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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

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

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

Run your own business?

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

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

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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.

  • Grimz says:
    9 Feb9 February 16:32

    OT – Any idea what happens when you get a refund on BAPP which takes you back under the 10k spend but you already have the companion voucher in your account?

    • Genghis says:
      9 Feb9 February 16:33

      Nothing

      • Grimz says:
        9 Feb9 February 16:37

        Wow that’s interesting ( :

        • Alan says:
          9 Feb9 February 16:48

          If you make a habit of it the Amex might stop giving you a card. Personally I’d add transactions back on to clear the underspend before closing the account, but up to you…

          • Genghis says:
            9 Feb9 February 16:52

            Agreed. That’s why I don’t really agree with the refundable hotel / flight method to hit a sign up bonus.

          • Grimz says:
            9 Feb9 February 16:53

            yes exactly that’s what I will do before I cancel the card! I just cancelled a reward flight with a 241 and rebooked but the new spend went onto another card which was beneficial to hit the spend on that one!

          • Radiata says:
            9 Feb9 February 21:15

            I had a QR J ticket refunded and relieved that spend just missed the £10k level albeit since achieved as did not want triggered at the time.

            Interestingly the “Avios to be transferred” box showed a negative figure until said spend matched but certainly Jo claw back of Avios already deposited into BAEC account in the interim. Which I would have accepted.

  • Pilsanils says:
    9 Feb9 February 17:49

    I have the pay as you go variant of the priority pass. Will this offer count as a visit which I will be charged for, and then just have the bill reduced by the same £15 as was taken from my account?

    • Alan says:
      9 Feb9 February 17:58

      Yes – it’s mainly of use to those with unlimited PP visits (esp Amex Plat where we get a free guest)

  • ankomonkey says:
    9 Feb9 February 22:02

    “ask for a doggy box” I might need to use this for a free picnic lunch at the start of half-term…

  • the real harry1 says:
    9 Feb9 February 22:24

    anybody got the £50 off £200 on Amex Travel?

    • Chris says:
      9 Feb9 February 22:40

      Yes, got the £50 credit to my account six days after booking some flights through Amex Travel.

    • Ro says:
      10 Feb10 February 12:20

      Yes worked for me too. Go the 50 quid back after a few days

  • Chris says:
    9 Feb9 February 22:25

    So both wife and I have our own Amex plats, so 2 PP cards each – each of which is allowed a guest.

    Hmmmmm
    Wonder if I could get £120 off my bill here?
    Do they sell Krug?!!

    • Stephen Thomson says:
      10 Feb10 February 01:52

      Not £120 I think buy 4 x 15 as it’s 1 quid a head so £60 but still not a bad deal at all and would work out well for us as a family of 4.

      • Stephen Thomson says:
        10 Feb10 February 01:55

        Sorry, ignore me, re-read your post, I was thinking of a plat plus supp rather than 2 plats. Hope you’re not planning on sharing the Krug with all those people!!

  • Simon Schus says:
    10 Feb10 February 03:50

    Any idea how long this offer will continue for?

  • Wally1976 says:
    10 Feb10 February 08:48

    Hope this is still running in August when I bring my family through LGW. Should have Amex plat by then so reckon we’ll get there nice and early for our 11am flight, go for breakfast in here before heading to one of the lounges for a couple of pre-flight beverages 🙂

    • Polly says:
      15 Feb15 February 11:18

      We are planning to so the same in May. And they now accept HSBC elite Lounge key, so even more options for those who use that too. So nicer breakfast at grain store, followed by no 1 lounge some drinks etc.. Should be nicer experience flying from LGW now.

  • Priority Pass Has Added A Restaurant To Their Lounge Network - One Mile at a Time says:
    10 Feb10 February 13:54

    […] (Tip of the hat to Head for Points) […]

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