Breaking: Amex closes spas in Centurion Lounges to increase seating and alleviate overcrowding

The American Express Centurion Lounge network will become slightly less luxurious in the future.

This change comes as the company is closing all spas within its lounge network, as confirmed exclusively to TPG by a company representative. When Amex began opening lounges in 2013, they emphasized amenities designed to entice cardmembers to utilize the lounges and apply for their premium credit cards.

One of these amenities is the spas, historically operated in collaboration with Exhale. These spas were available at three Centurion Lounge locations nationwide: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

While airport lounge spas are a pleasant addition, they can create a bottleneck for travelers since the demand for treatments often exceeds availability. In the Exhale Spas at the Centurion Lounges, there were typically two to four therapists available, providing a limited range of nail services and chair massages. Unless you arrived first on a given day, most cardmembers had to wait for an appointment.

One possible solution to the supply and demand issue could have been for Amex to reserve spa treatments exclusively for its invitation-only Centurion cardmembers.

Instead, the company will convert the spa areas into additional seating. Amex did not specify how much extra seating will be created from the spa closures, but it's unlikely to significantly alleviate overcrowding and wait times. (After all, the spas only took up a small space.)

Nonetheless, every bit of additional seating is beneficial, and it is hoped that Amex will reinvest the savings from closing the spas to enhance the number of servers and improve the food-and-beverage service across its network.

Amex has officially announced the closure of its Centurion Lounge spas with the following statement:

Effective Thursday, October 3rd, to expand seating and better serve more eligible Card Members, American Express is closing the Exhale spas at the Centurion Lounges in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport.

Although Amex only had spas in three of its Centurion Lounge locations, the prestige and luxury associated with the issuer's lounge network is sure to be affected by this change. Meanwhile, Amex's two main competitors in the credit card lounge space continue to provide a variety of appealing, standout amenities that overshadow Amex's offerings.

These amenities include Peloton rooms at the Capital One Lounge and custom facials offered at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club.