I first visited the American Express-branded lounge at Sydney International Terminal 1 when it opened back in 2015. Since then, the Point Hacks team has gotten to visit the Amex lounge a number of times, so we’ve updated this guide with new photos, a wifi speed test and a comparison with the SkyTeam Lounge next door.
There is a range of American Express cards on the market that will offer you access to the lounge, which is a really solid perk, so for Sydney residents who are premium American Express cardholders (or anyone who has to travel through Sydney International a lot), this is a nice benefit.
I also got the chance to chat with the Product Manager at American Express who was responsible for launching the lounge about how it came about. In this guide, there’s a mix of American Express-supplied images along with my own photos, and I’ll give you my take on the lounge too.
Lounge Details
The lounge is open every day from 6am until 11pm.
Both the download and upload speeds using the wifi connection are excellent:
Lounge Location
It’s close to gate 24, which is fairly central in the terminal complex, another few minutes’ walk beyond the Qantas Business and First lounges.
Located right next to each other and operated by the same company, Plaza Premium, you might want to read our comparison of the two lounges in our review of the SkyTeam Sydney Lounge if you are flying a SkyTeam carrier.
At the entrance, there’s a green wall which helps set the tone for the design of the interior.
Lounge Seating
The lounge is split down the centre, with a long bar and high seating.
Otherwise there’s some low comfortable seating against the far wall.
Along with outward facing window seats for those who want to soak up the view.
There are also window side seats that are inward-facing.
Food & Drink
In terms of food and drink, there’s a barista service, well stocked bar, and a range of food options throughout the day.
Who is the American Express Sydney lounge useful for?
If you’re flying Economy or Premium Economy frequently and value lounge access, using the American Express lounge instead frees you from the likes of paid membership programs like Qantas Club. You can access the American Express lounge with any ticket, on any airline, as long as you are an eligible cardholder.
Even if you travel in Business Class (with accompanying lounge access elsewhere with your ticket), this is likely to be a quieter lounge than the some major Business lounges at Sydney International, so could be worth seeking out.
Cards eligible for access
Access to American Express lounges is available to those holding an eligible American Express card.
What I learned from chatting to American Express about the background of the lounge
- The Lounge style, such as the green wall, the marbles, the wood and other surfaces, is consistent with other American Express airport lounges around the world
- The majority of visitors that use the lounge are Platinum Charge cardholders and anecdotally they use the lounge over others due to its quietness and exclusivity
- Numbers have shown the lounge is popular week-in week-out, being slightly busier before lunch with many international business travellers taking flights leaving in the morning
Other American Express lounge reviews
Other Sydney lounge reviews
Summing up: the American Express Lounge Sydney
The seating and workspaces are all comfortable and relatively informal, and the views out over the tarmac are definitely more interesting than the Qantas Business Lounge upstairs.
The food and drink offerings are about the average you’d expect from an international lounge in Australia.
The big misses the Amex lounge makes are a lack of a family room/kids’ area and shower facilities.
If you’re a frequent traveller through Sydney International in Economy or Premium Economy across a range of airlines, then the lounge access as a Platinum Charge cardholder would be really valuable.
As a Black or equivalent cardholder with bank-issued American Express, then the two visits per year are a nice perk as well, and ideal for family holidays where you’ll be able to get you and the kids in without issue.
I would happily spend a few hours here catching up on work or having a drink and something to eat before a flight.
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It’s by no means a ‘bad’ lounge, but they need to tweak it. I suspect the entry bar is a little low judging from the number of people flowing in. Also, they could police the usage. A loud family with young kids decided to setup camp in the corner and hog a lot of chairs and the staff seemed uninterested in asking them to give up some room.
It’s a good lounge if you can get in – just don’t count on getting in.
My Family and I recently tried to enter the Amex Lounge Sydney airport and were denied entry as this service was too full. We were told we could enter in 45min once called by the front desk. The whole idea of this service is to provide a comfortable environment to wait for your flight, if you have to wait 45min then this defeats the purpose as you are not at the airport for any longer than necessary.
We are not regular overseas travellers and not being able to use this service provided is disappointing.
The front desk staff was young and inexperienced and the Manager, when called, was was no better as she concurred that nothing could be done.
Shocking customer service.
I have just been to Centurion in SFO, Dallas and Vegas and I think Sydney had better food options with SFO second. Bars may be slightly better at Centurion and obviously they are bigger. As the Centurions are technically a domestic lounge they are at that upper range for domestic.
Appreciate if you may help me with below questions:
1) I am landing at Sydney domestic, can I still use the lounge (I have CBA Diamond and have few hours left to leave airport for my destination)
2) Can I use the second pass for the next day , again from Sydney Domestic?
Thanks
Thanks forever the guides!
In saying that, more AmEx lounges should be build across Australia! And a centurion one too
How do I go about getting my 2 visits a year to this lounge? Do I need to apply for a guest pass or just show my Anz black Amex card?
The recent guide only mentions Qantas lounge access.
Cheers