It has to be weird to have a Black card from American Express these days.  You don’t get that much material benefit over a Platinum card and the annual fee is $2,500, a full 5x what it costs for the Platinum card!

Bar Area

One of the shared benefits of the Centurion Card and Platinum Card is access to the network of American Express Centurion Lounges.  Located at DFW, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle (a smaller concept), San Francisco, and soon to be Houston, these lounges are a step above the typical domestic lounge, with full buffets, premium booze, and special perks like massage treatments, wine tastings, etc. (depending on the lounge)

I previously reviewed the DFW Centurion Lounge, you can check that out here.

I’m currently sitting here at the Centurion Lounge in DFW and noticed some tables set up very nicely with big RESERVED signs on them.

Reserved Centurion Table

It turns out that some Centurion Card (Amex’s proper name for the Black card) members were upset that there was never any seating in the Centurion Lounge (at least in DFW, not sure about other clubs).  Their solution?  Tables in the lounge would be on permanent reserve for Centurion Card members.

On one hand it was kind of annoying, since it was hard finding a place to sit, but on the other hand I totally get it and it’s a nice little perk for the Centurion Card members, one of the first perks they’ve received in a while from everything I’ve read.

So, for you Black Card holders: enjoy your tables.
For us lowly Platinum holders: get ready to hunt for seats.

Anyway, this may have been reported elsewhere but it was news to me so I thought I’d pass it along.  The DFW Centurion Lounge remains my favorite lounge in the USA, by far!