Review: the United First Class lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 2

This is my review of the United First Class lounge at Heathrow Terminal 2.

As part of my tour of Heathrow Terminal 2 earlier this month, I got to see the United Airlines First Class lounge.  This is out in the 2B satellite terminal.

Regular readers may remember my review of the business class United Club lounge last year.  Frankly, I was shocked.  Lounges run by US airlines have a reputation for being pretty terrible, but the United Club facility is fantastic.  The food and drink put even the British Airways Galleries First lounge to shame.

Even better, you could get into United Club with a Priority Pass – until last week, when United withdrew, globally, from the Priority Pass scheme.  You can still get in by buying a day pass for $50 and I do think it is worth the money.  If you have a Priority Pass, you can still use the – very nice as well – Plaza Premium lounge in the main Terminal 2 building.

Here are a few images from United First.  This lounge is reserved for United Airlines First Class passengers and their top tier status members so it is never busy.  I’m not sure if you can enter if you have a First Class ticket with another Star Alliance airline.

This is the main seating area.  Look at the very snazzy Big Ben clock on the wall!

You can also see part of the buffet on the right:

If you want a proper meal, there is this small private dining area with six or so tables.  It is very discreet and the wine rack is impressive.

If you want to take it easy, they have day beds:

And there is more casual seating here ….

…. and here:

If you want a shower, there are facilities which are shared with the main United lounge – and these are five-star hotel quality bathrooms.

All in all, I was impressed with the United First Class lounge at Heathrow.  The décor is very well done – especially the Big Ben clock – and it is a marked contrast to the sterile Lufthansa lounge.   The only thing I cannot judge is the quality of the table-served food.

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.