Regus business lounge to open in Terminal 5 – and you can qualify for a free pass

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Here is an interesting development. Most people know that there are NO third party airport lounges in Heathrow Terminal 5. This is not entirely surprising, as BA / Iberia have monopoly use of the terminal.

It does, however, impact people who have a Priority Pass, Lounge Club, Diners Club or Airport Angels card. They have nowhere to go unless they have British Airways or oneworld status.

Things are changing, though. Regus has announced that it is to open a business lounge in Terminal 5 this Summer.

To quote Regus:

“The move responds to a growing demand for ‘third place’ work locations where business travellers can check their emails, hold conference calls and meetings and print documents. Regus Express will offer a quiet, professional business lounge with a co-working space, private workstations, to be known as ‘ThinkPods’ and secure WiFi, as well as meeting rooms available by the hour.”

They also offer unlimited free TV and coffee, which is handy! I am a big fan of Regus. At least 50% of Head for Points is written in Regus business centres across London.

You will need a Regus BusinessWorld Gold or BusinessWorld Preferred card to access the Heathrow lounge. However, you can get one for FREE via many loyalty programmes.

Full details are in this article I wrote in January. However, if you meet any of the following criteria you can get yourself a free Regus BusinessWorld card:

Avis Preferred (all members – and FREE to join)

American Airlines elite members

National Car Rental (Emerald members)

RICS (any member)

TripIt (Pro level members, can be bought for $50)

United MileagePlus (Premier members?)

Virgin Flying Club (Silver, Gold and holders of the Black credit card)

If you meet any of the above criteria, this article from January has the links you need. It is not 100% certain that UK-based members will qualify for some of these, but there is no harm filling in the form.

Clearly, as long as Regus is willing to accept applications for the Avis offer from the UK, signing up via Avis Preferred for free is the easiest thing to do.

If you have Virgin status, you should apply via that route as you receive the ‘unlimited visits’ Gold card rather than the ’15 visits’ Preferred version.

If you have BA or oneworld status then this won’t be of any interest to you as you have Terminal 5 lounge access. For the status-less, especially business travellers who need to work before their flights, this is definitely worth looking at.

The Heathrow press release on the opening is here.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20. You get two more free visits for every year you keep the card.

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network. Guests are charged at £20 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.