Confirmed: AMEX Platinum Charge tightening Centurion Lounge guest policy

Earlier this year, American Express announced tighter access rules for its Centurion Lounges, which would limit cardmembers to one guest each, and require that they be travelling on the same flight as the cardmember.

At the time, it was unclear whether these changes would also apply to Singapore-issued Platinum cards, as American Express Singapore did not communicate any updates locally.

Unfortunately, an update to the AMEX Global Lounge Collection website has now confirmed that Singapore-issued cards will not be exempt, and will also be subject to the new restrictions starting 8 July 2026.

Upcoming changes to Centurion Lounge access rules

When American Express first announced the tightened Centurion Lounge restrictions in January 2026, the AMEX Global Lounge Collection pages for Platinum cards issued in the USA, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and many other countries were updated accordingly. 

However, the page for Singapore-issued cards — along with other countries such as Canada, France, India and Italy — remained unchanged. This gave some hope that Singapore cardmembers might be exempt (we do pay the highest Platinum fees in the world, after all!).

Sadly, that’s turned out to be wishful thinking, as the webpage has finally been updated.

From 8 July 2026 onwards, there will be some changes to your complimentary guest access to The Centurion Lounges in U.S., London (LHR), Tokyo (HND), Hong Kong (HKG), Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL): • Complimentary guest access will change from two (2) accompanying guests to one (1) accompanying guest per Platinum Member. • Guest must hold a confirmed reservation on the same flight as the Platinum Member. • Access to the lounge during layovers must be within five (5) hours of your connecting flight. Same-day round trip itineraries are not considered connecting flights.

To recap, on 8 July 2026, American Express will introduce several changes to its Centurion Lounge access policy (all of which do not apply to Centurion cardmembers).

First, guests must now be travelling on the same flight as the cardmember. Currently, guests can be on any flight.

Second, cardmembers on connecting itineraries will only be granted access to the Centurion Lounge within five hours of departure. Currently, there is no time limit for connecting passengers (if you’re departing rather than connecting, there is no change to the access policy— you’ll only be admitted within three hours of departure).

Third, and perhaps most importantly, the complimentary guest allowance for cardmembers will be cut from two to one.

What other lounges can the AMEX Platinum Charge access?

The AMEX Platinum Charge offers access to the following lounges. 

Lounge privileges are identical between principal and supplementary cards, with one exception:

• Principal cardmembers receive unlimited Priority Pass visits, together with one guest
• The first supplementary cardmember receives eight Priority Pass visits, which can be shared with one or more guests (e.g. they could visit the lounge with three guests and use four visits in total)
• The second and subsequent supplementary cardmembers do not have any Priority Pass privileges

Unfortunately, Priority Pass memberships issued by American Express do not cover so-called “non-lounge airport experiences” such as restaurants and spas. For example, you will not be able to redeem set meals or dining credits at any of the Changi Airport restaurants that otherwise participate.

If you try to use your Priority Pass here, the transaction will fail — so you don’t need to be worried about getting charged accidentally, because it’s simply not possible.

Explained: Non-lounge restrictions for AMEX-issued Priority Pass cards

Incidentally, the Centurion Lounge nerf won’t be the only devaluation AMEX cardholders are facing. From October 2026, American Express will discontinue access to Lufthansa lounges worldwide. This was always a somewhat restrictive benefit, since it required you to be flying on a same-day Lufthansa Group flight, but it did help to fill some coverage gaps in German airports.

Conclusion

Singapore-issued Platinum cards will also be subject to the tightened Centurion Lounge access rules, which take effect from 8 July 2026. 

This means that each cardmember (whether principal or supplementary) will be permitted a maximum of one guest, and the guest must be travelling on the same flight. Also, if you’re travelling on a connecting itinerary, you won’t be permitted into the lounge until five hours before your connecting flight.

For whatever reason, American Express Singapore still hasn’t communicated anything to cardholders. I can only assume that they’re waiting until the 8th of this month, to comply with the one-month notification period that’s considered the de facto rule here. 

Still, given that the rest of the world has known about this since January, you’d think they could be a little more on the ball!