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American Express is bringing back its cardmember lounge at Wimbledon

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The American Express cardmember lounge is returning for the 2024 tournament which starts on Monday.

There will also be a new ‘Amex Pavilion’ on the Hill.

If you are wondering what it’s like, here are some photos from 2022 taken by reader Alex. Hopefully it will be sunnier this year!

Visit the American Express Wimbledon Cardmember Lounge

The American Express lounge is located between Court 3 and Court 12.

Any American Express cardholder can enter the lounge, irrespective of the country where their card was issued. It opens at 10.30am and closes at 7pm, with last entry at 6.30pm.

Each cardholder can take up to two guests into the lounge.

If nothing has changed since last year, the lounge will not have any toilets. You have to leave the lounge and rejoin the queue to get back in, which is clearly not ideal.

You get a great view over the outside courts (rain permitting):

Here is a PR shot for 2024:

American Express Lounge Wimbledon

…. and an actual interior shot from 2022:

Whilst the lounge has a bar and serves snacks, these are not free.

New for 2024 – the Amex Pavilion

New for 2024, the Amex Pavilion – situated on the Hill – offers you the opportunity to try an array of interactive games and enjoy a bar on the lower level.

Amex cardmembers will have exclusive access to the second floor viewing platform. This offers the best views of the large screen on the Hill.

The Amex Pavilion is open from 10am to 9pm or 30 minutes after the last ball if earlier.

Here is a PR image:

Amex Pavilion Wimbledon

The Amex Fan Experience returns

The American Express Fan Experience is back this year in the Southern Village. It includes:

  • massage chairs
  • TopSpin Gaming Area
  • the return of the “Find Andy’ challenge, a kind of “Where’s Wally?” event
  • a postcard station

It is open from 10am to 9pm in Week 1 and 10am to 7pm in Week 2.

An exclusive £20 cashback offer

There’s a special cashback offer for purchases on site.  If you spend £140 or more in the grounds during the tournament on your card you’ll get £20 back.  You can only get the cashback once per card.

Registration is required. You should see this offer in the Amex app or on your online statement page.

Amex complimentary radios return

Once again, you can pick up a complimentary radio headset from American Express mobile kiosks around the grounds, as well as in the Queue, the Cardmember Lounge and the Fan Experience.

These offer three channels of commentary.

Radios can be recycled at the exit gates when you leave.

Conclusion

Amex is clearly continuing to build up its presence at Wimbledon, and there is a good mix of activities this year.

There is a lot more going on than we’ve covered here, including a takeover at Wimbledon and Southfield stations and on public transport along the route. Amex is also sponsoring three screens in Hammersmith, Spitalfields and Piccadilly where Wimbledon will be televised.

The lounge never quite delivers. It’s a shame that food and drink is not free, but then it would only encourage more people to visit and to stay longer so it may end up being self defeating. I would have been tempted to offer fast track entry to Platinum cardholders, or at least a free drink voucher – some cardholders are more valuable than others at the end of the day.

That said, if it is crowded in the grounds – which it usually is – then, as long as nothing has changed this year, the lounge is a decent spot to get out of the sun / rain and watch the play on the outside courts from the balcony.

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Comments (45)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • James says:
    29 Jun29 June 05:53

    How much are Wimbledon tickets?

  • Will says:
    29 Jun29 June 06:15

    In the picture of the lounge every person including the barman is looking at their phone. How sad have we become!

    • ukpolak says:
      29 Jun29 June 07:41

      T5 South galleries lounge the other day exactly the same – it looked like an internet cafe from the 90s albeit now we don’t need to slouch over dedicated terminals. I could kind of understand it with solo travellers but even families of 4+, each on their own devices.

      • JDB says:
        29 Jun29 June 08:31

        It’s worse when one sees couples in restaurants both on their mobiles all evening; doesn’t bode well when your ‘phone is more interesting than your partner. Another similarly sad trend is seeing people walk up to a painting in a museum or in fact any major tourist place, taking a photo and walking off, never actually using their eyes.

        • Man of Kent says:
          29 Jun29 June 09:32

          Ah yes. I saw exactly this at the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum last week and couldn’t work out why people were doing it.

        • Lumma says:
          29 Jun29 June 10:18

          There’s a funny picture from a few years ago of some tourists in Edinburgh getting their photos taken in front of a picture of the castle, in sight of the actual castle

        • Maples says:
          29 Jun29 June 11:34

          Didn’t know HfP became a relationship advice place.

        • Tariq says:
          29 Jun29 June 14:46

          If you’ve spent all day with your partner then sitting down in a restaurant might be the first downtime that you’ve had all day to catch up on other things. Being in the restaurant might be more functional than experiential.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        29 Jun29 June 08:42

        I blame HfP as, this being T5S, they were probably all reading that 😉

    • Skywalker says:
      29 Jun29 June 08:40

      The guy in the photo with his arms crossed disagrees with your comment 😉

      But you do make a very good point – most people in that photo are on their phones and as @JDB says, it is not a good sign with couples.

    • ChrisBCN says:
      29 Jun29 June 11:27

      I’m looking at my phone as I read your comment

    • Mayfair Mike says:
      29 Jun29 June 23:43

      My thoughts exactly @Will.
      Can hardly be deal breaking/life and death messages they are sending looking at them!

  • Robert says:
    29 Jun29 June 07:12

    Will give this a try during second week.
    Can I use BAPP or does it have to be a gold/plat type of card to gain entry?
    How long should I expect to queue? Guessing that’s dependant on rain, crowd size, etc but curious to hear any readers experiences using it thanks.
    If drinks were free I expect it would get mobbed! The £140 to get £20 back sounds about right, easily burn that on a couple of bar trips in SW19.

    • FEMW says:
      29 Jun29 June 11:20

      We went once (after having been to the cavernous Amex lounge at the US Open) – it’s nothing to shout about. Not very big. Better to go to the outside courts and watch some matches.

  • Man of Kent says:
    29 Jun29 June 08:18

    We are fortunate to have managed to get Centre Court tickets for the second Friday. This will be our first ever visit to Wimbledon and we will be looking to make the most out of it so any tips from regulars or previous visitors will be greatly appreciated. We have Amex but not sure the Lounge appeals.

    • NicktheGreek says:
      29 Jun29 June 08:35

      The Wimbledon Picnics are fun (google them). They come with cutlery and a cute carry bag. The afternoon tea is sold out, but is the better value. The lunch one is double the price and still available. Also definitely make sure each of you grab an amex radio. It definitely adds to the enjoyment I found.

      • Rob says:
        29 Jun29 June 09:36

        Remember than only four (?) courts are ticketed and you can just wander into any of the others to watch. Ensure you explore the full site.

        If you know a debenture holder they can arrange access to a quiet lounge called the Bingley even if they are not present.

    • FEMW says:
      29 Jun29 June 10:09

      I second the Wimbledon picnics. Used the cool bag a lot ever since! The Amex lounge is nothing special (in comparison with the US Open) If you get to the main gate for 10am opening there is the controlled ‘bringing in the crowd’ with the band playing and the wait staff of the restaurants above all waving. The Stewards are all lovely and funny too. Unfortunately HSBC no longer a sponsor as having 3 different accounts meant 3 lots of Strawbs and Cream via voucher. Barclays are doing the free strawbs this year so we’ll have to part with cash!! It’s just a lovely day out along with great tennis. We’re there on the second Monday.

    • Lumma says:
      29 Jun29 June 10:21

      Remember you can take your own booze in, iirc it’s a bottle of wine or four cans of beer per person. (They also usually don’t suspect that a bottle of San Peligrino filled with G&T isn’t just a bottle of sparkling water in my experience)

      • Chris says:
        29 Jun29 June 11:12

        I would second this as the best advice I was given before my first time

        You can take anything in, with me in reason. Take a full picnic complete with a couple of bottles of champagne. It was really eye opening compared to any sporting event I’d ever been too.

        People popping champagne corks all around you between games on centre isn’t a sound you normally pick up on tv

  • Mark says:
    29 Jun29 June 08:47

    Would it be that hard to just offer a dri k to cardholder + guests and scan their amex a la the lounges? That way can keep track, members get a freebie but also not encouraged to linger?

    • Ken says:
      29 Jun29 June 10:59

      People queue long enough to get in.

      Free drinks would mean a queue a mile long.
      There would be those boasting of getting 10 free drinks per couple using multiple cards on a rainy day.

  • Doomonger says:
    29 Jun29 June 09:00

    I will be there on middle Sunday dispensing wit and wisdom in equal measure, plane spotter types will be offered a free drink if they identify themselves as HfP devotees. I can be recognised fairly easily as I will be sporting a Panama and pink shirt and be accompanied by my wife a rather attractive blonde in her late forties who will of course be hanging on to my every word!

  • Supersub says:
    29 Jun29 June 09:23

    Last time I went, the BBC were using part of the lounge’s balcony for interviews, so it was good for celeb spotting too.

    • FEMW says:
      29 Jun29 June 10:10

      I have a cool photo of Sue Barker interviewing with Boris Becker on the that balcony. I guess Sue will be at Wimbledon this year…..

  • Iain Turner says:
    29 Jun29 June 12:30

    Went two years ago with some tickets on Court 3 on middle Saturday via the ballot. It was rainy and impossible to get into the Amex lounge.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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