No 1 announces three new UK airport lounges – and save 20% on the £5 Priority Pass booking fee

No 1 Lounges has announced three new UK lounges, one of which came as a surprise to me.

The first has been discussed on Head for Points already:

Heathrow Terminal 4 – The House

As we discussed here, Etihad’s lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4 has become The House.

Whilst Etihad will remain the core user, No 1 is also selling access to third parties.  We now have the details:

Entry is a whopping £50 for cash, reduced to £45 for prebooking – but you will get waiter service dining.  Given that there are two excellent independent lounges in Terminal 4 already (Plaza Premium, reviewed here and the SkyTeam lounge reviewed here) it makes sense to pitch this at the luxury market and NOT accept Priority Pass or Lounge Club.

No children under 12 are allowed unless they have Etihad status or are in an Etihad premium cabin

There is a smart casual dress code

You can book on this page of the No 1 Lounges site.

Birmingham Airport – The Clubrooms (opens November)

We exclusively revealed plans for this lounge on HfP a few months ago.  It is situated near Gate 54.

Rather like The Clubrooms at Gatwick, this is a premium lounge built in the style of a modern members’ club.

A la carte dining is available and no children under 12 are allowed.  Smart casual dress is required.  Entry is £40 on the door and £35 if booked in advance, with a £10 supplement for champagne.

You can find out more about the Birmingham Airport Clubrooms here.

Gatwick South – My Lounge (opens December)

This came as a surprise to me.  A few weeks ago I was told by someone who should know that Club Aspire was opening a new lounge in Gatwick South this Autumn.

Was this person confused with this lounge?  Or are we going to see a My Lounge and a Club Aspire?

My Lounge is, basically, a hipster-style lounge.  ‘Loft inspired’ is the phrase used by No 1.  Interestingly, it will have the only outside terrace at the airport.  Given that the other My Lounge is cheap, I was surprised to see that Gatwick South will cost £30 on the door or £24 booked in advance.  Children are allowed at half price.

This is our review of My Lounge in Gatwick North to get you in the mood, and a photo is below.  It will be available via Priority Pass and Lounge Club which should reduce the pressure on the main No 1 Lounge.

You can find out more about My Lounge Gatwick South on the website here.

Save 20% on your prebooked lounge reservation

No 1 Lounges are now so busy, especially at Gatwick, that it is hard to get in at peak times using a lounge club card such as Priority Pass.

You might not know that No 1 allows you to GUARANTEE entry by paying a £5 reservation fee.  Whilst not ideal, you will also get Fast Track Security at Gatwick so it isn’t a bad package.

Until the end of October, you can use code RESERVE20 to save £1 on your pre-booked reservation.  The reservations page is here.

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.