American Express will open a Centurion lounge in Amsterdam

American Express has announced where its second Centurion lounge in Europe will open, almost four years since it opened its first European location at Heathrow Terminal 3.

(Technically, American Express has a lounge for Platinum cardholders in Stockholm but this is branded as an ‘American Express Lounge by Pontus Frithiof’ rather than a Centurion lounge. It is more of a restaurant with free food than a lounge.)

It should come as no surprise that Europe’s fourth busiest airport, Amsterdam Schiphol, is next. The Amsterdam Centurion lounge will become the 30th location in the network.

In case you need a quick primer, Centurion lounges are Amex-owned airport lounges that cater to its top-tier credit card holders. Access is limited to those with The Platinum Card (review here) or the (invite only) Centurion cards.

You can find out more about how Centurion lounges work, and where to find them, in our guide here.

Unsurprisingly, this will be the first lounge operated by a credit card company at Schiphol airport. These types of lounges are more common in the United States than they are in Europe, where the overall credit card market is less lucrative for card issuers due to the stricter regulatory environment over fees.

It’s still worth building one in Amsterdam, though, says the President of American Express Travel, Audrey Hendley:

“With a large number of American Express Card Members traveling through Schiphol each year, the new Centurion Lounge will be an important addition to our growing global Centurion Lounge Network.”

The American Express Centurion Lounge in Amsterdam will open in 2026 and be located between Concourses E and F.

It won’t be big, unfortunately. At “nearly” 6,000 square feet (around 560sqm) it will be smaller than the 7,000sqft Heathrow Centurion lounge, with seats for (at a guess) fewer than 100 guests.

In terms of design you can expect a:

“rich palette of blues, greens and earth tones that evoke Amsterdam’s famous waterways and tranquility, while the lines, proportion and repetition represent the iconic canal houses of the city.”

The good news is that, unlike the Heathrow lounge, it will offer floor-to-ceiling windows with an abundance of natural light. That should immediately help make it feel airier and open.

Other details remain under wraps although there will be a coffee bar, presumably with a barista.

Conclusion

The Amex Centurion Lounge is a welcome addition to the loungescape at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. Amsterdam generally has less impressive lounges than other large airports including Heathrow, so this addition will have a big impact.

The only challenge for Amex is that Centurion lounges are generally a victim of their own success, becoming so popular that some locations have become overcrowded. Continual attempts by American Express to restrict entry requirements and guesting rules have not had a major impact.

With its relatively small footprint, the Centurion Lounge in Amsterdam could face the same problems.

Amex will open the new Centurion Lounge in “2026” with no further time-frame given. If you want to get a flavour of what to expect, you can read our review of the Centurion lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 here.