The Biggest Amex Lounge Ever Built Is Heading to Newark

American Express is building what it says will be its largest Centurion Lounge yet, and the location is Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport. The lounge has grown since it was first planned, from roughly 18,000 square feet to about 30,000, and its opening has slipped from 2026 to sometime in 2027.

The design leans hard into a New Jersey theme. It will spread across two floors and take cues from the state’s cultural heritage and food traditions. Instead of one big bar, there will be three: a main bar for craft cocktails and wine, a specialty bar putting a modern spin on diner culture, and a terrace bar serving gelato, Italian pastries and Italian-inspired cocktails.

Food is the main attraction. A program called The Culinary Collective will feature dishes from James Beard Award-winning chefs in the Resy network, including Kwame Onwuachi, Mike Solomonov, Mashama Bailey and Sarah Grueneberg. There will also be a coffee and wellness bar, branded Blue Roast by American Express, offering espresso drinks, cold brew, smoothies and light bites.

Size is the obvious answer to a familiar complaint. Centurion Lounges have become so popular that crowding and waits at the door are common at busy airports, and a lounge nearly twice the originally planned footprint could ease some of that pressure. Cardholders will still have to wait until 2027 to find out whether the extra space is enough.

Sources: One Mile at a Time