Review: American Express Centurion Lounge at New York LaGuardia (LGA)
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I had the chance to try out these two lounges on a flight between New York and Montreal. Here’s my photo report.
I booked the ticket on the American Express travel website. Having recently signed up for The Platinum Card® from American Express, I took advantage of the $200 travel credit. The itinerary and flight were nothing spectacular: a weekend in New York, so a short-haul flight to LaGuardia.
At Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, there is no Priority Pass lounge in the U.S. departures terminal. On the way back, however, with The Platinum Card from American Express and a Delta flight, I had the choice between the Delta Sky Club and the American Express Centurion Lounge.
The American Express Centurion Lounge at LaGuardia
The lounge is located before security in Terminal B, between concourses B and C. Usually, having to go through security after leaving the lounge is a drawback, since you have to factor in wait times, etc. But in my case it worked out well: my Delta flight was leaving from Terminal D, so I didn’t have to clear security twice, since the terminals aren’t connected “airside”.
You take an elevator located in the food court. The lounge is on the 3rd floor. The entrance is the same as in other Centurion Lounges, such as the one in San Francisco. With The Platinum Card from American Express, entry is free for you and one guest. The agent explained how to connect to the Wi-Fi and told us how to get to Terminal D, including how long it takes and what time to leave the lounge.
The lounge has 3 sections. The first is a hallway between two rooms, with cushioned benches facing TVs. They aren’t noisy. As in the rest of the lounge, there are plenty of electrical outlets and USB ports.
The first room has a bar and food service. All drinks, alcoholic or not, are free. The selection is decent: it’s sparkling wine rather than champagne, but still perfectly drinkable 🙂 The food is also good, much better than in typical lounges.
Service is quick, and there’s always someone coming by to clear empty tables and refill drinks.
The second room is the “office” area, with a communal table, a small work area and armchairs.
There’s a nice view of the tarmac and runways.
The only drawbacks might be the lounge’s small size, especially since it potentially serves all 4 LaGuardia terminals, and its hours, as it closes at 8 p.m.
The Delta Sky Club in Terminal D at LaGuardia
To get to this lounge from the American Express lounge, you take the Purple shuttle on the departures level. Delta operates out of Terminals C and D, each with its own lounge. We cleared security in 5 minutes and headed to the lounge in our terminal. We had already visited this lounge earlier this year.
Access is also available with The Platinum Card from American Express, but you need a ticket for a Delta flight departing that same day. The lounge is fairly new and large, so it feels much less like being stuck in a closet.
The work area is this lounge’s strong point, as the workspaces are large.
There’s also a corner where you can be a little more secluded than in the armchairs of the main area.
At the bar, you can order free drinks such as a glass of wine. Spirits cost extra and can be paid for in cash or miles. I rarely use my Delta SkyMiles account, so I have a balance of a few thousand miles. Not enough to go far, so we used them to order two glasses of champagne at 700 miles each.
The weather in New York wasn’t great that day, with lots of fog. Delta’s mobile app, which is very well designed by the way, notified us of a delay, then another, and finally a third.
After a 3-hour delay, we headed to Terminal C, where our flight was supposed to leave from in the end, but on the way I received a notification that the flight was cancelled. We found a replacement flight directly in the app. Since the delay was caused by bad weather, the airline isn’t required to reimburse the expenses it caused.
But thanks to the trip interruption and flight delay insurance on The Platinum Card from American Express, we went straight to a hotel next to the airport, a Marriott, to get a room.
It’s an airport hotel, but it’s perfectly decent, especially when you want a bed after a fairly long wait. With Gold status at Marriott, we got free breakfast the next morning. I’ll write a more detailed article on the reimbursement process.
Conclusion
Both lounges offer decent amenities, but they’re quite different. The American Express lounge perhaps stands out for its comfort, while the Delta lounge is larger but rather spartan. The airline is less generous when it comes to food and drinks. But in both cases, I was very happy to be able to wait (a very long time) in a lounge instead of hanging around the terminal.
- Annual fee
- $799
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,190Total$1,190Plus $510 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $1,190
- Welcome offerAfter $10,000 in 3 months
- Up to 100,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
- Annual fee
- $799
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,360Total$1,360Plus $680 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $1,360
- Welcome offerAfter $15,000 in 3 months
- Up to 120,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Learn more about airport lounges
To access airport lounges without paying for a $50 pass every time, check out our complete guide to accessing airport lounges for free as well as our ranking of the best credit cards for airport lounge access, updated every month by the Milesopedia team.
