British Airways re-opens the Heathrow Terminal 5 Galleries Club North lounge

British Airways has announced, via its LinkedIn page (!), that it has re-opened the Galleries Club North lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5. It will be open from 5am until 2pm, after which you will have to go to the South lounge.

This is good news, because it means that traffic is picking up more quickly than the South lounges can cope with, especially with current social distancing measures in place. You can read more about the changes British Airways has made to its lounges, including the innovative food ordering system, in this article.

I’m not sure if the ‘secret’ Fast Track security lane at the North end of Terminal 5 is open (this is the Fast Track security lane which is totally separate to all of the others, virtually straight in front of you if you come out of the lifts from the tube or Heathrow Express).  If it is you should now be able to get from terminal entrance to the North lounge in under 5 minutes with hand baggage.

The current online food ordering and delivery service is a genuine improvement on what was offered before. You can see a sample menu 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.