My review of Amex Centurion Lounge, Denver
I’ve had the Amex Platinum card since 2014, but it’s not until now have I visited an Amex Centurion lounge in the States. I was actually in Miami the other day which also has a Centurion lounge, however at the wrong terminal and airside inter-terminal transfer was not possible so I missed the opportunity there.
It’s not an issue in Denver thankfully, so although my Delta flight departs from a different Concourse I’m still able to access the Centurion lounge in Concourse C. I just need to take the shuttle train from Concourse A to C and then back after my visit.
The Centurion lounge is near Gate 46, take the escalator up once you see the sign.
Platinum cardholders can guest up to two people, so I’m able to bring my friend with me. Note that starting from 2023 US-issued Platinum cards can no longer bring any guests unless they spend at least $75,000 the previous year, whilst cards issued by other countries remain unaffected.
The spending target is pretty high, and the aim is to address the overcrowding problem which is getting worse by the day. Denver is no exception:
The lounge is not huge but has a decent size, so despite being fairly crowded it’s not too difficult to find a seat.
Some areas have a view of the runway of airport interior.
There are a pool table and shuffleboard for fun.
The same decorative wall as I saw in London.
It’s early in the morning, so breakfast service is available. Some of the dishes include eggs, sausages and fried potatoes.
All drinks including cocktails are free at the Centurion lounge, which is an edge over other airline lounges in the United States that makes it different.
You can also make yourself a coffee or orange juice, however it’s pretty hard to spot a free glass anywhere.
In conclusion – I think the lounge itself is more than fine, as the decor is nice and the food offering is okay. The experience is considerably overshadowed by the capacity issue though, which is likely to improve from February next year.
My review of JW Marriott Marquis, Miami
First time in Miami, my plan was to stay a couple of nights in downtown and then one day at the South Beach. Unfortunately there happens to be a tropical storm during my visit, so the South Beach plan was cancelled.
Miami appears to be a good place to burn Marriott points, as there are a bunch of options in downtown between 20,000 and 40,000 points – in fact the Courtyard Coconut Grove costs only 18,000 points a night. After some research I went for the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, which is 40,000 points or $400.
It’s not to be confused with the other JW Marriott nearby, which from what I’ve gathered is an inferior property.
Interestingly, there’s another Marriott inside this hotel. Hotel Beaux Arts from the Autograph Collection occupies floor 38-40 and shares the facilities with the JW Marriott. I don’t assume their guests can access the club lounge though, so you are better off booking the JW Marriott if you have Platinum status or above.
The front desk is very generous to offer me an upgrade to the Executive Suite. Sadly I need a twin bed room, so he arranges us a Bay View Room on the high floor instead.
The room is located on the 35th floor and measures around 500-600 sqft.
The bathroom has both a shower and a bath tub.
Bay view:
And views from other spots in the hotel:
Elite breakfast is served on the second floor at the 345 Restaurant:
Many hotels in the US offer very limited free breakfast to elite members, and there’s Hilton who’s eliminated the benefit and only offers some credit instead. This JW Marriott is not fooling around though – it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a full English breakfast buffet.
Breakfast is served until 11am, and then the club lounge on the 36th floor opens.
Snacks and soft drinks are available throughout the day. Happy hour is hosted between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, with a few canapes both hot and cold.
Alcohols are not free.
Desserts are served between 7.30pm and 10pm.
The hotel has a very impressive sports centre, including a basketball court, ping pong tables and a bowling alley.
The gym is fairly big too.
There’s a rooftop swimming pool on the 19th floor.
A hot tub is also available.
Overall I’m very satisfied with this stay – hotels in the US are usually under par but this JW Marriott didn’t let me down. The room is spacious and functional, the breakfast and club lounge offerings are decent, and the swimming pool is stunning. My only complaint is the $25 destination fee, but I guess I should just get used to this con which is imposed by so many American hotels.
Accor extending status again in China… Should you take a punt?
Accor has just published a fast track offer in China, and more importantly, the announcement to extend status expiry again.
All Accor members whose account address is in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) will have their elite status expiry extended to December 31, 2023. The change will be reflected in July.
Compared to Europe and the Americas, Covid restrictions are still relatively uptight in most Asian countries and they are not ready to welcome international tourists yet. China is obviously the worst – this year it has been unthinkable for many to even travel outside the city they live in, as the circumstances can become extremely complicated once your origin or destination has a single Covid case.
As a consequence, it’s impossible for most Chinese members to retain their status this year. Questions have been raised whether the hotel chains will extend status again this year, although most people weren’t optimistic, Accor has come to surprise us.
The question is, will others follow suit? Given their track records in the last two years I don’t think it’s that unlikely, especially for Hilton who made a few very fast moves.
I have changed my Marriott’s address back to one in China just in case, and might do with the other programs too. Beware that the current IHG fast track promotion isn’t open to residents of Greater China, so if you’re signed up don’t mess up.
Buy cheap points via IHG’s Points & Cash sale
IHG has brought back its Points & Cash sale, and if you’ve been thinking about topping up your IHG account, you are looking at the right place.
You can read more about the offer here.
- Book by June 24
- Stay by August 26
- Save 20% on the cash portion when making a Points & Cash booking
I saw a mention of my Diamond status when making a dummy booking, although from the terms and conditions the promotion doesn’t appear targeted.
Unlike the similar feature that other hotel groups offer (e.g. Marriott and Hilton), IHG’s Points & Cash works very differently. When making such bookings you are basically just paying cash on the spot to buy the points you need, therefore it’s a pure reward booking by nature and you don’t earn any points for the cash portion.
That said, the offer may bring along a good opportunity to bag some cheap IHG points. The Two InterContinental Alliance hotels at Macau – The Londoner and The Venetian – for example, are “selling” points for as low as 0.5c.
If you cancel a Cash & Points booking, the cash portion won’t be refunded, however the full amount of points are deposited back to your account. Note that however, such bookings may be non-refundable on certain dates, so read carefully before proceeding.
0.5c (or $5 per 1,000 points) is as low as IHG goes when selling points via public promotions. Cash & Points can actually go even lower at times – in fact some hotels in China were doing 0.48c but it only survived a couple of hours. If you are dedicated enough, you can play around a bit and see if you can spot any better deals.
Hyatt PRIDE discount code: 20% off and other perks
To celebrate the Pride month, Hyatt has launched a special promo code for hotel stays.
You can check more details on the offer page here. Use promo code PRIDE when you make a booking to enjoy up to 20% off the standard rate.
The terms don’t say much except that you can cancel up to 72 hours before the check-in date. It’s unclear how long the offer lasts, however it appears to be valid globally.
Besides the rate discount, some hotels may also offer additional perks.
At Andaz London Liverpool Street, the Pride package includes free breakfast and $50 credit, which is a bargain given that it’s also the cheapest rate.
My review of Virgin Atlantic 787-9 Upper Class
We wrote about Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Wing and Clubhouse at Heathrow, and let’s take a look at their Upper Class in-flight experience today. It’s been three years since I was last onboard a wide-body aircraft.
For boarding there are two priority lanes: one for Upper Class passengers only, and the other for Premium, Economy Delight plus elite members of Virgin Atlantic, Delta and Flying Blue. I’m one of the first to board so can’t verify, but the second priority lane probably has loads of people.
The first thing that comes to your sight is their bar, which is a major feature for Upper Class passengers when they fancy a chat and some drinks.
It’s obviously not Emirates First Class though, and evolves into a totally different design on the A350 aircraft.
The 787 aircraft has herringbone configuration in Upper Class with three seats per row.
The seats are stacked very tightly though, so there isn’t as much space for each seat as you may expect.
The main storage space is behind the seat. There are charging ports behind the IFE and remote control.
One major defect is the lack of view. Even if you are sat at a window seat, the window is actually behind you blocked by the back of your seat.
I’m unpleasantly surprised when seeing their new amenity kit…
I get that they are trying to be environmentally responsible, but I like to collect airline amenity bags, and personally I don’t like them cutting cost in premium cabins whatever the claimed cause is.
The IFE has a small screen and looks quite old:
Some of the latest releases include Dune, Eternals and Unchartered.
Another sign of cost-cutting: for a flight duration of 9 hours, only one meal is served.
You can pre-order between 72 hours and 24 hours before the departure, which I didn’t do. But the online menu had more content than onboard, so it might be a wise thing to do.
I ordered Asparagus for a starter (it turns out no quail eggs are available):
Thai curry prawns as main course:
And the chocolate dome for dessert:
There are Extra Bites to order too whenever you feel peckish. I ended up having both the pull pork burger and crab cake, which are actually tastier than the prawns. My suspicion is that the Extra Bites replaces a second meal so they don’t have to offer starter or dessert.
One notorious design of their Upper Class seat: when turning into a bed it doesn’t naturally slide down like every other airline’s business class seat, but leans forward and then slides back instead. It’s slightly inconvenient as you can’t stay in the seat while the conversion happens.
The bed is long enough but the foot rest is a bit confined. The A350 Upper Class has a more conventional design, but from what I’ve heard the head space is smaller.
I’ve flown the 787 Upper Class a couple of times previously so nothings feels really refreshing of this flight. A friend of mine also did his A350 recently and I’ll see if I can get a report from him.
What are the benefits of UK American Express Centurion card?
A friend of mine has just received his UK Amex Centurion card. Usually nicknamed the Black Card by the public, it is probably the most prestigious bank card out there, and very few people are eligible to even receive an invitation to apply. Still, many people – just like me – are very curious about its eligibility criteria and benefits, and I’ll take this chance to briefly talk about them.
[Background]
First of all, my friend already has the US Amex Centurion card. Having been a customer with both Amex US and Amex UK, he was quite frustrated with the difficulty to obtain a Centurion card in the UK, and shifted all his spend to the US Amex cards from late 2020.
He spent roughly two million dollars over a span of eight months, and then successfully received an invitation to apply for the Centurion card after querying the Platinum Concierge services.
Interestingly, he is based in the UK and none of the two million dollar purchases was made in the US.
[Get the UK card]
If you already hold the US Centurion card, you can acquire one in other countries through Amex Global Transfer services. It’s a privilege of the US card though, as Centurion members in other countries can’t acquire a US card through the same procedure.
Since my friend is based in the UK, it’s sensible to apply for a UK Centurion card too. After receiving the invitation, he still needs to fill out a form.
[Fees]
Because he’s already a Centurion cardholder, the joining fee is waived. Last I heard the fee was £3,000, although I’m not sure if it has increased since.
The annual fee is £3,400.
Unlike the US counterpart, the UK Centurion card comes with a free supplementary card.
[Welcome Box]
It took five days for the application to go through, and then two more days for the cards to arrive.
[Card Designs]
Similar to the US Platinum card, the Centurion card offers two artist designs besides the classic design, by Kehinde Wiley and Julie Mehretu respectively.
The two UK cards and one US card completes the collection 🙂
[Status Benefits]
The Centurion card offers elite status with the following airlines:
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club – Gold
- Emirates Skywards – Gold
The following hotels:
- Hilton Honors – Diamond
- Marriott Bonvoy – Gold
- IHG One Rewards – Platinum
- Melia Rewards – Platinum
- Radisson Rewards – Gold
- Jumeirah One – Gold
And two car rental companies:
- Hertz – President’s Circle
- Avis – President’s Club
It may strike you first as an extensive array, but once you dig into the details you will feel much less excited. Hilton Diamond has substantial benefits but it’s not difficult to get; Melia Platinum and Jumeirah Gold have good perks, but their footprint is limited. Marriott Gold and IHG Platinum are next to useless…
In terms of airlines, the two offers are good, however neither VS or EK belong to any major alliance so the memberships don’t get you very far. In contrast, US Centurion card offers Delta Diamond status which is accepted across the entire Skyteam, and my friend also availed Star Alliance Gold and Oneworld Sapphire via status match programs.
[Lounge Benefits]
Lounge access benefits are almost identical to the Platinum card:
- Priority Pass (+1 guest only)
- Amex Centurion Lounge
- Eurostar Lounge
- Plaza Premium / Lufthansa / Delta / Escape Lounges etc.
The Centurion card only makes a difference when you access the Centurion Lounge or the Lufthansa Lounge. You can read more about the Amex Lounge benefits here.
The US Centurion Card issued Priority Pass can bring in unlimited number of guests.
[Other Benefits]
Fine Hotels & Resorts: stay a minimum two nights and enjoy an additional $200 credit on FHR bookings at select luxury hotels.
Limousine Transfers: eight complimentary two-way airport transfers, but the snag is you must book the flight with Centurion services.
Airport Fast Track: available at Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands.
Lifestyle Credits:
- Harvey Nichols: £500 annually
- Clos19: £500 annually
- Addison Lee: £20 monthly
[Travel Insurance]
From what I’ve heard it’s way better than the US card.
[Spa, Fitness and Clubs]
[Refer A Friend]
Something that you surely didn’t know – The Centurion card also has an invite-a-friend feature:
However, the referral link opens an application for the Platinum card…
Okay that’s it! I’ll probably never qualify for this card, but to be honest the benefits are underwhelming and I wouldn’t pay £3,400 anyway. What do you think?
My review of Virgin Atlantic Upper Wing & Clubhouse at London Heathrow T3
I have been to most of the lounges at Heathrow. Amongst the remaining ones (that are still open) Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse definitely tops my list. I didn’t fly with them that much, and never from Heathrow with a qualifying ticket so had no chance of trying the Clubhouse out.
This June I bought a ticket in Premium to the States, and used my credit card voucher to upgrade to Upper Class. In fact I status matched to Virgin Gold last December so should gain access to the lounge anyway.
In short, the following passengers can access the LHR T3 Clubhouse:
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class / Delta One passengers
- Virgin Atlantic Gold / Virgin Australia Gold or above, when flying with Virgin Atlantic
- Delta Platinum and Diamond / Flying Blue Platinum, when flying with Virgin Atlantic or Delta
What I find really confusing is, Delta and Flying Blue elite members can use the lounge when flying with Delta, but Virgin Atlantic Gold members can’t. It must be a mix-up?
The entry rules were once very generous to VS Gold, as they could use the Clubhouse no matter which airline they were flying with (even BA). Sadly due to the overcrowding issue introduced by Delta passengers, it’s no longer the case.
Similar to BA’s First Wing at T5, Virgin Atlantic has an Upper Wing at T3 as well. If I interpret it correctly, only Upper Class and Delta One passengers are welcomed here so elite members aren’t allowed. It even has a dedicated driveway, and they verify your name at the entrance.
Don’t quote me on this, but I think it’s outside the Heathrow £5 drop-off charge zone.
The inside is much smaller than First Wing though, with only a couple of desks.
Thanks to its exclusiveness the check-in is really fast. When ready you can proceed to the security checkpoint.
Unfortunately Upper Wing doesn’t have its own security check facility, and it’s simply a reserved corner of the T3 screening facilities. After it’s done, you’ll merge with the general public and find your way to the Clubhouse.
The experience is a bit underwhelmed and not comparable to BA’s First Wing, as the latter has their own security checkpoint and you arrive into Galleries First within seconds. If you are travelling peak times (for example half-term) it might save you significant time, but otherwise I’m not sure if it’s necessary.
The Clubhouse is nicknamed Lounge H. When you enter the area of airline lounges, Qantas and Cathay Pacific are on the left, whereas BA, AA and the Clubhouse are on your right.
It’s above American’s Admirals Club.
Today happens to be the Platinum Jubilee and they’ve added some special celebratory decorations.
I was a bit shocked by how busy the lounge is…
You should notice the very long bar right away, which is deemed as the best at Heathrow.
There are many different kinds of seats in the lounge.
Going past the dining area (I forgot to take photos there) and you’ll reach the quieter business zone.
You can watch TV here.
Behind the bar there are some window seats shielded by a glass wall. They are probably the best spot in this lounge for good privacy and runway view.
The lounge is very purple-y, just like Virgin’s planes. There is also a mini-gym with three Peloton bikes, although I don’t think it’s a good idea to exhaust yourself before boarding a flight.
This is the other side of the lounge, with a couple of hanging pods.
A very Instagram-able spot:
This is the very quiet relaxation area.
On the first floor there’s a small entertainment room with a pool table.
Further up there’s a nice terrace if you want to enjoy the sun.
Bathroom:
Dining is mainly table service. You can either order from the waiter or scan the QR code.
I had a big breakfast here.
There’s also a deli counter where you can grab some stuff yourself.
What do I think? Well, don’t get me wrong – Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at Heathrow T3 is still a pretty decent lounge, but it’s not at the same level as it was years ago. Before its partnership with Delta and Flying Blue the Clubhouse was a quiet paradise reserved for its own passengers and members only, and now it simply doesn’t feel exclusive at all anymore. In fact I find it even busier than BA’s Galleries First Lounge.
Virgin’s cost cutting measures in the past years are also to blame. The Clubhouse used to offer a hot tub, free haircut and massage services, yet now there’s nothing left besides food. Unfortunately it can no longer differentiate itself from the other lounges at Heathrow. In fact I probably prefer the Amex Centurion Lounge or Cathay Pacific Business Lounge unless I really crave an a-la-carte menu.