hours of your connecting flight.

Amex first shared the plan with The Points Guy in January. It said the updates are meant to help preserve the lounge experience as demand for lounges grows. Amex has not named a spokesperson or given figures on crowding.

Here is how the new rules work, how they fit with the old ones, and what to do if they shut you out.

The two new rules

Guests must share your flight. Amex's access policy now says: "All guests must be traveling on the same flight as the Card Member." A partner on a separate ticket to a different city can no longer come in with you. Neither can a friend on a later flight. As The Bulkhead Seat notes, this applies to paid guests and to free guests alike.

Layovers cap at five hours. Before July 8, the three-hour entry window applied only to your first flight of the day. A cardmember with a long connection could stay all day. Now, Amex says cardmembers on a layover "must arrive within 5 hours of their connecting flight." A same-day round trip does not count as a connection. You also can't enter just because you landed. Without a same-day onward flight, you will be turned away.

Which lounges and which cards

The rules cover all Centurion Lounges in the U.S., plus London Heathrow, Tokyo Haneda and Hong Kong. Upgraded Points and The Points Guy also list Sydney and Melbourne. Amex's own access page names only the U.S., London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, so check locally in Australia. Upgraded Points said other overseas lounges were not affected "at this time." That list predates the Amsterdam lounge, which opened in September, and Amex has not said which rules apply there.

The cards covered are the Platinum Card, the Business Platinum Card, the Corporate Platinum Card, and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business cards. Amex's same-flight line applies to every card, including the Centurion Card.

How the new rules stack with the old ones

Nothing else went away. Put together, the rules for Platinum and Delta Reserve cardholders look like this:

• Before your first flight: enter within three hours of departure on a same-day, confirmed boarding pass.
• On a connection: enter within five hours of your connecting flight.
• Guest fees: $50 per adult and $30 per child aged 2 to 17. Children under 2 are free with proof of age. You must pay with a physical Amex card.
• Free guests: U.S. consumer and Business Platinum cardholders get two free guests per visit after spending $75,000 in a calendar year. Corporate Platinum includes two free guests.
• Delta Reserve: you must be flying a Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight that day. Guests pay the standard fee, with a maximum of two, and they must also be on a same-day Delta flight.
• Sidecar: the smaller Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas allows entry only within 90 minutes of departure. It is rated 3.8 on Lounge Frog.

All entry depends on space.

Who feels it most

Families on separate bookings. Say you booked your own ticket with points and your spouse paid cash for theirs. If you are on the same flight, you are fine. If one of you flies out an hour later, the guest can't come in, even if you pay $50.

Meeting friends at a hub. Say two friends fly in from different cities and meet in Dallas for a shared flight onward. They can use the lounge together before that shared flight. But a cardmember can no longer bring in a friend who is only passing through on a different flight.

Long connections. Land at DFW at 9 a.m. for a 6 p.m. flight, and you can't walk into the DFW Centurion Lounge until 1 p.m. That lounge, across from gate D12, rates 4.9 on Lounge Frog, one of the highest scores in the network.

Upgraded Points suggests one workaround for frequent travel partners: add them as an authorized user on an eligible card, so they get their own access.

Where to go instead

The Platinum Card includes Priority Pass, which has its own rules. At DFW, our listings show two Priority Pass options: The Club DFW, rated 4.3, and Plaza Premium Lounge (E), rated 4.4. Both have showers. Hours and limits change, so check the Priority Pass app first.

Escape Lounges, branded as Centurion Studio Partners, are another Amex option. But they sit at smaller airports without a full Centurion Lounge, such as Cincinnati, Columbus, Oakland and Sacramento. They won't help on a hub layover. None of the coverage says whether the new rules apply at Escape lounges.

What we don't know

Amex has not said how much crowding has eased since July. It has not explained why its access page lists fewer overseas lounges than early coverage did. It has also not said whether the rules will reach newer lounges like Amsterdam.

The rules land as Amex builds bigger lounges, including a 30,000-square-foot Newark lounge and a second Heathrow lounge. They also come as Platinum and Centurion cardholders lost access to Lufthansa lounges on Oct. 1. See every location on our Centurion program page.