Lounge Access on the Amex Platinum Cards

The American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card are marketed as premium travel rewards cards, and one of the benefits that makes them worth their salt is the airport lounge access that cardholders enjoy.

The lounge access rules on these cards, however, can get quite confusing to people trying to make use of these benefits. While it’s certainly complex, it’s useful to understand the eligibility rules, access fees, and guesting privileges on the Canadian-issued Amex Platinum cards so you can make the most out of the perks.

The complicating factor is that the benefit isn’t just simply access to one set of airport lounges. In reality, the Platinum cards bestow many types of lounge access, all of which are treated as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection:

1. 1. Priority Pass
   2. Plaza Premium Lounges
   3. American Express Centurion Lounges
   4. International American Express Lounges
   5. Delta Sky Club
   6. Lufthansa Lounges
   7. Miscellaneous lounges (Aspire, Escape, Swissport, YQB Jean Lesage) 

1. Priority Pass

Both the Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card provide you with a complimentary Priority Pass Prestige membership, which grants free, unlimited access to worldwide Priority Pass lounges. Also included is complimentary access for one guest per lounge visit.

The “prevailing retail rate” is currently $35 (USD) for every additional guest, which will be automatically billed to your credit card.

There are over 1,000 Priority Pass lounges worldwide, so this perk should guarantee you some form of lounge access on the vast majority of your travels, especially if you don’t always fly in business class.

If you’re a Platinum or Business Platinum cardholder, be sure to get in the habit of looking up which Priority Pass lounges you’ll be able to visit prior to your trip.

Note that the Priority Pass memberships associated with American Express credit cards are not eligible to access Priority Pass’s airport restaurants and other airport experiences. 

2. Plaza Premium Lounges

If you hold either the Platinum Card or the Business Platinum Card, you have unlimited access to Plaza Premium lounges within Canada and internationally…