Eurostar St Pancras lounge update – how is the new cocktail bar?

I was in the Eurostar lounge at St Pancras yesterday for the first time since the new cocktail bar opened.  Whilst it wasn’t open at 8am (!) it does look very smart as you can see below.

I have a love/hate relationship with this lounge.  It is always ludicrously overcrowded on the ground floor but deserted upstairs – whether this is the fault of the passengers for not noticing the stairs or Eurostar for not painting them luminous pink to make them more obvious isn’t clear.

The breakfast food selection is weak (two cereal options, pain au chocolat, croissants, ham, cheese) and, even worse, the quality of the pastries is dire.  Given that Pret is now open on the concourse there is no excuse for serving what they do.

On the positive side, the selection of newspapers and magazines is outstanding.  No other lounge I know comes close.  My taste in reading may not match yours, but there were at least 10 magazines I would happily have walked off with.

There are also wireless phone charging pads by every seat upstairs, which is a simple but very convenient benefit.  All seats have a power socket too.

Remember that Eurostar lounge access is a benefit of American Express Platinum (see our new review here) – just show your card at the door.  No guests are allowed but obviously your partner could come in if they were your free Platinum supplementary cardholder.  In my experience children are allowed in ‘by negotiation’ at quiet periods, with more chance in Paris where the lounge is larger.

How to get Club Eurostar points and lounge access from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Club Eurostar does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Club Eurostar points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These are:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 1,333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 2,000 Club Eurostar points. Card benefits include Eurostar lounge access.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 15:1 into Club Eurostar points which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, so you will get the equivalent of 1 Club Eurostar point for every £15 you spend.

American Express Platinum comes with a great Eurostar benefit – Eurostar lounge access!  

You can enter any Eurostar lounge, irrespective of your ticket type, simply by showing The Platinum Card at the desk.  No guests are allowed but you can get entry for your partner by issuing them with a free supplementary Amex Platinum card on your account.