American Express Centurion Lounge, Los Angeles

Airport lounges in the United States work differently to those in Australia. A domestic First Class ticket or a top-tier frequent flyer card often will not open a door on its own. American Express spotted the gap and built its own network of lounges reserved for its most senior card members. The Los Angeles Centurion Lounge is one of the more useful of them for Australian travellers, partly because of where it sits and partly because of what it contains.

This is not a lounge that sells entry at the door. You get in with an American Express Platinum charge card, personal or business, with the invitation-only Centurion Card, or as the guest of someone holding one. Platinum-badged credit cards, such as the Australian Platinum Edge, Velocity Platinum or Platinum Reserve, do not qualify.

Where it is, and how to reach it

The lounge sits in LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal. Coming through the main security checkpoint at TBIT, turn left and follow the corridor until the American Express blue appears on the wall.

The more useful point is that you do not have to be departing from TBIT, and you do not have to be flying internationally. Any same-day departing boarding pass, domestic or international, is accepted. Because most LAX terminals are connected airside, you can walk to the lounge from a different terminal without re-clearing security.

Terminal 4, where most American Airlines flights depart, is next door and about five to ten minutes on foot. Terminals 5 to 8 are linked through to Terminal 4 and onwards to TBIT, so passengers on JetBlue and Spirit from Terminal 5, Air Canada and Alaska Airlines from Terminal 6, and United from Terminals 7 and 8 can all make the walk with enough time in hand. A direct airside walkway also connects TBIT with Terminals 2 and 3, home to Aeromexico, Delta and WestJet. Terminal 1, used by carriers including Southwest, is the one outlier with no airside link.

The general rule is simply to keep walking towards a lower-numbered terminal while staying inside the secure area.

Layout and seating

The layout is unusual. Rather than one large room divided into zones, the lounge branches into a series of rooms of varying sizes connected by a long path, with places to stop along the way.

Following the longest route leads from a small sitting area through a bar and dining nook and into a workspace built around a central communal table. Individual desks line the walls, though many of them lack power. A different branch holds a line of power-equipped chairs and tables, which turns out to be the quietest corner in the lounge precisely because it sits on the way to the restrooms and most people have already settled elsewhere before they see it.

Back past reception and around the other way are more work benches along the windows. Natural light arrives through a skylight in the middle of the building, so the glass is opaque and there is nothing to look at. The same area includes a short-stay zone for dining and charging, with the main dining room on the opposite side.

The overall impression is slightly chaotic. Space is at a premium at LAX, and particularly in TBIT, so the sense is that American Express took what floor area was available and shaped it into something workable. It succeeds, even if the sections feel detached from one another. The interior design is themed around a prohibition-era idea of a hidden space below ground, which is a pleasant conceit even if the dining room could take a little more colour.

Amenities

Here is where this lounge separates itself. It is a credit card lounge, and it has a day spa.

Treatments are complimentary, whether you want a massage or a manicure. Tipping is customary, and in a small irony, the spa does not take American Express, so bring cash. Appointments can be booked out hours ahead, but not always. On this visit, the agent at reception noticed an inbound flight from Sydney, assumed correctly that a massage would be welcome, and offered a slot half an hour later. It is a chair massage in a communal room rather than a private treatment, and it was genuinely excellent.

The lounge also has a 'Moonrise' room designed for rest, which was fully occupied on this visit, and a 'Sunrise' room that American Express describes as using light exposure to help travellers adapt to a new time zone and reduce jetlag. That sounds ideal for anyone in transit, but the room is roped off entirely unless you hold the invitation-only Centurion Card. That restriction is not mentioned on the lounge's own website, which it fairly ought to be.

Centurion Card members also have a private room and a number of reserved seats scattered through the lounge proper, so they are never short of somewhere to sit. If the volume of Centurion members justifies that, a separate Centurion-only space would arguably serve everyone better. American Express already does exactly that in Hong Kong, where Centurion members have their own lounge and dining room behind a frosted black door.

Food and drink

US lounges frequently offer snacks rather than meals. This one does not. A lunchtime visit found pasta, salads and vegetables alongside hot chicken, soup, cheese, fruit and lighter bites, all regularly replenished. The polenta triangles were good enough to warrant a second plate. In quality terms it sits closer to an American Airlines Flagship Lounge than to a standard Admirals Club.

The bar is the real draw, and it is worth taking a seat rather than collecting a drink and retreating. The cocktail list is long. The 'Blue Door' is a fixture across the Centurion network; the 'Venice Spritz' is the more interesting order, mixing Bruto Americano with sparkling wine and San Pellegrino Aranciata. Despite the name, Bruto Americano is a Californian spirit built on Seville oranges, so it is a departure from the usual Aperol formula rather than a variation on it. The wine list runs to Prosecco plus a broad selection of Californian, Italian and New Zealand bottles, though stock can run out.

Getting in

Access is not restricted to US-based card members. The following Australian charge cards convey complimentary, unlimited entry:

One important caveat: single-use Centurion Lounge passes issued in Australia are not valid here. The complimentary annual visits attached to cards such as Amex Explorer, Qantas American Express Ultimate and American Express Velocity Platinum can be used at the Sydney and Melbourne Centurion Lounge locations, but not overseas.

Entry is normally available three hours before the scheduled departure of your onward flight. If you are in transit with more time to spare, show your inbound boarding pass at reception and the three-hour rule is waived, which is how a lunchtime visit ahead of a 7pm departure was possible. The rule also does not apply to Centurion Card members.

The lounge opens daily from 6am to 10pm, and that closing time creates a useful quirk. If your flight departs after the lounge shuts, you can enter three hours before closing rather than three hours before departure. A Sydney-bound service leaving at 11:40pm would ordinarily mean entry from 8:40pm; because the lounge closes at 10pm, entry is possible from 7pm.

Whatever your circumstances, be ready to present an eligible American Express card, your onward boarding pass, your inbound boarding pass if in transit, and government-issued photo identification.

Summing up

Having a Centurion Lounge at LAX is a genuine benefit for Australian flyers, and the location helps. It is close to the Qantas International First Lounge, so the walk to most Australia-bound departures is short, and the airside connectors make it reachable from most other airlines' terminals.

The spa is the single strongest reason to choose it. Even with access to the nearby Qantas First Lounge, Centurion was the first stop on this occasion purely for the massage, since the Qantas First lounges only run day spas in Sydney and Melbourne rather than at outstations such as Los Angeles.

The food is also more substantial than a typical US lounge, which makes the lounge popular with US card members. Several were being advised of a half-hour wait at the door during this visit, though as an international card member the wait was only a few minutes.

Whether it becomes your default depends on how you travel. With a premium cabin ticket or elite status, your own airline's lounge may well be quieter. But this is a good lounge in a well-chosen spot, and worth returning to.

Frequently asked questions

Which cards get you into the Centurion Lounge in Los Angeles? The American Express Platinum Card, the Platinum Business Card, the Corporate Platinum Card and the invitation-only Centurion Card, each with up to two guests. Platinum-branded credit cards such as Platinum Edge do not qualify.

Can I buy entry at the door? No. The Centurion Lounge does not sell access; you need an eligible card or to be the guest of someone who holds one.

Do I have to be flying internationally from TBIT? No. Any same-day departing boarding pass works, domestic or international, and most LAX terminals connect airside so you can walk across from another terminal.

Are the spa treatments really complimentary? Yes, massages and manicures are included. Tipping is customary, and the spa takes cash rather than American Express.

Can Australian single-use lounge passes be used here? No. The complimentary visits bundled with cards such as Amex Explorer and Qantas American Express Ultimate are valid only at the Sydney and Melbourne Centurion Lounge locations.

How early can I get in? Generally three hours before your onward flight departs, or any time if you show an inbound boarding pass while in transit. The lounge runs 6am to 10pm, and for departures after closing you can enter three hours before the 10pm close.

This information is general in nature. It does not take your personal circumstances into account.