The amex platinum saves the day

On Tuesday May 28th, I found myself stuck at the Dallas airport due to bad weather. Arriving around 2:00 PM with the expectation of leaving at 4:30 PM. that was quickly squashed with cancelled flights due to bad weather. After multiple re-bookings and maintenance delays, we finally left DFW at 10:30 at night, arrivinng in Corpus Christi about an hour later right at midnight. Talk about a long day!

So, how did I manage to stay at DFW for 8.5 hours and not go crazy?
Easy - Lot’s of lounge access!

PLAZA PREMIUM - DFW TERMINAL E

I started off in DFW American Airlines Terminal E. This terminal only has a Plaza Premium lounge, and it’s a small one, seating maybe 50 people max. Upon arrival it was pretty full and I had to sit at the bar top near the entrance.

As you can see from the photo below, they were serving roasted pork, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and rolls. I also had a coke. All complimentary. Food was fresh, hot, and very tasty! Service was friendly and helpful as it was my first time being in plaza premium lounge. Food is unlimited, but since I knew I was going to be lounge hopping, I didn’t want to fill up at my first stop.

I later learned that I could have brought my 4 team mates in (3 on AmEx and 1 through Priority Pass), so if you’ve got the Platinum, it will allow you to bring 4 others in for free. If there’s space, it’s good!

[ There’s a much larger Plaza Premium in D Terminal, but I never could get in because of the wait list ]

MINUTE SUITES - DFW TERMINAL D

After eating and the hassle of just being in an airport, I decided to take a rest at the Minute Suites. I love these little suites which gives you a break from all the noise of the main terminals. I was able to lay down and watch a little TV while my electronics charged. My plan was to play some Nintendo, but I guess due to being so far inside the airport, I had weak signal using both T-Mobile and Verizon hotspots and it didn’t work. I did enjoy an hour of quiet time though.

One downside of the DFW Minute Suites I learned, they don’t have their own private bathroom. The Minute Suites at CLT has a pretty luxurious private bathroom that is super clean and I just thought they all did. The DFW one, you have to go back out into the Terminal use a regular bathroom.

The Minute Suites 1-hour bookings are a perk of the Priority Pass membership that comes with the Amex Platinum and it’s been a lifesaver 2x now for me!

THE CLUB - DFW TERMINAL D

“The Club” is the normal lounge you get with Priorty Pass membership. Normally it’s the most crowded and I’ve never actually been able to get into the one at CLT. Thus, I was surprised when I got to this one and it was basically empty. I was greeted by the guest access person and she was very friendly and helpful.

Upon entering though, I realized why it wasn’t very busy. The food selections were lackluster and consisted of bascially pretzels and some cookies. I did grab a Dr. Pepper and it was mixed well from the machine.

I didn’t stay here very long and decided I’d go try the American Airlines lounge. I was flying first class and thought I might be able to get in, but that was a no go, so my next stop was the AmEx Centurian Lounge.

So much space.

Looks nice

That’s all there is to eat.

The entire end to myself.

THE AMEX CENTURIAN LOUNGE - DFW TERMINAL D

I was really looking forward to finally visiting the American Express Centurian lounge at DFW. When I arrived though, there was a wait. There was a kiosk with a QR code to scan to get on the list. I did that and figured I’d go try the Plaza Premium lounge down the way. It was also on an even longer wait. At that point, I was back near the minute suites so I went back there again to relax while I waited. Not long after I got settled in, I got a text saying my spot was ready and I had 10 minutes to check in at the kiosk. I packed my stuff and headed to the check in.

Upon arrival I was greeted and showed my phone QR code and info and was able to get on the elevator to the second floor. When I got off I was quickly greeted and checked in at the desk.

This lounge was considerbly larger than CLT. I didn’t take the time to explore the entire lounge because the other end behind me in this photo was packed with people.

When I got in, the only place open was along the bar top window overlook area. It wasn’t too bad, but when a table behind me opened up, I grabbed that instead.

Food was served buffet style, and was hot and fresh. In fact, there appeared to be 2 or 3 folks continuously bringing out new food, new plates, and refreshing the area. The meal of the day was BBQ chicken thighs, mashed potatos, rice, salad, soup and several other things I didn’t get like gumbo and a couple other starches.

The foot was super tasty. I had 3 plate fulls! Plus, they had an ice cream cart too!

Overall I was there for over an hour enjoying my food and surfing on the phone.

After all that eating it was time to go find my team mates and also walk off all those calories. I did turn on the fitness tracker on my watch and walked around the Terminal for 30 minutes. Later ran into the team at a restaurant in Terminal E, where I spent the final 90 minutes before boarding the plane.

If I hadn’t had access to the lounges, I would have had a super boring time and potentially costly meals while waiting. To get the similar level quality of food as I got at AmEx, that would have easily been a $25 meal when you factor in drinks and dessert. And I did that 3x at the AmEx lounge. Include the earlier meal at the Plaza, and it’d be like $100 just in food costs at airport prices probably.

In the end, I still can’t believe I pay $895 a year to hold this credit card, but I’ve already gotten so much travel value out of it, I don’t see myself ever going back to traveling without all the perks and benefits this card offers.

I only fly maybe 2x a year max, but every time, it’s proven to be a valuable and helpful tool to have in my wallet. If you fly more often and would enjoy a more comfortable and relaxing travel experience, I highly recommend looking into the AmEx Platinum card.

One more thing

I was also able to use part of the $200 annual airline credit by upgrading my seats from standard economy to preferred economy and it triggered the credit reimbursement on my account. Just another bonus - better seating for no added cost. Win win!