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Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge now open in Heathrow Terminal 4

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Plaza Premium has unveiled its new Arrivals Lounge in the landside area of Heathrow Terminal 4.

Regular Head for Points readers will know that I rate Plaza Premium highly.  They invest a lot of money into their facilities, especially in design, and they have a genuinely high end feel.

I have reviewed (click to read):

Heathrow Terminal 2 departure lounge

Heathrow Terminal 4 departure lounge

Heathrow Terminal 2 arrivals lounge

…. and liked them all.  The Terminal 2 arrivals lounge is pretty small – although it does have shower facilities – but the two departure lounges are very spacious.

There is also a Terminal 5 departure lounge on the way for the end of 2017 which will hopefully be better than the Aspire lounge.  A Terminal 3 arrivals lounge is also in the works.

The new Terminal 4 lounge – on the mezzanine level in the arrivals hall – has 25 shower rooms, a lounge and bar area and a new-style dining concept, Flight Club, based around healthy eating.

Capacity is 75 people which means it should be bigger than the Terminal 2 arrivals lounge, albeit only 40% of the size of the upcoming Terminal 5 departure lounge.

It is not yet listed on the Priority Pass (for Amex Platinum cardholders) or Lounge Club (for Amex Gold cardholders) websites.  As the Terminal 2 arrivals lounge is part of both schemes, I imagine that it will be added very shortly.

You can book access for cash via the Plaza Premium website here.


Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

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 Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 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.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Comments (38)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Dan says:

    Sorry OT: I’m looking to use my annual 241 Intercontinental Ambassador voucher at the intercontinental O2. I don’t believe breakfast is included in the AMB rate (£310 on the nights I’m looking at) but an upgraded room with lounge access is available for £375.

    Am I right in assuming that if I pay for the club level room this is a slightly cheaper way to get breakfast (albeit in the lounge) on both nights, plus a nicer room? I’m sure I’ve probably missed something here…

    • Leo says:

      No I think you’ve set that out correctly. I don’t know how much breakfast is though.

      • Dan says:

        Thanks Leo, having thought this through, I suppose I could actually technically book the room level below the club level room, given the guaranteed upgrade that comes with ambassador status.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          Thought club lounge access isn’t guaranteed even if you are upgraded to a club room?

        • Leo says:

          No longer the case I’m afraid. You either pay for the “Club Intercontinental Experience” in your room rate or in some hotels you can pay an extra fee. Automatic upgrading to a club room via Ambassador does not get you access to the club.

          • dan says:

            Thanks everyone!! The collective knowledge of HFP readers never ceases to amaze me!!

            In that case I’ll pay for the club level room. There aren’t any strings attached if I use the amb voucher and do this are there? I.e I’ll get lounge access on both days.

          • Rob says:

            No, no strings.

        • Brian says:

          You could – but doesn’t IHG have a policy that upgrades to Club rooms don’t have lounge access??

    • Brian says:

      If you pay for longe access you can have breakfast in the restaurant even if your room rate doesn’t include it. At least you could last September.

  • RC says:

    OT vaguely recall seeing news that Amex was planning a centurion lounge at LHR. Has there been any updates as to when this would happen!?

    • Rob says:

      Never heard anything about this. Seems a bit of a remote idea given the 4 terminals.

      • RC says:

        Ah yes got muddled up, I blame it on the easter eggs. think it was HKG rather than LHR, completely different side of the world

  • Recap: New Lounge, Square Debit Card, Wireless Passwords & More - Doctor Of Credit says:

    […] Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge now open in Heathrow Terminal 4 by Head For The Points. When it comes to arrival lounges the only thing I really care about is the showers. Can be useful if you’re waiting for an arriving passenger as well, but as the other arrival lounge requires a boarding pass that’s likely to be the case here as well. […]

  • Scottydogg says:

    Ive just checked my flight details and typically im flying into LHR terminal 3 which doesn’t have a lounge yet ! anyone have any details of when their arrivals lounge may open ? I’m flying into there on the 3rd of September

    • Scottydogg says:

      Just to answer my own question , I emailed Plaza to find out about this and they said the landside lounge at terminal 3 will be open in May

      • Rob says:

        Normally I wouldn’t trust their dates with a large stick but, as May is next week, hopefully we can trust them on this!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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