Christian
In this article
Hamburg and Düsseldorf have one thing in common: since 1 October 2026, no American Express card opens a Lufthansa lounge there, and the replacement in the form of food vouchers only applies in Frankfurt and Munich. What remains is Priority Pass. How much that is worth at these two airports differs considerably.
This guide sorts both airports by the same question: which lounge exists, which card gets in, and when the detour is not worth it. The counterparts for the large hubs are the Munich guide and the Frankfurt premium guide.
What the Amex Platinum still opens at both airports
The German Platinum includes a Priority Pass membership. For the primary cardholder: you plus one guest free, each additional guest 30 euros, a maximum of 50 visits per year. Supplementary cards get their own membership. The program details are in the comparison of Priority Pass, LoungeKey and DragonPass.
What the card no longer opens:
- Lufthansa lounges. Business and Senator lounges have been closed to Platinum since October 2026, at both airports. The background is in the article on the end of the partnership.
- Lounge on the Go. The temporary food vouchers offered as a replacement only work in Frankfurt and Munich. Departing from Hamburg or Düsseldorf, you get nothing in return.
- Priority Pass restaurants. Priority Pass lists two dining partners each in Hamburg and Düsseldorf. American Express removed this option from Platinum memberships in 2019. Whether it shows up for you is only visible in your own app, not in the airport overview on the website.
There is no Centurion Lounge in Germany. Even with a Centurion card, you rely on the same Priority Pass in Hamburg and Düsseldorf.
Hamburg: one lounge, and it serves everyone
Hamburg is simple. Priority Pass lists exactly one lounge, the airport's own Airport Lounge, plus two restaurants.
- Location: Airport Plaza between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, on the level above central security. From there you can reach all departure gates.
- Schengen: According to American Express, the lounge is open to passengers on both Schengen and non-Schengen flights. If you fly to London, Istanbul or the Gulf, you still have to clear passport control afterwards, so plan for it.
- Opening hours: Priority Pass currently lists 05:00 to 21:00. A 2023 review by Frankfurtflyer reported much shorter weekend hours, 09:00 to 16:00. The sources disagree. Check the app on your travel day.
- Who else gets in: The lounge is the contract lounge for numerous airlines outside the Lufthansa Group and accepts LoungeKey, DragonPass and other programs alongside Priority Pass. Several customer groups share it at the same time.
The Airport Lounge is functional: a seat, drinks, snacks, Wi-Fi, showers. The 2023 review describes it as open towards the departure hall and correspondingly loud. For an hour with a laptop, that is enough. It is not a reason to get to the airport early.
The Lufthansa lounge is in the Terminal 2 gate area and, since October, follows only the airline's rules: ticket class or status. How the Senator and Business lounges differ is covered in the Senator Lounge review.
Düsseldorf: two lounges, split cleanly by Schengen
Düsseldorf is the better starting point. The airport runs two lounges of its own, both in Priority Pass, and renamed them in February 2026.
- DUS Rhein Lounge, Pier B, formerly the Hugo Junkers Lounge. It serves Schengen flights. According to Frankfurtflyer, it opened partially on 23 February 2026, with about 320 of a planned 935 square metres, the rest to follow during the year. À la carte service instead of a buffet was announced. A reader comment from May 2026, however, reports a regular buffet. Which applies today is not reliably documented.
- DUS Sky Lounge, Pier C, formerly the Open Sky Lounge. It serves flights outside the Schengen area.
According to Düsseldorf Airport, both are open daily from 05:00 to 21:00. For Priority Pass, the airport allows one guest per member. With the Platinum that matches the free guest rule, but with a second guest you may be turned away here rather than charged 30 euros.
The other lounges are tied to airlines: the Lufthansa Business and Senator lounges in Pier A, the Emirates Lounge in Pier C. None of them accepts Priority Pass.
The practical point in Düsseldorf is matching your flight to the right lounge. What matters is whether your flight is Schengen or non-Schengen. For Schengen flights, the Rhein Lounge in B is the option, for Dubai or New York the Sky Lounge in C. If you depart from Pier A, for example with Eurowings, plan for the walk to B and back. The piers are described as connected airside, but we found no official confirmation. If in doubt, ask before clearing security in A.
When no card works: paying
Both airport lounges sell day access. In Düsseldorf, the airport lists entry from 49 euros and several family offers, including one for 99 euros. The terms differ by lounge and page, so check them before booking. In Hamburg, the Airport Lounge also sells entry at the desk. We did not find a current price confirmed by the airport, and booking portals list different figures.
For the card math, this means: a lounge visit in Düsseldorf is worth roughly the day price, but only if you would actually have paid it without the card. If you would otherwise sit at the gate, you save nothing.
When the detour is not worth it
- Short wait. With less than an hour before boarding, the detour rarely makes sense, and in Hamburg with passport control for non-Schengen flights even less.
- Evenings. Both airports close their Priority Pass lounges at 21:00. Late departures from Hamburg or Düsseldorf go without a lounge.
- Weekends in Hamburg. If the shorter hours still apply, the only Priority Pass lounge is closed in the afternoon.
- With more than one guest. In Düsseldorf, a second companion may already be refused at the door. For families, the lounges' package prices are often the cleaner solution. More in the overview of lounge access with children.
- As a reason for the card. One lounge per airport, shared with several programs, does not carry an annual fee. The math is in the Amex Platinum value check.
Conclusion
For Priority Pass members, Düsseldorf is the more pleasant of the two airports: two lounges, cleanly split into Schengen and non-Schengen, one of them freshly rebuilt. Hamburg offers exactly one option that works for every destination, but with unclear weekend hours and little quiet.
At both airports since October 2026: the Amex Platinum is a Priority Pass card here, nothing more. No Lufthansa access, no vouchers, no restaurants. If you fly Lufthansa regularly from Hamburg or Düsseldorf, airline status is the only currency that works reliably. Which other lounges exist in Germany is covered in the overview of Priority Pass lounges in Germany.
