Good To Go Parking – the secret way to save on Official Heathrow Parking at the airport

We covered Good To Go Parking quite a bit in 2017 as it was very active in offering discount codes.  Those dried up, and I realised recently that we haven’t mentioned Good To Go at all since last November.  Since it can offer good savings to any flying from Heathrow who also wants convenient parking, I though we’d cover it again today.

There are no shortage of third party parking companies around Heathrow, operating from sites which are generally a good distance from the airport.  Some of these are fairly sophisticated, some give the impression (which is often the fact) of sticking your car in a lightly secured field and hoping no-one steals it.

EDIT, 2022:  Heathrow has now closed down ‘Good To Go Parking’.  Be aware that any firm you may see online with a similar name is not related to the airport and you will not be parking in the official terminal car parks.

In the past you had to make a choice – save money with a third party operator who is not based at the airport, or pay a high price for the convenience offered by Official Heathrow Parking.

Official Heathrow Parking has a wide range of options: Short Stay, Valet Parking, Pod Parking (at Terminal 5, very cool!), Business, Meet & Greet, Long Stay and Drop & Ride.  Business travellers usually choose Official Heathrow Parking, which is primarily concerned with convenience with options of parking as near as 45 metres from the terminals.

If you are a leisure traveller, on the other hand, the pricing of the official car parks may put you off.

There is now a way of using the airport-controlled car parks without paying a premium price, however …..

Good To Go Parking

Heathrow Airport Parking is not the only official Heathrow Parking solution.  A more cost efficient option especially for longer stays is the relatively new Good To Go Parking.

Good To Go Parking uses the same long term car parks as Official Heathrow Parking.  You just pay less.

(Well, most of the time you pay less.  I have seen occasional comments that you can get odd price spikes, so do check the main official car park site too just in case.)

There are three parking options to choose from: Park & Ride, Meet & Greet and Drop & Ride.

Park & Ride is the best value for long-stay parking. You park your can and take a shuttle bus to the terminal which takes approximately 3 to 15 minutes

Meet & Greet means you will meet someone from Good To Go who will park your car and you take a short 2-5 minutes walk to the Terminal.

Drop & Ride is only available at Terminal 4 and 5. You park your car and take a short shuttle ride to the terminal.

The Terminal 5 option is the standard Long Stay Car Park.  If you want convincing that you will be using the official, Heathrow controlled, car parks, take a look at the Reevoo reviews.  There is a link at the bottom of the GTG home page.  They have 97% positive feedback and the only recurring complaint is that the car parks used are not branded ‘Good To Go’ but are the ‘usual’ terminal car parks.

The only requirement for Good To Go parking is that the parking period has to include a Saturday night for ‘Park & Ride’ or ‘Meet & Greet’.  This is to attract holiday makers and deter the business market.  For some reason, there is no Saturday night requirement for ‘Drop & Ride’ at Terminal 5.

If you are currently using Purple Parking or someone similar because you don’t want to pay the price charged by Official Heathrow Parking in their long term car parks, this could be a more convenient choice for your next holiday.

The Good To Go website is here.

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How to get FREE car rental status and other benefits via UK credit cards (January 2025)

If you hire a car in the UK, you can get special benefits (discounts, upgrades, free additional drivers etc) if you have elite status with a car rental programme. You can get elite status for free via certain American Express cards.

The Platinum Card and American Express Business Platinum

The Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Business Platinum come with two free car hire status cards. Your supplementary Platinum cardholder can also receive status in their own right.

From Avis, you receive President’s Club status in Avis Preferred. This gets you up to 25% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a guaranteed one class upgrade. For weekend rentals you will receive a two class upgrade, subject to availability.

From Hertz, you receive ‘Five Star’ status in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. This gets you up to 15% off standard rates, a free additional driver and a one class upgrade, subject to availability.

Hertz also offers Platinum cardholders a 4 hour grace period on rentals. Your final day is treated as 28 hours, so a 1pm pick up with a 5pm return the following day is only charged as one day, not two days. We wrote about the Hertz / Platinum 4 hour grace period here.

The Platinum Card also comes with full car hire insurance with no obligation to pay for the rental via American Express. You can refuse any attempts to sell you additional insurance at pick up. This benefit has substantial value if you rent on a regular basis.

You can find more details on the two Platinum cards, and apply, in our full reviews linked below. You can apply here for the personal card and here for the business card.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is an excellent card in its own right. You receive 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up (convert to 20,000 Avios amongst other things), four airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit. Even better, your first year is free.

There are two car rental benefits:

• you receive Preferred Plus status in Avis Preferred

• you receive a special package with Hertz – 10% off best available rates at participating locations, a one class upgrade for rentals of 5 days or more, subject to availability, and no additional driver fees

Find out more about the benefits of American Express Preferred Rewards Gold in our review. You can apply 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