My Lounge at London Gatwick South Terminal – is Priority Pass or Lounge Club accepted?

Last week the new My Lounge in London Gatwick’s South Terminal opened.

Some HfP readers were being turned away with Priority Pass and Lounge Club cards despite the website clearly saying that these are accepted.  The website has now been clarified, and states that the only card accepted for access is DragonPass.

I get a feeling that this is due to the imminent opening of the new Club Aspire lounge in Gatwick South.  Club Aspire lounges are 50% owned by the group behind Priority Pass and it seems that they are keen to boost revenue by restricting Priority Pass use at other lounges.

The same thing has happened at Heathrow Terminal 5, where there is a Club Aspire lounge and where the Plaza Premium lounge is also not part of Priority Pass or Lounge Club.

It is not all bad news for Priority Pass and Lounge Club cardholders.  Norwegian has announced that it will be using My Lounge for its Premium customers at Gatwick, which will take some pressure off the existing No 1 Lounge – which is accessible with Priority Pass and Lounge Club – which Norwegian had been using.

Details of My Lounge Gatwick South are on the No 1 Lounges site 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.