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EXCLUSIVE: Get £15 of free beer, in a Gatwick bar, with Priority Pass or Lounge Club

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OK, this is a weird one, but I can’t help thinking that it will be welcomed by some Head for Points readers.

Priority Pass and Lounge Club, the airport lounge access cards, have opened a new lounge at Gatwick South.  Remember that British Airways moved to Gatwick South two weeks ago, so this is very timely.

The new lounge is …. a bar.

To be precise …. The Grain Store Cafe & Bar.

Obviously this is not an airport lounge.  It’s a bar.  In an airport.

The terms and conditions are simple.  Turn up at The Grain Store Cafe & Bar, flash your Priority Pass or Lounge Club card, and you will receive £15 per person off your bill.  You can charge as many guests as you like to your pass, although you will obviously be recharged later on if you are beyond your guesting limit.

This is quite tempting.  I have an American Express Platinum card which comes with two free Priority Pass cards.  Each allows me a free guest.  If my wife and I turn up at The Grain Store Cafe & Bar with our kids, we will get a £60 discount on our bill.  And if we’re still hungry or thirsty, we can pop into the No 1 Lounge anyway …..

This is also a decent way of using the two Lounge Club passes that come with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  ‘Take out our card and get £30 of free beer’ – now that’s a selling point.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

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We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

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You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

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American Express Business Gold

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

American Express Gold card, American Express Platinum card

Comments (101)

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

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    9 Feb9 February 10:29

    When did this happen?

  • Planeflyer says:
    9 Feb9 February 10:38

    Ah, having read the comments, the proposition is clearer. I initally thought this was a freebie (“just flash your card”), but it’s actually counting as a normal lounge visit. So great if you have an unlimited pass, not so great if you pay per visit (in my case, £15 per Lounge Club visit….so no point at all!).

    I think you’re title is very misleading! Maybe “LGW S Lounge alternative for PP/LC. £15 credit in bar per card/entry” would be more accurate?

    This is very similar to the SIN “Green Market” “lounge”, which is actually just a cafe where PP members can choose for free off the menu after having their card swiped (and charged).

    • Rob says:
      9 Feb9 February 12:08

      Yes, ‘cos that’s a catchy headline ….. 🙂

      I did actually re-write the headline last night, which I never usually do after the first draft, because it was a lot to get across in about 10 words (or 140 Twitter characters).

  • Lynn says:
    9 Feb9 February 10:39

    Hi

    I haven’t used my free lounge passes yet but I have cancelled my Amex card, will I still be entitled to the free passes?

    Thanks

  • Planeflyer says:
    9 Feb9 February 10:40

    * Your not You’re!

  • Mo says:
    9 Feb9 February 11:04

    So which do you reckon is better for breakfast…this place or No1?

    • Prince Polo says:
      9 Feb9 February 11:55

      Grain Store is definitely better for breakfast than any of the lounges.

  • Clive says:
    9 Feb9 February 11:30

    …is there a limit on using PP at the same lounge on the same day – could you return to this place for breakfast and lunch, for example, using the same PP?

    • John says:
      9 Feb9 February 11:31

      Can you get into the same lounge twice on the same day using PP?

      • Rob says:
        9 Feb9 February 12:05

        Yes, as far as I know. Certainly OK to visit different lounges in the same airport on the same day!

  • Sunny says:
    9 Feb9 February 12:12

    Has anyone tried this yet? Wonder if they have the facility to swipe the card or if they just look at it.

  • leigh says:
    9 Feb9 February 12:30

    If i book a Qatar Airlines Business Class flight on Qatar website (R) Can you earn Avios instead of Qmiles ?

    My route is Stockholm to Krabi

    thanks in advance

    • Rob says:
      9 Feb9 February 13:05

      Yes, not a problem. R earn tier points and Avios.

      • Leigh says:
        9 Feb9 February 13:32

        Are q miles and avios worth the same when they transfer across ?

        • Rob says:
          9 Feb9 February 13:58

          No. The QMiles redemption table is totally different to the BA one. Qatar has point to point pricing, BA has sector pricing. BA has peak dates, Qatar has flat pricing. BA has Reward Flight Saver, Qatar does not.

          • Leigh says:
            9 Feb9 February 16:36

            How do i work out how many avios I would get for this journey then ?

          • lee says:
            9 Feb9 February 17:15

            Hi Genghis

            I tried this already and got the following
            Sorry, we can’t find any information for this route and airline combination. If you’re not sure of the route or airline for your journey, please search flight bookings.

            The route is Copenhagen to Krabi Via Doha

            thanks

          • Genghis says:
            9 Feb9 February 17:21

            You need to do it as two separate legs. Ie. Copenhagen to Doha then Doha to Krabi

          • Genghis says:
            9 Feb9 February 17:24

            For the return I make it 560 tier points (140+140)x2 and 15,468 avios

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