British Airways offering ‘overnight bag drop’ at Heathrow Airport

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British Airways is now publicising the fact that you can check in your bags at Heathrow on the day before you fly.

Whilst it has only just been added to the website, it appears that this has been quietly offered since last Autumn to anyone who turned up and asked. British Airways has now decided to make it an official part of its service.

Here are the times it is available, plus times for Gatwick and Edinburgh where it has been offered for a while:

Heathrow Terminal 5 – check-in between 16.00 and 22.00 for flights departing before 13.00 the next day

Heathrow Terminal 3 – service not available

Gatwick South – check-in between 16.00 and 22.00 for flights departing before 13.00 the next day

Edinburgh – check-in between 04.00 and 20.00 (18.00 on Saturdays) for flights departing before 09.30 the next day

It is not available at any other airport at present. Whether it rolls out further will depend partly on take-up but also on the ability of the airport to handle luggage which is checked in early.

PS. If you missed it, take a look at our recent article on the top 10 reasons why you may want to apply for the British Airways American Express credit card.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

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

Rash says:

10 Feb10 February 09:21

OT: Does anyone have any go-to or default codes they use when booking with Hilton? I’ve got the Amex offers but I’m looking to book outside Europe. Thanks in advance 🙂
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:19
  
  Flyertalk often has these. Remember to share back 🙂
David says:

10 Feb10 February 09:25

i wonder if they will check our bags through on a connection that arrives from Glasgow to Gatwick at 1420, departing next morning at 0900 ?
- Rich says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:07
  
  One ticket or two?
  
  If one ticket, they would check the bags through anyway. Two tickets, you’ll have to claim your bags and wait until 1600.
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:22
  
  If same ticket yes. However for an overnight stop you’d be fine asking them at check-in to check the bags only as far as the overnight stop. Then you’d have to recheck them onto the next flight.
Leo says:

10 Feb10 February 09:47

Slightly OT but… – BA now appear to have Self-bag drops all across T5 (inc Zone H IINR).
Previously Silver members were able to use dedicated areas where, from experience, they were happy to overlook 2-3 extra KG per bag.
The machine is not as happy to do so, in a ‘computer say no’ manner.
Any option for Silvers to use human check-in facilities in T5?
- Anna says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 09:54
  
  Don’t you get 2 x 23kg as Silver? We always travel with everything including the kitchen sink (OH is a tech geek and scuba diver) and always manage to stay within the limit!
  - Lady London says:
    
    10 Feb10 February 13:06
    
    I think it’s even 2*32kg as Silver. Had a checkin agent confirm this on 2 separate occasions when I asked after they initially told me my baggage was too heavy. Was a few years back hope it hasn’t changed
- Charlieface says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:07
  
  I’ve never used the automated bag drop. Can anyone say whether you can just hoist or prop your bag up to take the weight down?
  - Lady London says:
    
    10 Feb10 February 10:28
    
    Would be hard as the machine waits till weight ‘stabilises’ before taking a weight reading.
    
    If I wanted manual checkin for any reason (including the possibility – which is defo not guaranteed – of any discretion) then I would queue up and ask that question or another one.
    
    You do know that handbaggage in BA must’ve the correct size but weight within reason/liftability is not checked? Plus your small handbag or laptop.
Secret Squirrel says:

10 Feb10 February 09:58

VA miles for Morrison’s shop now showed up. 374 miles is always a nice extra!😃
Rich says:

10 Feb10 February 10:03

Very welcome news about early bag drop. I’ve used it at other airports and it makes a huge difference to logistics if you have a night at an airport hotel
Ant says:

10 Feb10 February 10:15

OT: RFS flights booked at 23,000 avios +£42 total for 2 people. If I cancel after 24 hours what is the refund? thanks
- Neil Donoghue says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:32
  
  I believe you only receive the 23,000 avios back but I could be wrong.
- sloth says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:42
  
  should be £40 refunded and the avios
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    10 Feb10 February 10:54
    
    well really it should be £35 each or all of the cash if it was less than that. But dodgy IT means BA is currently only keeping £1 if cancelled online.
Lee CB says:

10 Feb10 February 10:43

Thanks for the tip, we almost always drop off bags the night before at Gatwick so to now be able to do the same at T5 this May will be very welcome improvement. The time and hassle it saves in the morning really makes a lot of difference.
Nick M says:

10 Feb10 February 10:51

OT – when cancelling an Amex with points that are automatically sent across (eg SPG) do the points usually come after the card has been cancelled? – I have adjusted my limits and am not intending to spend any more on my SPG card… there are only 1632 points waiting to shift across, but is it relatively safe to cancel the card now rather than waiting 3 weeks? – Admittedly it isn’t the end of the world if they get lost in transit!
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 10:55
  
  I’ve received SPG points after a cancelling a card but not BA, technically they are forfeited as soon as you cancel the card.
  
  I would expect to lose them and be pleasantly surprised if they actually turn up.
- Harry T says:
  
  10 Feb10 February 16:41
  
  I had a few Bonvoy trickle across to my account after the last time I cancelled the SPG card.
  
  I wouldn’t risk cancelling before a significant amount were due to be transferred.