Details of the new Priority Pass and Lounge Club lounge at Stansted revealed

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When No 1 Traveller closed its lounge at London Stansted before Christmas, I mentioned that an ‘Escape’ lounge was being planned for the main terminal. ‘Escape’ is the brand used by Manchester Airports Group across the various airports it owns (Stansted, Bournemouth, East Midlands, Manchester).

Details of the new lounge have now appeared on the Stansted website and an artists impression (below) is also available.

In summary:

It opens April 27th

Access is restricted until 3 hours before your departure time

Open 4am to 8.30pm daily

No children under the age of 6 allowed

Situated on the mezzanine floor in the main departure lounge

It is not yet confirmed that you will be able to enter via Priority Pass or Lounge Club. However, all of the other ‘Escape’ lounges in the portfolio belong to both of these programmes so I am assuming that both will be accepted. As the new lounge will be in the main departure area, you are guaranteed to be able to use it, wherever your destination.

Unless I get invited to any opening party, I’d be grateful if any Head for Points reader who passes through the airport on April 27th or soon after could take a few photographs for us.

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.