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Club Aspire to reopen its lounges at Heathrow and Gatwick

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News in brief:

Aspire lounge re-openings in London confirmed

If you are passing through Heathrow Terminal 5 soon, Aspire has confirmed that its Club Aspire lounge will reopen on Tuesday 25th May.

The Gatwick North lounge opens earlier, on Friday 21st May. The South Terminal at Gatwick remains closed, so if you are flying from Gatwick you will be in the vicinity of this lounge.

Our review of Club Aspire lounge at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal lounge is here.

Our review of the Club Aspire lounge at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 is here.

Both lounges are accessible via Priority Pass.

The Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5, which is the only other independent option, does not yet have a published reopening date. The Plaza Premium lounge in Terminal 2 has been open for some time.

Hilton Honors buy points 100% bonus worth it

(Another) 100% bonus when you buy Hilton Honors hotel points

Well, would you believe it?

Hilton has brought back its offer of a 100% bonus when you purchase 15,000+ points, just a week after the previous ‘100% bonus’ offer closed.

The Hilton ‘buy points’ page is here

The annual purchase limit has been increased again for some people. If targetted, you can now buy 160,000 points, which would double up to 320,000 points with the bonus.

320,000 points is what you need to book a 5-night stay at an 80,000 points per night luxury hotel, given the ‘5 for 4’ deal given to all elite Hilton Honors members. 320,000 points would cost $1,600, which is currently £1,125 or 0.35p per point. This is virtually what I value them at, so it’s hard to lose money here.

This is the same deal I used to book 5 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah Dubai over Christmas, saving over 60% on the cash price. I wrote about how I did that in this article.

If you don’t see the 160,000 points offer, your purchase cap will be 80,000 points with a 100% bonus on top.

The page to buy points is here if you are interested. The offer runs to 8th July.


Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five 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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

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.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

American Express Business Platinum

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

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Comments (26)

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

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    Haha, never thought I’d see Generator Hostels discussed on HfP.
    Stayed in the big East Berlin one not too long ago (when you’re travelling in a group with a wide range of incomes things can get interesting to keep everyone happy) and it was perfectly acceptable – did what it said on the tin.
    Mainly remember that the cafe was simple but pleasant and very very very cheap.

  • Yorkshire rich says:

    I’m thinking of buying maximum. Daft question but do they expire?

    • Rob says:

      Usual Hilton expiry rules – need some activity on the account every 12 months. Buying another 1k next year would count.

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

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