Amex cardholders at JFK will no longer enjoy this unusual lounge perk — to get free coffee instead
American Express shut down a luxury wellness perk at its exclusive Centurion Lounge at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and replaced it with a full-service coffee bar.
The credit card company last year shuttered its Equinox Body Lab, where members could partake in restorative therapy sessions that include self-guided meditations, stretching, compression boots and a vibroacoustic chair for relaxation.
Instead, cardholders who have access to the luxurious lounge will have the choice of picking up a free cup of joe at “Blue Roast by American Express,” a full-service coffee bar that offers espresso beverages, cold brew, seasonal specialty coffee drinks, smoothies, avocado toast and chia pudding.
News of the closure of Equinox Body Lab was first reported by the financial advice site The Points Guy.
When reached by The Post, a spokesperson for American Express confirmed the change. The company said that the coffee bar has proven to be a hit among cardholders traveling through Seattle.
The JFK location is the second complimentary coffee shop that American Express has opened at its Centurion Lounge, according to the company.
Several media reports indicate that the Equinox Body Lab was closed down recently, but The Post has learned that it has been closed since April.
American Express moved to close the spa and use the space for a coffee bar in order to accommodate a greater number of lounge members, according to a source.
American Express made similar moves last year at airports in Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami, where it shuttered Exhale spas from its Centurion lounges.
In October, The Points Guy reported that the spas were closed down due to the overwhelming demand.
The spas were staffed by between two to four treatment therapists at any given time — meaning that a large number of cardholders needed to wait for an appointment, according to The Points Guy.
The luxury spas were first included in the Centurion Lounge as a means to enticing American Express cardholders to upgrade to its more premium credit cards such as the Platinum Card and the Black Card — the ultra-exclusive account that requires holders to spend at least $250,000 annually and pay annual fees of at least $5,000.
Last year, The Post reported that American Express Black Card holders were not impressed with the Centurion New York lounge at One Vanderbilt, the 93-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.
“It’s soulless — you have to go through a turnstile at an office building to get there,” one visitor told The Post.
