A good but crowded lounge found in JFK Terminal 4. Unlike other Centurion lounges, this location lacked special mixed drinks and didn’t have good options for kids. While it was packed when we first arrived, the lounge felt pretty empty starting 7PM.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: A Birthday at the German Christmas Market
• One of Our Favorites: The Thompson Central Park NYC
• Exploring New York City with Kids
• Cramped When Full: American Express Centurion Lounge JFK (this post)
• Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class JFK-FRA
• Taking the Train in Germany with Kids
• Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg
• Exploring Hamburg with a Family
• Enjoying the Hamburg Christmas Market
• Review: Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport
• Review: British Airways A320 Club Europe Business Class
• Review: British Airways Galleries North
• Review: British Airways 777-300 Club World Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review of A Birthday at the German Christmas Market

Arrival to the Airport

We left the Thompson Central Park hotel around 4PM taking public transportation, and arriving around 5PM. We were taking a flight to Germany and the Singapore Airlines flight to Frankfurt seemed like a natural fit. The flight departed around 8PM, leaving us plenty of time to check in. I’m not sure exactly what the complications were, but we took about half an hour to check in despite having no one ahead of us in line.

We were flying in business class, which would normally grant access to the Wingtips lounge. However, the agent checking us in mentioned the lounge was closed and instead offered us vouchers for $25 each. We ended up not needing the vouchers and so they went unused. In retrospect, I’ve heard of some people being successful in uploading their vouchers to their Starbucks or Chick-fil-a account balances. Unfortunately, Terminal 4 had neither of these restaurants, so I didn’t miss out on much.

Access

We found the Centurion Lounge located just above the departures level. Both Jennifer and I have an American Express Platinum card, and were able to enter the lounge with up to two guests each. In 2023, the ability to bring in free guests goes away with the Platinum cards unless you spend $75,000 annually on the card–a steep price considering the generally lackluster 1 point per dollar earn rate on the card.

Food

The lounge is broken out into an upstairs section and a downstairs portion, each with its own bar and food stations. The views on the upper level were better, but we were only able to find available seating downstairs. There was a decent selection of food, but compared to other Centurion Lounges I’ve been to, the options here didn’t seem appealing. In particular, the children struggled to find something they wanted to eat, aside from bananas, apples, and cheese. We saw pasta available and thought that would work, but it was a bit too spicy for their tastes unfortunately. This is where the $25 airline vouchers mentioned above would have come in handy, but the kids were being wishy-washy on what they wanted to do, likely feeling some fatigue at the end of the day.

As you might imagine from the fact there were so many passengers, food was frequently depleted from the serving trays.

The Bars

As I mentioned earlier, both the upstairs and downstairs areas had their own bar. There was also a special “speak easy” bar hidden away downstairs behind a door. Staff was mostly friendly and attentive. The thing that surprised me here was the lack of specialty cocktails. At every other Centurion Lounge I’ve been to, there is a unique list of cocktails semi-tailored to the area. However, here that didn’t seem to be the case. I asked about cocktails and was met with a blank stare, with the comment that I can have beer, wine, or liquor. I normally enjoy an interesting drink and was a bit disappointed there wasn’t one here.

As for the speak easy bar, I attempted to order something from there, but was ignored as the bartender worked on stocking, and then left without acknowledging he would assist me. It looked like a nice area to hang out, but I wouldn’t bring the kids to this section as I’m not sure they’re allowed.

Miscellaneous Items

The crowding here is a big problem. It’s hard to find seating, and yes, you could argue I am part of the problem since we each brought a guest (our kids) to the lounge. In response to crowding issues, American Express is eliminating guests in the Centurion Lounge unless you’re a big spender. However, I’m not convinced reducing the number of guests will make a significant difference here. Many guests appeared to be traveling solo and there were few families with children in the lounge. Perhaps there are a lot of couples, but I suspect many adults will just end up as an authorized user of their spouse’s card. or perhaps they will get their own card. Someone might say “forget it, it’s too expensive” but we’re talking about a card with an annual fee north of $500 annually. I imagine many people will still end up going to the lounge. Amex would only have reduced the number of families with smaller children in the lounge, as they cannot become authorized users until age 13.

Also, many guests appeared to be flying Delta. Once most Delta flights departed (roughly around 7PM), the lounge was fairly empty. If your flight departs after most Delta flights take off, you should have an enjoyable time here.

While some Centurion Lounges have a children’s play room, this one did not. But thankfully we brought our own entertainment for the kids. Always remember to have your own entertainment when you travel!

Recommendation: Yes, But…

The recommendation here is somewhat obvious–if you have lounge access, by all means go ahead and take advantage of it. But I’m not sure you’ll find much here for younger guests, including the food. Amex has already declared it doesn’t want children in its lounges (unless you spend $75,000) and they seem to have doubled down with the offerings here. I wouldn’t go out of your way to make a visit here, and it might be worth $20 to get some normal food in the airport for the kids before entering the lounge. For adults, I think you’ll have a good time, but still the lack of specialty cocktails makes this particular Centurion Lounge stand out from the others in a negative way.

Have you been to the Centurion Lounge in JFK? How was your experience?