Maison Amex event in Montreal: Exclusive American Express VIP lounge (off airport)

Exciting news! You can experience a cool VIP event this week if you have an American Express premium card. Amex is bringing its series of exclusive events to Canada for the first time — at least for the first time since I got my card in 2017. It’s only 1 of many other Amex benefits for F1 in Montreal.

I absolutely adored my many visits to the Amex House events in Miami over the past few years, and now it’s coming to Montreal for the Formula 1 Grand Prix this week.

These Amex events are so little known! It’s a great example of why to join our free newsletter specifically for travel rewards to learn pro tips, like this one that’ll help you get a bit more value out of your card — and to get a ton of upcoming content on maximizing rewards specifically.

Here are the details of the Maison Amex event in Montreal.

 

Overview of the Maison Amex event in Montreal

Since the best benefit of these premium cards is free lounge access, these exclusive Amex events can fittingly be described as a nice VIP airport lounge outside the airport. They do these pop-ups during select events.

Here are the basics of the Maison Amex event in Montreal:

• Special event during the F1 Grand Prix weekend
  • But no F1 ticket is required
• 2-floor lounge and rooftop patio
  • With views of the Crescent Street Grand Prix Festival
  • Including the main stage with many performers
• Completely free to access
  • Space is limited (175), no reservation is possible
• Only open to those who have an Amex premium card
  • Eligible cards are listed right below
  • Supplementary cards (“joint” cards) work too
• 1 free guest is included as well
  • You cannot bring more, not even for a fee
  • Guest must be of legal drinking age
• Complimentary snacks are included
  • By celebrity chef Antonio Park
  • His restaurant is amazing
• No complimentary alcohol sadly
  • Unlike in airport lounges
  • Unlike in Amex Platinum events in Miami
• Event happening for 4 days (June 6-9)
  • From 1 PM to 11 PM

It’s really a fun exclusive event and I’ve always met such interesting people at them. I’ll be there Saturday for sure to cover this, if you want to talk travel. Feel free to message me on Instagram if you’re there!

 

Here are the 8 Amex premium cards that give you access to the Maison Amex event in Montreal:

• American Express Platinum Card (including U.S. or international versions)
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
• Business Platinum Card from American Express 
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card
• American Express Centurion Card
• American Express Air Canada Card
• American Express Corporate Platinum Card
• American Express Aeroplan Corporate Reserve Card

Know that if you want to access similar events in the United States, the Amex Platinum Card is the one you need (because Aeroplan cards don’t give access to those). It’s the best for most travelers anyway.

The 4 first cards are usually sent with expedited delivery since they’re very premium cards, so you might receive it in time for the event if you apply today on May 31^st. There’s really no guarantee though. 

But they’re great cards to have anyway if you:

• Travel a lot
  • Lounge access is really great
• Travel in luxury
  • They have so many luxury benefits
• Want a lot of free travel
  • The cards have huge welcome bonuses
• Want a lot of points of the more lucrative type
  • The cards’ points have unlimited value

 

I give you more information about each card below, along with all the other details.

But I’ll end this overview by saying that I’ve lived close to Montreal or in Montreal my entire life and honestly, not even once have I ever wanted to be in town for the F1 weekend… and this year I’ll definitely go just for this Maison Amex event that seems cool.

 

Location — Montreal Maison Amex event

The event is really in the heart of Crescent Street, one of Montreal’s nightlife hubs. It’s at 1476 Crescent Street, at the corner of De Maisonneuve Boulevard.

 

Note that there are unfortunately no elevators and stairs are required to access the location.

 

Experience — Montreal Maison Amex event

I’m really not a bougie kind of person and rarely splurge for anything luxurious, so I love that I can make a unique and fun day out of the exclusive VIP experience, for free.

Especially in Miami, because the lounge is literally on the beach and there’s some cool art-related programming.

 

Due to these Amex events’ somewhat secretive/exclusive nature, there isn’t much info available. Usually, there’s at least a page on the Amex website, but there doesn’t even seem to be one for the Montreal version. 

So since I don’t think the event ever happened in Montreal before, all we know is what was in the email. The email doesn’t mention any specific attractions in the lounge itself, just the food and a view of the main stage of the Crescent Street Grand Prix Festival. 

 

That festival is free to attend and lists a few performances on every day of the Maison Amex event. 

I’m a pop-punk guy through and through, so none of these acts that cater to an F1 crowd sound familiar to me, but you can see the full list on the official festival website.

 

And being in the epicenter of the festive Grand Prix atmosphere is undoubtedly an experience in itself.

As mentioned, the Amex Platinum event in Miami is always during Art Basel weekend and so it always has art-themed activities and exhibits. Maybe there will be something racing-related — but honestly, I think they would’ve mentioned that in the email. We’ll see!

 

Food — Montreal Maison Amex event

The complimentary food at the event is by celebrity chef Anthony Park. 

Coincidentally, of all the many many high-end restaurants where you can get $200 for free every year with the Amex Platinum Card’s new dining credit benefit, the only one I’ve tried so far is his Park Restaurant in Montreal.

It was absolutely delicious.

 

The menu is probably completely different at the Maison Amex event, but the food at every edition of the Amex Platinum events in Miami was always amazing.

The email had this image for the food, for what it’s worth.

 

Beverages — Montreal Maison Amex event

As mentioned, alcohol is not complimentary, so it’s not as fun as in a VIP airport lounge.

This makes sense though, as people almost always spend a short amount of time in an airport lounge (not everyone purposely books 7-hour layovers to use lounges as an office with free food and drinks — that’s just us digital nomads and semi-nomads).

It’s also a logical continuation of what seems to be the Amex trend for these special pop-up events. My first Amex Platinum event in Miami had an unlimited open bar, then it went to just 2 free drink coupons, and then to just 1 free drink coupon this year (the candy section made up for it though).

The Maison Amex event will be beverages for purchase, of course. The only payment method accepted is an Amex card.

 

Access — Montreal Maison Amex event

To enter, you need to present your eligible Amex premium card and a piece of valid government ID. I’d bring the physical card to be sure, but showing the card in a digital wallet is supposed to work too.

Based on my experience in Miami, you’ll probably have to sign a standard waiver on an iPad (or maybe that’s just because of how Americans love to sue everyone). There might be a bit of a wait if you go at a popular hour.

You can only bring 1 guest. If your guest has a supplementary card on your account (“joint” card), that is eligible too, so you get 1 guest each.

It’s meant to be exclusive, so it is. It’s the literal definition of a priceless benefit: there’s really no money in the world that can replace having an eligible Amex premium card. You cannot pay to enter or add more guests.

 

Eligible cards — Montreal Maison Amex event

Here’s a summary table of the 4 Amex premium cards you can actually apply for, and I give you an overview of all 8 cards that you can use to access the event right after.

 

American Express Platinum Card

This is by far the best premium card in Canada. It’s not even debatable. Anyone who tells you otherwise clearly has no clue what they’re talking about (respectfully), that card is really that great.

 

You’ll get unlimited passes for the world’s largest network of VIP airport lounges, with 1 guest for free (if you want more, supplementary cards you add to your account for $250 give that person and another guest access).

You’ll get automatic Gold elite status with Marriott Bonvoy (8,000+ hotels) and Hilton (6,000+ hotels). And so many other luxury benefits. 

The Amex Platinum Card‘s $799 fee seems steep, but it’s really just $599 since there’s a $200 annual travel credit that can be cashed out on Day 1.

Then there’s the annual $200 dining credit which is actually per calendar year, so you get 2 in your first year of card membership (we only value each at $100 to be conservative in our Flytrippers Valuation). 

And of course, you get a huge welcome bonus if you can reach the minimum spend requirement that’s higher than most cards.

 

American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card

This is also a very good premium card, especially for frequent Air Canada fliers.

 

You’ll get unlimited passes for Canada’s largest network of VIP airport lounges, Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges, with 1 guest for free (supplementary cards you add to your account for $199 give that person and another guest access). 

What is a bit different is that since it is an Air Canada card giving you access to Air Canada lounges, you need to be flying on Air Canada to use this benefit (or any Star Alliance partner airline). 

You also get many other Air Canada benefits, like free checked bags for you and your travel companions, priority boarding, and even rollover benefits if you have elite status.

The Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card has a $599 fee but the first year is a no-brainer at some point in your travel rewards journey, as you get a huge amount of very lucrative Aeroplan points.

 

Business Platinum Card from American Express 

Business version that doesn’t require having an incorporated business.

It gives you a 2^nd great welcome bonus and a 2^nd year of unlimited lounge access.

 

American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card

Business version that doesn’t require having an incorporated business.

It gives you a 2^nd great welcome bonus and a 2^nd year of unlimited lounge access.

 

American Express Centurion Card

This is the world-famous black card. You cannot apply for it, it’s an invitation-only card. It’s for the very select few who spend a lot of money. Like hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

In case you’re curious, the one-time initiation fee is rumored to be $10,000 while the annual fee is rumored to be $5,000. It doesn’t really have that many more perks than the Amex Platinum Card, but it’s quite the status symbol.

 

American Express Air Canada Card

Same principle as the previous card, but it’s the Air Canada version. 

This one is relatively new and does actually have amazing benefits, but it’s just as exclusive.

 

American Express Corporate Platinum Card

Some employers get special corporate versions of the Amex Platinum Card, but you can’t apply for it.

 

American Express Aeroplan Corporate Reserve Card

Same principle as the previous card, but it’s the Air Canada version.

 

Other similar Amex events and benefits

The Amex Platinum Card has so many benefits that it can be hard to keep up. It doesn’t help that some are just not very well publicized, like the Amex pop-up events.

The ones I’ve seen in the past years have been in Miami, New York City, Las Vegas, Chicago, and the Coachella Valley. Montreal is joining a pretty exclusive club. They even created a new brand name for it to translate Amex House to Maison Amex, which is pretty neat.

But there are other lesser-known exclusive benefits, even in Canada, that I’ll tease here before a detailed post about them.

In Toronto, there’s an Amex Lounge at the Budweiser Stage, along with a special priority entrance. There’s a special priority concessions line at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre and The Royal Alexandra Theatre.

In Montreal, there’s a priority entrance at OSHEAGA, îLESONIQ, and LASSO festivals.

In the U.S., there are cool Amex lounges inside a few venues. In the NYC area, at the UBS arena (home of the NHL’s Islanders). In Los Angeles, at the Crypto.com Arena (NHL Kings and NBA Lakers). In Salt Lake City, at the Delta Center (NHL Dead Coyotes).

There’s a special entrance at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (NHL Kraken), at the United Center in Chicago (NHL Blackhawks and NBA Bulls), at Barclays Center (NBA Nets), and at the Dignity Health Sports Park (MLS Galaxy) and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

A bunch of music venues in NYC and Boston also have discounts on concessions for Amex cardholders, as do all the arenas I just listed. There’s even a high-end Amex Centurion Lounge high up in a tower in Manhattan, but that one’s not free.

In Europe, there are similar benefits at O2 Arena and OVO Arena Wembley (London), Uber Arena and Uber Eats Music Hall (Berlin), and Accor Arena (Paris).

 

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Summary

The Maison Amex event in Montreal is a really fun development and one I certainly didn’t expect. I’ll definitely go check it out because I love these unique and fun exclusive experiences.

 

What would you like to know about the Maison Amex event in Montreal? Tell us in the comments below.

 

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Featured image: Maison Amex banner (photo credit: Amex)

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