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No 1 Traveller to launch new Gatwick South lounge in February

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Independent airport lounge group No 1 Traveller is to open a brand new lounge in Gatwick’s South Terminal at the start of February.

No 1 Traveller has been a huge success since it launched at Gatwick – almost too successful.  It is now a regular occurrence for Priority Pass cardholders to be turned away from both the South and North Terminal lounges, as priority is given to pre-booked guests and airlines who use the lounges for their premium passengers.  The photo below is of the existing Gatwick South lounge.

No 1 Traveller Gatwick South

(If you have a Priority Pass, you can now guarantee No 1 entry by paying a £5 reservation fee via this website.)

As of yesterday, the pressure in the Gatwick South lounge has been reduced by the opening of the exclusive Clubrooms facility.

Bigger plans are afoot.  A huge space next to Clubrooms, which I was allowed to peek into when I was at Gatwick on Tuesday, is being turned into a brand new No 1 Traveller lounge.

They have got a great spot, with glass walls on two sides and views over the runway.  Most importantly, the new lounge will be twice the size of the existing one and will include a spa.

British Airways is moving its Gatwick operation to the South Terminal from November 2016 so many Head for Points readers will be able to try out the new lounge next year.

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:

American Express Platinum card Amex

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.

Nectar American Express

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.

Category

General

Comments (8)

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

  • @mkcol says:
    24 Sep24 September 08:18

    Clubrooms will also be introduced to their North terminal lounge later next year.

    • Rob says:
      24 Sep24 September 08:58

      They mentioned this but it sounded more like an aspiration than fact. If they do, I will get a session off them for a prize.

  • oyster says:
    24 Sep24 September 08:38

    I’m struggling to see the benefit here for Priority Pass customers.

    Surely the entire new capacity will be swallowed up by the influx of BA premium and status customers, so there will still be overcrowding.

    I see it as a bum deal for PP holders and I see it as a bum deal for BA status passengers (the downgrade in champagne alone is enough to put me off travelling from LGW on BA.

    • Rob says:
      24 Sep24 September 08:57

      I think the issue is whether the non-status BA customer base is more likely to have a Priority Pass than the easyJet customer base which currently uses South. I doubt No 1 knows the answer to that.

      I woukd guess that BA traffic is also more focussed on morning and evening peaks than easyJet.

    • cheekychappie says:
      24 Sep24 September 09:01

      £5 reservation & Prosecco?

    • DarrenT says:
      24 Sep24 September 09:29

      It’s going to be the NORTH terminal lounge that is going to be affected by the BA lounge closure, not South. This IS a good thing for everyone, I feel.

  • gumshoe says:
    24 Sep24 September 12:20

    Out of interest what has the space shortly to become the new No.1 lounge in the South Terminal been used for up to now?

    I’d assumed No.1 would move into the current VS Clubhouse so if not, what will that become?

    • Rob says:
      24 Sep24 September 12:37

      The V-Room used by Virgin Holidays closes in Feb so BA is presumably taking that. The Clubrooms / new No 1 space may have been offices or storage as it basically behind Dixons.

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

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