She then briefly covered all the amenities available in the lounge and encouraged me to relax and let them know if I had any questions. I was welcomed by one of the lounge attendants, who checked my flight status to ensure it was on-time and presented me with a Welcome Gift. It was very tasteful without appearing chintzy. The entryway to the lounge is done very nicely with wood accents with bright green leafy plants. What’s inside those doors is one of the best lounge experiences in the USA, if not the world. If you look up from there, you’ll see the sign for the Centurion Lounge.Īt the top of the escalator, you’ll see a really nice marble sign, followed by the Big Blue Doors allowing your entry into the lounge. If you’re facing the Big Blue Glass Thing with your back to security check, to your left you’ll see an unmarked escalator (I have no doubt signage will be coming soon). The lounge is located near the Big Blue Glass Thing in Terminal D, near gates D14-D17. Additional guest passes can be purchased for $50, as can access for those who hold an Amex card that’s not a Centurion or Platinum. Those holding either a Centurion or Platinum card can access the lounge for free and bring along with them two family members or two guests. This changed in the autumn of 2013, with complimentary access expanded to Platinum cardholders as well. Originally, access to the lounges (so far located at Las Vegas and DFW, with rumors of a San Francisco location surfacing as the next opening) was complimentary only for holders of Amex’s Centurion Card while other Amex cardholders could purchase a guest pass for $50. The Centurion Lounge is a new program developed by American Express for its premium cardholders. American is not happy about the lounge opening, and for very good reason: they’ve been outclassed in their primary international terminal at their home airport! American Express has opened its new Centurion Lounge at DFW’s Terminal D, and it’s a big-time winner. American’s Admiral’s Clubs are nice, but don’t compare to the Flagship lounges at ORD, JFK, and LAX. The closest you get is Terminal D where Qantas, Priority Pass, Star Alliance, and a few others have contract lounges that closely resemble small closets. The reason? No one else has a nice lounge either. Even though they have four Admiral’s Clubs, very seldom will you see an offering suited to the premium passenger that American so covets. There is not a Flagship First Class lounge at DFW airport. Similarly, American’s lounges at DFW aren’t to the flagship standard of some of their other lounges. So most people just end up paying the premium for American (although we grumble like heck). Even when Delta recently started flying this route they couldn’t muster up more than a regional jet for it. American, for a long time, had a monopoly on nonstop flights on this route, and would routinely charge $200-300 more than its competitors, because they knew they could and they knew I (or, rather, my clients) would end up paying it. My daytime job as a financial software consultant has me in and out of New York fairly often, so I know the DFW-LGA market well. American doesn’t really have to try that hard at DFW. The cons, though, can be severe at times. The pros include being a 3-3.5 hour flight from either coast, usually on a nonstop flight, and DFW is fairly easy to navigate. I live in Dallas and my primary airport is DFW, the fortress hub of American Airlines. Life as a frequent flyer based out of DFW Pictures to follow, but first, some build-up… All, here's a (hopefully rules-compliant) post about my recent experience at the DFW Centurion Lounge (link to pictures in my signature)Īt the beginning of a recent weekend trip to Europe (trip report in the works), I had the chance to check out American Express’s new Centurion Lounge at DFW International Airport.

New centurion lounge dfw