[icenspice]

After a long period of BA inactivity on my part, I have decided to take the plunge again. This time without lounge access ?

Depending on this ATC strike, I will be in transit @ LHR for approx. 6 hours this week.

I see that it costs £30 for a standard 3-hour stay, which sounds more than reasonable to me.

Has anyone used this lounge? Is it possible to pay on arrival or only in advance online?

Many thanks

[DiamondDad68]

I would book in advance, The first time I tired to used it after it had just opened I was turned away as it was full.

[EU_Flyer]

If you’re going to be using it a few times over the next 12 months I recommend a Priority Pass card which gives you access to the Aspire T5 lounge. From experience it may also mean you have a lesser chance of being kicked out after 3 hours and/or being rejected.

The PP card also gives you arrivals access to the business lounge at the Sofitel which has very nice showers and a decent F&B selection.

[AlanOrton1]

The only possible problem with the above is if the lounge is busy and you have not pre-booked, as a PP card holder you can still be turned away.

Sorry, have not been in the Aspire Lounge, but having walked past it I don’t think it is as big as the No 1 lounges in LGW.

[icenspice]

Many thanks everyone.

I have reserved online. Just want a quiet corner to compose myself?? lol before a long flight.

I must look at this PP card as I fly all the major alliances.

[MartynSinclair]

@icenspice – you may be better off applying for an Amex Plat card as this comes with a free Priority Pass card. The last time I checked the cost of a Priority Pass with unlimited annual use, it was not cheap. The Amex card also comes with free travel insurance for you and 5 family members…Great value and probably the best travel insurance policy available in the UK..

[AlanOrton1]

Martyn – agree with you re: Amex Platinum.
I hire a lot of cars, both in the US and Continental Europe and one of their insurance features means you can always turn down the policy the local operator tries to flog to you.
Just a cautionary warning, their insurance does not cover pre-existing medical conditions, and to benefit from the travel delay / baggage delay feature I believe you need to have paid for your flights with an Amex card.

[lesmclaren]

I would also suggest the Amex Platinum card, I have had one for many years and the benefits as outlined by others in this post are well worth the £450 a year. Regarding car hire, last year I had a claim of over £500 for damage to a Hertz car [in my opinion hugely overstated] and submitted it under my Amex Platinum policy as I always use this to avoid the additional insurances, it was paid out in full and without any argument.
One tip when booking a rental car [certainly with Hertz, maybe others] is to take their regular insurance and refuse the additional ones which are also covered by Amex. For some reason if you just refuse all the insurance the rental charge quoted is a lot higher!

[PeterCoultas]

Aspire at LHR is not a favourite of mine but is certainly better than nothing…many of the PP lounges are really quite good but MartynS and others comments re Amex are worth taking into account. For example in addition to gving you the PP lounges they have US airport lounges that run rings round the usual US airport efforts….try the Amex lounge in SFO for example…

[IanFromHKG]

You can also by PP membership for a specific number of visits. Last year I bought Senior Offspring a 12-visit pass as we are now making her route through Helsinki – that was fairly good value, and other options are available.

I mostly use my own (free, through a free credit card (snigger)) PP for arrivals lounge access in LHR when flying MH – it means I have to transfer from T4 to T2 but that’s not a big deal, and although it’s small it has decent showers and super-helpful staff. Breakfast options are limited but adequate.

[PeterCoultas]

Have just had a first time experience: never had problem accessing Priority lounges until yesterday in Portland (Oregon). The notice outside the Alaska Lounge said no room for Priority Club and another (paid) card. Had turned down a breakfast offer so this was slightly annoying. While waiting noticed the large number of entrants wearing shorts and yoga pants (see another thread) so getting status on Alaska must be easy!

Experience in SFO much better as when checking my seat assignment at the BA lounge was kindly offered entry despite not being qualified so cannot comment on the Air France lounge that is offered to Priority Pass.

[Tom Otley]

It’s the start of half term for many, and responding to an email from Aspire last night I tried to book in for this afternoon at T5 – full.

I imagine it’s lots of families, and even those with tier access to the BAEC lounges can’t get the whole family in, so then they look at the Aspire and discover…. no luck.

The coffee shops and restaurants will do well today

[K1ngston]

Martyn, I agree with the Amex Platinum offering a great service for the £450 ex UK…. The kicker is I transferred my card to Singapore as I found the service invaluable and decided to do so…

The fee was waived for the transfer and then after a years use I was horrified to see that the fee for the Amex Platinum card in Singapore is $1750 SGD…..

That is almost double the cost in the UK, and when I queried and told them that I was not going to pay that fee as the services offered didnt justify they cooly said no fee no card!!!

I am making do with a Citicard Premier card offering me PP access for the sum of $500 which is far more like it …..

[lesmclaren]

K1ngston. Just wondered why you changed the subscription to Singapore (unless of course you permanently moved there ). I have lived in Norway for several years but maintained my UK bank account and UK Amex platinum and my salary / pension is paid in gbp. I do of course incur exchange charges but because I travel a lot many of these would happen anyway. And it would take a huge spend to come anywhere near the ludicrous charge for the card you have in Singapore! !

[K1ngston]

lesmclaren I have been non domicile in the UK for 13 years always moving around and it suited me to keep all my credit cards and financial matters in the UK… Since I now have my own business and have lived in Singapore for more than 3 years I moved all my finances as it is expedient to do so (except for Amex Platinum)

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