United's Club lounge confirmed as the Priority Pass option in Terminal 2

I’m not going to write anything about the opening of Terminal 2 at Heathrow yesterday – I’m sure that there will be enough in the general press. 

Here is one titbit that you won’t see in your newspaper though.

The Priority Pass website now confirms – as one HfP reader had already been told in an email – that the official Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 2 is the United Club. 

(You can get a free Priority Pass via American Express Platinum.)

It is NOT listed on the Lounge Club website.  Unless they are being slow in updating it, this is annoying for Amex Gold cardholders as they will not be able to use their free Lounge Club passes in Terminal 2.  Lounge Club cards are accepted in the Servisair lounges in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.

(EDIT:  You can walk from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 airside so you could theoretically use the Servisair lounge in T1 with your Lounge Club card.  However, it is easily the worst lounge in any London airport and it does not justify the walk!)

There is good news and bad news here.

The good news is that, as I wrote in this post, the United lounges are meant to be impressive and substantially above anything that United offers in the USA.

The bad news is that the lounge is in the satellite terminal – 2B – near Gate 34.  This means that if your flight departs from the main building you will have to make a diversion.  I don’t know how long this will add to your journey or if security makes it difficult for you to shuffle between the terminals.

If you are under 21, there is more bad news.  The Priority Pass website says that the United lounge imposes US drinking regulations and therefore you can’t have any alcohol.

I hope to make it across to T2 once Aer Lingus starts flying its short-haul services in July, at which point I will check out the various options.

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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.

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

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.

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.

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