After several years of construction, American express has opened its first centurion lounge in London Heathrow. American Express located lounge space in London Heathrow Terminal Three for its first United Kingdom Centurion Lounge offering. Our British Airways Club Suites flight would depart from London Heathrow Terminal Three; allowing us the opportunity to test out American Express’s newest offering. We would discover a busy lounge space, along with the usual excellent American Express food and beverage program. Read on to see how our first American Express European Centurion Lounge visit fared.

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: The American Express Centurion Lounge, London Heathrow Terminal Three, United Kingdom

American Express has finally arrived to London Heathrow International Airport. After several years, American Express identified space at London Heathrow in Terminal Three for a Centurion Lounge that they can call their own.

We arrived into London Heathrow on British Airways Club Europe Nice – London Heathrow. We were later connecting onwards to British Airways Club Suite Business Class London Heathrow – Vancouver. The British Airways Vancouver flight departs from London Heathrow Terminal Three. This would give us an opportunity to visit the new American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow.

If you are visiting London Heathrow Terminal Three, you may also have access to the excellent Qantas Business Lounge, the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge, the British Airways Galleries Lounge, and the Priority Pass No 1 Lounge; all of which are available from this departure concourse.

Locating the Lounge:

The American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow Terminal Three is located in Area “A”. After accessing the departures concourse on the secure side of the terminal, if you wander through the retail shopping area you’ll eventually come to a marked hallway.

The marked hallway will take you to a double elevator bank. The marketing and advertising for the location of the American Express centurion lounge London Heathrow was a lot less than my past experiences in locating a Centurion Lounge in North America. I would even go so far as to say that the lounge has almost a discrete entrance.

After riding the somewhat smelly elevators up one level, you’ll find yourself near the Terminal 3 play area. The terminal three play area is a Mr. men themed area by Roger Hargraves. You’ll find the American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow lounge entrance here.

Overall, the American Express Centurion Lounge at London Heathrow is a little difficult to find. This is worsened by the fact that London Heathrow terminal three lounges are scattered throughout the departures concourse, and are not situated next to each other. It helps to use the lounge map and navigate yourself towards Area “A”.

Accessing the Lounge:

We presented ourselves at reception. Much like other American express centurion lounge experiences, we were advised there was a 30 minute wait in order to gain access to the lounge. We added our name and North American-based cell phone number to the wait list.

Fortunately, the wait ended up being about only 20 minutes long. While we registered our cell phone, the SMS notification system did not work as promised. Reception staff announced our name and came out into the hallway to invite us into the lounge.

Access to the American Express Centurion Lounge network is granted through an American Express Platinum Card, or a American Express Centurion Card.

Effective February 1, 2023, there have been a few changes to the access policy. Primary Cardholders get free access. The United States Platinum Card and United States Business Platinum Card Members will be charged a $50 USD fee for each guest (or $30 for children aged 2 through 17).

United States Platinum Card and U.S. Business Platinum Card Members will qualify for Complimentary Guest Access for up to two guests per visit after spending $75.000 in eligible purchases on their Platinum Account between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 and in each calendar, year thereafter.

Fortunately, international American Express Platinum Cardholders still get a free guest. As a result, I was able to guest in MrsWT73 without her having to present her own American Express Platinum Card.

American Express has also recently adjusted guest rates for visitors to the lounge. The New Guest Rates For All Paid Guests are as follows:

• Guests aged 18+ are 35 each
• Guests aged 2-17 are 24 each
• Guests below age 2 are free
• Guest rates apply to all paid guests regardless of card type or country of issue.

Despite the restrictions on guests and access to card holders, this didn’t seem to have an effect on the American Express centurion lounge at London Heathrow. On entry the lounge was quite busy.

Inside The American Express Centurion Lounge:

The all new American Express Centurion Lounge is consistent with the American Express Centurion Lounge brand. Visitors to the American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow will be met by a familiar space that reminds them of an American Express Centurion Lounge. This familiar look and feel will make regular visitors feel right at home.

Bar Service:

Immediately upon entering The Centurion Lounge, you’ll find yourself facing the bar on the right hand side. Like with many American Express centurion lounges, the London Heathrow bar was a hyper busy area. The American Express bartenders were quickly and frequently slinging drinks for the hundreds of customers in the lounge.

The American Express Centurion lounge bar service offered curated cocktails and a reasonable wine list. The American Express Centurion lounge offers a unique cocktail list that is regionally featured to each lounge location. As a result of liberal liquor laws in the United Kingdom, cocktails were served as early as 5:30 in the morning.

Unlike North American Centurion Lounges, that typically feature Californian and a mix of New World wine regions, the European American Express centurion lounge offered both old world and new world wines available on pour. Wine selections looked interesting, engaging, and featured labels that were boutique in nature.

Food Service Buffet Area:

Immediately opposite the bar area, the American Express Centurion Lounge at London Heathrow offered table and chair seating. On our early afternoon arrival, the area was fully packed without a seat to be had. We eventually took over a table for two from a party that was just leaving.

Against the wall next to the bar the American Express centurion lounge offered a buffet of food. The Centurion Lounge offered the usual upscale food items in sufficient quantity, that could easily replace a meal.

The food was attractively presented. All of the items that were placed out, consistent with my experiences at other Centurion Lounges, looked fresh and appealing.

Lounge Seating:

Moving past the bar and tables and chair area, visitors to the American express centurion lounge London Heathrow were offered some lounge seating towards the back of the lounge. Regretfully, the Centurion lounge at London Heathrow does not offer any daylight windows. As a result, the lounge itself is an area with no natural light. American Express has done a terrific job and making the place look lively. However, there is something to be said for actual daylight windows where you can actually look out at departing aircraft.

During our early afternoon visit, there was not a seat available to be had. Most passengers were occupying individual seats without spreading themselves out over multiple seats. American Express did a great job at ensuring bags were not unnecessarily blocking chairs.

Given the smaller footprint of this Centurion Lounge, American Express did not have a whole lot to work with. While there may be limited options to increase seating by increasing the density, there is not a whole lot of space that they can work with.

Overall, the look and feel of the American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow is remarkably similar to other North American Centurion lounges. The orientation of the London Heathrow lounge is in a space without any natural daylight windows and with a smaller compact footprint that limits the amount of lounge seating available.

We eventually left and departed on a British Airways Club Suites Business Class London Heathrow – Vancouver flight.

In Summary:

The American Express Centurion lounge London Heathrow is a welcome addition to the London Heathrow Terminal Three departure lounge net work.

If you are unfortunate enough to be flying from London Heathrow without a business class ticket that can afford you access into the excellent Qantas lounge, the Cathay Pacific lounge, the American Express Centurion Lounge is likely your next best option.

The main drawback of the centurion lounge is the lack of daylight windows, the likely queue and wait time that you will have in order to gain access, and the general lack of seating. Otherwise, American Express aficionado’s will enjoy this familiar product, in the otherwise dated London Heathrow Airport system.

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If you’ve visited the all new American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow, did you enjoy the new surroundings?

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