Bits: first photos of Aspire lounge in Terminal 5, Dragonpass lounge deal

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News in brief:

First photographs of the Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5

Thanks to reader Neil, I can share a couple of photographs of the new Aspire airport lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5. This officially opens on Monday and is not yet listed on the Priority Pass website. I think these are the first pictures of it to appear anywhere.

and:

I should be there next week so I will report back. Once I know exactly what cards are accepted, I will write an article on the best ways to gain access.

If you are planning to visit the Aspire lounge and do not have a Priority Pass, your best option is to book in advance and guarantee admission via the Aspire website here.

Dragonpass

Dragonpass lounge deal in The Telegraph TODAY

Dragonpass is a Priority Pass-clone which is trying to gain traction in the UK. There is an interesting deal in The Telegraph today, ie Saturday.

You usually need to buy a Dragonpass membership card for £60 before you can buy their lounge passes. With this offer, you can just buy the passes you need for the standard cost of £15 each. This is the same cost as having a Priority Pass, except that Priority Pass will charge you £69 for your card first!

More details are on The Telegraph website here. Remember that you can get one for free today if you spend £10 at Waitrose and show a My Waitrose card!

Etihad ‘free Hilton Gold’ offer IS transferable

Finally, you may have had an email from Etihad yesterday offering free Hilton HHonors Gold membership until the end of October, with an extension to March 2017 if you complete three stays.

The link in the email can only be used once. However, the offer is fully transferable. I proved this. I got the email from Etihad but input the details of my wife’s account (which is under a different surname so it was clear to Hilton that it was not me). She was instantly upgraded to Gold.

I now need to decide whether I should put three stays through her account in order to get her Gold status until March 2017. It would allow me to let my own Gold lapse after March 2016.

Category

Etihad and Etihad Guest, Hilton Honors

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

fbrj says:

1 Aug1 August 14:33

Re Dragon Pass – you also can get £15 access year round with Gourmet Society membership (you can buy GS annual membership for £10 value through (almost valueless!) Nectar points). I used that recently to get access for my daughter to the Plaza Premium lounge at Heathrow T4, which otherwise would have cost £35.
- Brian says:
  
  1 Aug1 August 15:13
  
  Where can you see the lounge options on Gourmet Society site? I just can’t seem to see it.
  
  I got GS membership through Lloyds current account.
  
  Thanks
  - fbrj says:
    
    1 Aug1 August 15:33
    
    Once you have logged into your GS account, look down the left hand side for “More offers”. Click through to 1st page and you will see “Up to 50% off Premium Airport Lounges Worldwide” near the bottom – follow link. Also on page 2 there is a way to access Travellers No 1, although I haven’t checked that out.
Oliver says:

1 Aug1 August 16:04

So you don’t get a dragon pass card for free or anything? It’s just a link to the website to buy entries for £15
- Rob says:
  
  1 Aug1 August 17:07
  
  Seems so, I edited article to reflect this. The teaser I saw was misleading.
- Colin JE says:
  
  1 Aug1 August 17:27
  
  Looks that way. I bought the Telegraph today thinking I’d get free membership for a year but it just appears to be a way of getting reduced entry. The DragonLounge app is terrible and can only be used if you have a membership number. I presume this offer doesn’t generate one?
  Even worse, if you’ve bought an e-certificate it looks as though you could still get turned away at the door if the lounge is busy, in favour of guests who’ve booked.
  Think I’ll stick with my AirportAngel and occasional LoungeClub card courtesy of Amex, when I’ve got it, (which is also £15 entry) but at least you don’t have to pay before knowing if you can get in.
  I also notice that LoungeClub is owned by PriorityPass so hopefully the T5 Aspire lounge will be accessible to holders. Useful when my AirBerlin Oneworld Saphire expires.
  - Rob says:
    
    1 Aug1 August 18:41
    
    I was told by someone who should know that Lounge Club WOULD have access to the T5 lounge. I remain to be convinced, though, as it is a 2nd tier scheme which generally doesn’t get into the best lounges. That said, Collinson (who own LC and PP) are one of the joint owners of the lounge!
    - Brian says:
      
      1 Aug1 August 20:05
      
      Would love to know if LC is included as going to be in Heathrow for a few hours on Thursday. Do you think it’s worth giving them a call? Cheers
      - Rob says:
        
        1 Aug1 August 21:32
        
        Official opening was meant to be Monday, if they stick to it then it should be on the LC website.
  - Rob says:
    
    1 Aug1 August 18:43
    
    Sorry for any confusion in the original article Colin, which is now edited. I wrote it based on a preview of the deal which was not as clear as it could have been.
Kristian says:

1 Aug1 August 18:29

Barclays current a/c
insurance 1 month
6 AA passes
Colin says:

1 Aug1 August 20:01

At T5 tonight and the Aspire Lounge is open. Not too busy (but I would expect that on a Saturday). They accepted my PP no problem but did not have the stamp for my Lounge Miles card. Also the shower is not working yet
- Kristian says:
  
  1 Aug1 August 20:09
  
  Do they have any salt & vinegar crisps?
  - Kristian says:
    
    1 Aug1 August 20:10
    
    Might go there if they do.
- Rob says:
  
  1 Aug1 August 21:32
  
  Need to re-run my Lounge Miles article!
  - Colin says:
    
    2 Aug2 August 09:06
    
    Yes – it could be a bit of a money earner for me – well £5 pounds wortht. Use my Amex Plat PP card (ie no cost to me), get a stamp and then pop upstairs to the BA lounge. Glad I kept a few of the cards when they only required 5 stamps.
    - Alan says:
      
      2 Aug2 August 09:38
      
      I’ve got some of those too 😀 Same setup in EDI – pop in then swap over to BA lounge!
- Alan says:
  
  2 Aug2 August 02:11
  
  They should sign it for you instead, that’s what EDI did for me after they lost their stamp (!) and they had to wait a month for a new one!
James says:

2 Aug2 August 16:42

I think that the chances of Priority Pass being accepted in the new Aspire lounge at Terminal 5 is highly likely.

The new lounge is the result of a joint venture between Swissport and Collinson Group, owners of Priority Pass, so it would be highly unusual for them not to accept their own product in the new lounge!!
mikeact says:

2 Aug2 August 21:00

According to the DragonPass web site, standard membership is £50 and £16 per voucher.
However, what/where is the Waitrose bit all about ?
- Rob says:
  
  2 Aug2 August 22:10
  
  Spend £10 in Waitrose on a Saturday and you get a free Telegraph! (£5 midweek, £10 on Sunday, but that isn’t relevant here.)
Wesley says:

3 Aug3 August 21:47

I am going to be in Terminal 5 this Wednesday, and have a Lounge Club pass to use. I might give the new lounge a try, if I don’t get in does anyone recommend the other LoungeClub lounges at Heathrow? Are they worth travelling from Terminal 5 to?
- Rob says:
  
  3 Aug3 August 22:00
  
  Lounge Club is NOT accepted, now confirmed.
  
  There is nothing else you can use as you can’t get airside in any other terminal.
Wally1976 says:

4 Aug4 August 12:32

Any guesses on the next airline to do this Hilton Hhonors offer (so I can join their programme ahead of time)?? (Or if anyone has the offer and doesn’t need it, please send to my gmail account which has username walterspete! Thanks).