Bits: £15 Uber sign-up credit, 50 free lounge passes to be claimed

News in brief:

Uber sign-up credit now £15

If you haven’t tried out the cab app Uber yet, now is an excellent opportunity.  The ‘first ride’ bonus you get when you sign up via HfP is now £15.

The credit is valid for three months so it is worth signing up even if you won’t be in an Uber city for a few weeks.

The £15 is valid against your first ride.  Unused credit is lost so it is best to make your first ride a longer one – or take an UberLUX and arrive in a Mercedes S-Class!

Uber is currently available in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Wakefield and Newcastle.  It is also operates outside the UK but the £15 credit is only valid for a ride in the UK.

To claim your £15 credit, simply download the Uber app for your smartphone and enter the code HEADFORPOINTS on the payment page.

50 free passes to the Plaza Premium lounges in Heathrow

Travelling through Terminal 2 or Terminal 4 before May 15th?  Or even Hong Kong? Airport lounge app loungebuddy – which I profiled last week – is giving away 50 passes to the Plaza Premium lounges in Heathrow T2, Heathrow T4 and Hong Kong.

Simply email support@loungebuddy.com with ‘Plaza Premium Free Lounge Visit’ in the subject line.  The first 50 people to respond will get a free access pass added to their loungebuddy account, so you will need to download the app if you get one.

Remember, you MUST be using T2 or T4 departures at Heathrow or Hong Kong T1 departures or T4 arrivals by May 15th.  This is a relatively small group of people so your chances of getting a pass are pretty good.  Note that the Plaza Premium arrivals lounge in Terminal 2 is NOT included.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 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 1,500 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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 £290 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.