Bits: new BA ‘Our Trip’ group booking tool, 2016 free Tastecards for 2-4-1 No 1 Traveller access

News in brief:

British Airways launches new ‘Our Trip’ group booking tool

British Airways is quietly trialling a new application called ‘Our Trip’ which will help groups of people travelling together, but booking separately, to co-ordinate.

The trial is ONLY valid for groups of five or more people travelling to the US, Canada and Mexico before 21st June.

As an incentive to try it out, every member of each participating group will receive a 10% – 15% discount voucher off a future British Airways flight.

What is clever is that you do not all need to be travelling on the same flight.   As long as each passenger is flying with BA and they all cross over for at least one day at the destination, you can link the bookings together.

It is not clear if there are any additional benefits to be had apart from the discount voucher.  It would be interesting, for example, if the status of one person allowed all members of the group to select a seat – but that does not appear possible, at least in this trial.

You can find our more on this special ‘Our Trip’ BA website.

2016 free tastecards – good for 2-4-1 No 1 Traveller lounge access

tastecard is a dining discount card, similar to Gourmet Society, which offers cardholders 2-4-1 meals in a large number of restaurants across the UK.

The reason I mention it on HfP is that another benefit of tastecard is 2-4-1 access to No 1 Traveller airport lounges.  (Gatwick South is pictured above.)  It is not strictly 2-4-1 since you are paying the ‘walk up’ rate which is higher than their promotional deals, but you would still make a saving.

Via moneysavingexpert, there are 2016 tastecards to give away.  You need to fill in this form before 15th January.  With 2016 winners your odds are decent.

All entrants get a voucher for one month of free tastecard membership.  This is a poor deal, however, as a quick Google search will find offers as generous as four months of membership for £1.

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.