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British Airways offering ‘overnight bag drop’ at Heathrow airport

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British Airways is now publicising the fact that you can check in your bags at Heathrow on the day before you fly.

Take a look at this page of ba.com.

Whilst it has only just been added to the website, it appears that this has been quietly offered since last Autumn to anyone who turned up and asked.  British Airways has now decided to make it an official part of its service.

Here are the times it is available, plus times for Gatwick and Edinburgh where it has been offered for a while:

Heathrow Terminal 5 – check-in between 16.00 and 22.00 for flights departing before 13.00 the next day

Heathrow Terminal 3 – service not available

Gatwick South – check-in between 16.00 and 22.00 for flights departing before 13.00 the next day

Edinburgh – check-in between 04.00 and 20.00 (18.00 on Saturdays) for flights departing before 09.30 the next day

It is not available at any other airport at present.  Whether it rolls out further will depend partly on take-up but also on the ability of the airport to handle luggage which is checked in early.

PS.  If you missed it, take a look at our recent article on the top benefits of the British Airways American Express credit card.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (177)

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

  • Leo says:
    10 Feb10 February 09:47

    Slightly OT but… – BA now appear to have Self-bag drops all across T5 (inc Zone H IINR).
    Previously Silver members were able to use dedicated areas where, from experience, they were happy to overlook 2-3 extra KG per bag.
    The machine is not as happy to do so, in a ‘computer say no’ manner.
    Any option for Silvers to use human check-in facilities in T5?

    • Anna says:
      10 Feb10 February 09:54

      Don’t you get 2 x 23kg as Silver? We always travel with everything including the kitchen sink (OH is a tech geek and scuba diver) and always manage to stay within the limit!

      • Lady London says:
        10 Feb10 February 13:06

        I think it’s even 2*32kg as Silver. Had a checkin agent confirm this on 2 separate occasions when I asked after they initially told me my baggage was too heavy. Was a few years back hope it hasn’t changed

    • Charlieface says:
      10 Feb10 February 10:07

      I’ve never used the automated bag drop. Can anyone say whether you can just hoist or prop your bag up to take the weight down?

      • Lady London says:
        10 Feb10 February 10:28

        Would be hard as the machine waits till weight ‘stabilises’ before taking a weight reading.

        If I wanted manual checkin for any reason (including the possibility – which is defo not guaranteed – of any discretion) then I would queue up and ask that question or another one.

        You do know that handbaggage in BA must’ve the correct size but weight within reason/liftability is not checked? Plus your small handbag or laptop.

  • Secret Squirrel says:
    10 Feb10 February 09:58

    VA miles for Morrison’s shop now showed up. 374 miles is always a nice extra!😃

  • Rich says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:03

    Very welcome news about early bag drop. I’ve used it at other airports and it makes a huge difference to logistics if you have a night at an airport hotel

  • Ant says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:15

    OT: RFS flights booked at 23,000 avios +£42 total for 2 people. If I cancel after 24 hours what is the refund? thanks

    • Neil Donoghue says:
      10 Feb10 February 10:32

      I believe you only receive the 23,000 avios back but I could be wrong.

    • sloth says:
      10 Feb10 February 10:42

      should be £40 refunded and the avios

      • TGLoyalty says:
        10 Feb10 February 10:54

        well really it should be £35 each or all of the cash if it was less than that. But dodgy IT means BA is currently only keeping £1 if cancelled online.

  • Doug M says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:18

    Lots of jokes about complaining at the lack of ‘Champagne time’.

  • Lee CB says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:43

    Thanks for the tip, we almost always drop off bags the night before at Gatwick so to now be able to do the same at T5 this May will be very welcome improvement. The time and hassle it saves in the morning really makes a lot of difference.

  • Nick M says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:51

    OT – when cancelling an Amex with points that are automatically sent across (eg SPG) do the points usually come after the card has been cancelled? – I have adjusted my limits and am not intending to spend any more on my SPG card… there are only 1632 points waiting to shift across, but is it relatively safe to cancel the card now rather than waiting 3 weeks? – Admittedly it isn’t the end of the world if they get lost in transit!

    • TGLoyalty says:
      10 Feb10 February 10:55

      I’ve received SPG points after a cancelling a card but not BA, technically they are forfeited as soon as you cancel the card.

      I would expect to lose them and be pleasantly surprised if they actually turn up.

    • Harry T says:
      10 Feb10 February 16:41

      I had a few Bonvoy trickle across to my account after the last time I cancelled the SPG card.

      I wouldn’t risk cancelling before a significant amount were due to be transferred.

  • Secret Squirrel says:
    10 Feb10 February 11:13

    OT:
    IHG cards, do you have to wait for a PIN to be sent to you as I thought you choose one online before?
    I can’t see anywhere in my new account to change PIN..

    • Grant says:
      10 Feb10 February 12:25

      You have to wait IIRC and then change it at an ATM – the old fashioned way. You can use it straightaway with Curve though.

      • Secret Squirrel says:
        10 Feb10 February 12:32

        Thanks Grant, Curve use straight away is a good one!

        • Secret Squirrel says:
          10 Feb10 February 12:42

          Only problem now is waiting for the Curve verification code, how long does that take to turn up in your ihg account?

          • Neil Donoghue says:
            10 Feb10 February 12:43

            In the same boat! Nothing coming up at all on my end

          • maccymac says:
            10 Feb10 February 13:39

            It took a couple of days for me

          • Secret Squirrel says:
            10 Feb10 February 14:03

            Sort of defeats the object when having to wait a couple of days to verify card via Curve, by then my real PIN will have arrived.😅

          • Grant says:
            10 Feb10 February 20:12

            It appeared as pending in my account – no code showing. Later the same day (yesterday I think) the transaction dropped off. Went back in to Curve expecting to to go through the process again but the card was showing as verified and worked as expected.

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