A nostalgic look back at the old Amex Centurion Lounge at SFO (Terminal 3)

Note: This lounge closed in early 2025. An all new / redesigned version of it will reopen mid 2027. The temporary Amex Lounge is located in Terminal 2 / Concourse D (near the security checkpoint). Yup, it’s occupying the location of the old American Airlines Lounge.

The following is a full review of my visit to the old / original Terminal 3 American Express (Amex) Centurion Lounge at SFO in early 2023. It was so good that it basically reaffirmed my faith in US service culture. Like, seriously!

I wasn’t expecting it to be so large.
The selection of food really surprised me.
And never in a million years would I have thought that I’d find a comfortable place to sit and relax in a non-airline branded lounge before my flight. The hell?

What it was like inside the old American Express Centurion Lounge (Terminal 3) at SFO in 2023

I was such an idiot. I must’ve walked past this particular Centurion Lounge a billion times (give or take) at the San Francisco International Airport over the years, but never had any desire to go in until I was hit with a massively delayed flight. What the heck was I thinking?

Amex centurion lounge entrance SFO — Now that’s an impressive main entrance! I do declare this to be the most beautiful entrance to any lounge here at SFO (past or present). The only question is: how the heck did it end up in the United terminal?

Location

This Amex Centurion Lounge was located in Terminal 3 at SFO. More specifically, the entrance was pretty much right at the intersection of Terminals F and G.

Its location made it ideal for anyone flying United or any other Star Alliance airline. Except Air Canada. Air Canada passengers had to walk a really long way to reach it. Womp womp.

Amex centurion lounge entrance staircase SFO — Quit yer bitchin’. The effort of climbing these stairs was worth it! No lie.

Amex centurion lounge SFO reception desk — See? There was wine at the top of the stairs (even before you reach the reception desk). I told you.

Layout

Looks can be deceiving. From the outside, this Centurion Lounge looked relatively tiny. It wasn’t until you stepped inside that you realized that it was freaking huge (perhaps even larger than the LAX Centurion Lounge).

There were basically two separate wings to this lounge (connected by a walkway). Each wing was broken up into a handful of different rooms and lounge areas. Each contained its own bar and food buffet.

Amex centurion lounge SFO rooms — I was basically expecting this to be a small one room lounge (much like the Air France KLM lounge at MUC I visited the day before). This ain’t that.

Amex centurion lounge SFO decor — Even the decor was fairly high end. At the very least, it helped me to better understand why the annual fee of my Amex Platinum card was pushing over $700 at the time.

Amex centurion lounge SFO walkway — This pic of the walkway which connects both wings should give you a better sense of how large this lounge was. I’m just happy that they put my annual fee to good use.

Seating

In my opinion, it’s the variety of seating types which makes or breaks an airport lounge. The old T3 SFO Amex Lounge delivered, with a wide variety of seating types for nearly any type of mood (or vibe). It wass much better than the seating options in the IAH Amex Centurion Lounge IMHO.

Amex centurion lounge SFO private seating areas — …while others were more private (and anti-social).

SANspotter in the SFO amex centurion lounge — I chose to hide from the communal types.

The main reason why I liked the seats in this lounge is because many of them were private. It wasn’t all that hard for me to find my own little nook to escape to. Introverted life FTMFW.

SFO amex centurion lounge room types — This room reminded me of elementary school. I’m not wrong!

SFO amex centurion lounge cube chairs — There were also these large “cube” chairs that reminded me a lot of the old Delta Sky Club in Terminal 4 at JFK back in 2015. Basically what I’m trying to say is that this lounge triggered a cascade of memories from past experiences (which I wasn’t expecting).

SFO amex centurion lounge private rooms — There were secluded rooms for doing business…

SFO amex centurion lounge couches — …and there were large couches for getting hammered (and being loud) with your buddies. BTW, I want to take this moment to extend a giant “F-U” to the group of ~~people~~ ***holes who left this spot 10 minutes prior to me taking this picture. You all suck.

Amex centurion lounge sfo printer — Good news: there was a printer available for anyone who had something really important that they just had to print. Apparently it could handle 4 people at a time.

Amex centurion lounge sfo bench seating — Enjoy people watching? Pop a squat along this table and time will melt away as you look down on everyone stressing out checking in for their flight on United Airlines.

Food

It was the selection of food that surprised me the most. And as I mentioned before, there were two separate self serve food buffets located on opposite ends of this lounge.

Each had its own unique selection of food and drink items, which was motivating enough to get you to up off your lazy butt and check out those before making a selection. Either that or start at one end of the lounge and then just eat your way to the other. Whatever worked for you.

Amex centurion lounge SFO food and drink area — Immediately turning left after being checked in would have put you in this room. Assuming you could make it past the bar on the right, you’d find the first of two fully stocked self serve food buffets in this lounge.

Amex centurion lounge SFO food — Hot take: this self serve buffet wasn’t as good as the other one on the other side of the lounge (which I’ll show you in a moment).

Amex centurion lounge SFO salad bar — It was basically a salad bar (and a gentle reminder that you’re probably not getting enough fiber in your diet).

Amex centurion lounge SFO salad — Three types of salad (to cancel out the three vodka tonics you were about to consume).

Amex centurion lounge SFO soup — I didn’t check, but I’d bet pretty much anything these pots were filled with vegetable soup.

Amex centurion lounge SFO main courses — Those of you who made the effort to walk to the other side of the lounge were rewarded with a far more substantial buffet consisting of *real* food.

Amex centurion lounge SFO snacks — Cookies, cured meat, and cheese. Hallelujah!

Amex centurion lounge SFO salad toppings — There were also some salad-building ingredients for anyone feeling a little guilty about loading up on cookies and cheese.

Amex centurion lounge SFO drinks — BTW, I have no idea what these little drinks were, but I can tell you that they were *spectacular*.

Amex centurion lounge SFO bar — Speaking of drinks, there were two fully staffed bars in this joint. Basically, you’d never be 10 steps away from a stiff drink.

Amex centurion lounge SFO wine — Don’t worry! If 10 steps seems like too much, you’ll be happy to know that this monstrosity existed right between the two bar areas. Cheers!

Amex centurion lounge SFO orange juice — All that alcohol, and I went with a good old fashioned glass of orange juice. Who’s the most boring guy in the room?

SANspotter drinking orange juice in Amex centurion lounge sfo — This guy, that’s who!

And for anyone wondering: no, there were no made-to-order meal options in this lounge. The only food available is what you see on the self-serve buffets.

How to get in

Getting complimentary access to the San Francisco American Express Centurion Lounge (or any Amex Centurion Lounge for that matter) is fairly straight forward. Anyone with the following American Express cards (along with a same day boarding pass and government issues ID) is welcome:

Platinum Card
Business Platinum Card
Corporate Platinum Card
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card

Centurion Members are also welcome free of charge. And sorry – they do not offer the ability to pay for a one-time access pass.

Anyway, I’d highly recommend keeping an eye on the latest official entry requirements (because things do change from time to time).

Amex centurion lounge sfo guests — I was fairly convinced that I would be visiting this lounge again, but they closed it before I go back to it. The food (and the variety of seating options) made it worth coming back to.

Amex centurion lounge sfo private seating — If I would have made it back in time, you’re darn right I was going to sit in one of those individual cubby seats along the back wall again. Those were the best seats in the entire lounge IMHO.

Pros and cons of the Amex SFO Centurion Lounge

This was very much a lounge worth visiting, and I’m not afraid to admit that it just might be one of my favorite in the US at the time. It was a real kick in the nuts to find out that they closed it in 2025.

Pros

It was huge. In other words, you’re unlikely to feel cramped in this lounge unless it’s extremely crowded.
The selection of food was impressive. It was just as good (or better) than what you’d find in most airport lounges in the US.
Drinkers rejoice! The selection of alcohol (and easy access to it) was notable. If you want to get smashed at SFO, this was your place.
The architecture and interior design was beautiful. It was easily one of the nicest looking airline lounges I’ve ever been in.

Cons

It got really crowded at times. This isn’t surprising considering how relatively easy it was to get in.
There was a strong “party” vibe going on during my visit. Twice I had to move away from large groups of loud (and very drunk) guests who were being more than a little annoying.

2 Comments

Pies Cutes says:

August 11, 2023 at 8:55 am

Oh… Exalted review, I might check this one out. To be fair, seating choices are not a key selling point for me. Showers, warm food, privacy, yes

1. Scott says:
  
  August 11, 2023 at 10:34 am
  
  Glad you enjoyed the review! The SFO Centurion lounge does fairly well in regards to warm food and privacy IMHO. I didn’t get the chance to check out the showers, but from what I hear, they’re fairly nice. It’s definitely worth a visit!

A nostalgic look back at the old Amex Centurion Lounge at SFO (Terminal 3)