Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The new Aspire lounge in Manchester Airport Terminal 2 is finally opening

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

The new Aspire lounge in the new pier at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 is gearing up for opening.

The Aspire website shows that you can book in from Tuesday 1st February, and this date has also been promoted on social media. It was meant to open in late October but got pushed back due to the drop off in travel.

The new Aspire lounge should be accessible via Priority Pass. We are hoping to review it during March.

Date set for the new Aspire lounge at Manchester Airport

There are two other new airport-run lounges at Terminal 2 which we have already covered. You can read our review of the Escape lounge at Manchester Airport Terminal 2 here and our review of the premium 1903 Lounge at Manchester Airport Terminal 2 here.

There will also be a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in due course, although the opening has been delayed until later this year when flights and premium passenger numbers have ramped up.

According to the airport website, the following airlines are currently operating from the new Terminal 2:

  • Aegean Airlines
  • Aer Lingus (transatlantic only)
  • Air France
  • airBaltic
  • Brussels Airlines
  • Cathay Pacific
  • Ethiopian Airlines
  • Etihad
  • Eurowings
  • Jet2
  • KLM
  • Norwegian
  • Pakistan International Airlines
  • Pegasus
  • Qatar Airways
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Tui
  • Virgin Atlantic

All other flights are operating from Terminal 1.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

Category

General

Comments (146)

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

  • VinZ says:
    30 Jan30 January 09:50

    I have one FTV with a 2-4-1 companion voucher too. No emails so far but will let you know what happens.

  • Joan says:
    30 Jan30 January 09:52

    I had 3 FTV’s which I didn’t want ( for avios bookings ) – I had just wanted my avios back because trying to get through to BA on any number is virtually impossible . But as I couldn’t get through I had to accept vouchers on line when I needed to cancel the flights .
    After Xmas I finally got through to them after 4 hours of calling and on different numbers . I got my avios back but then found over £21 of additional call charges on my mobile .
    So cross with BA.

  • Gordon says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:01

    We had a 2-4-1 voucher that was going to expire in July, As I had it secured against a flight we booked the usual 11 months in advance, Sadly we could not travel (Covid), So did not want to be a fool and let it run out, So I’m taking the wife to Las Vegas for valentines as luckily I got the Vegas 2-4-1 booking at so short notice. I didn’t realise you could make a booking and them cancel for a FTV, But the flight is a 777 with the new club suites so I’m happy.Btw tried calling BA to book this redemption but was told to call later as they were busy, I was not lucky enough to be put on hold for an hour or so.So managed to book online. Sean Doyle has emailed everybody this morning promising changes….We will see….

  • AJA says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:02

    Oh no! I do hope they don’t do this, not without at least extending the 2-4-1.

    I just converted my OH’s 2-4-1 into a FTV on Friday. The 2-4-1 was due to expire on 12 Feb. The process worked fine and the email with the 125-2 numbers arrived in less than 15 minutes so the ability to do this still seems to be working.

    I also have a 2-4-1 expiring in March and was holding off doing the FTV route as it is a PITA to have to phone BA to redeem the FTV. But equally don’t want the 2-4-1 to expire. I wonder if I should try phoning BA and just try asking outright for an extension to its validity?

    • AJA says:
      30 Jan30 January 10:13

      Oh and another thing I noticed is that when entering the card details it defaulted to specifically asking for the Amex details of the lead passenger. I thought it just asked for card details before. Didn’t want to test the use any card option so just paid using my OH’s BAPP.

    • Gordon says:
      30 Jan30 January 10:15

      AJA….I asked that question and was told that Amex are the ones who extend them. So I called Amex and they said that they have no plans to make any extensions in 2022. That’s why We booked our Vegas trip….

      • NorthernLass says:
        30 Jan30 January 10:53

        Amex has no control over your voucher once it’s in your baec account.

      • NvT1115 says:
        30 Jan30 January 11:14

        Once in your BAEC account only Exec Club can extend the 2-4-1 voucher. Amex have no say

        • Nick says:
          30 Jan30 January 12:39

          It’s not Amex who extend vouchers but it’s not BA either. AGL own and control them and have all the say in how they work (and extensions).

  • Pablo says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:05

    OT: Does Silver status double a purchased checked bag on an HBO ticket to two?

    • Stu N says:
      30 Jan30 January 10:54

      BA status doesn’t make any difference on HBO fares, you don’t get any checked bags.

    • ChrisC says:
      30 Jan30 January 11:20

      If you want the extra silver allowance then you need a fare that has a bag already included in it so an Economy Plus not an Economy basic one.

      Buying a bag on an a basic fare dosen’t turn it into a plus fare.

      If you ever need a bag then start with a Plus fare. Usually only £10 a sector more than the basic.

    • John says:
      30 Jan30 January 12:53

      BA thinks it is special so HBO on BA is always HBO, but on other airlines status (including alliance status) does usually get you a free bag on HBO

  • Katy says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:27

    I wonder if they will do the same with avios bookings combined with GGL seat releases? I wouldn’t mind if they did but want to make sure I don’t lose the seat release!

  • Isobel Brown says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:28

    Does anyone know how long double tier points for BA holidays are taking to hit accounts? Our holiday in Dubai was early Nov and still have only had the normal tier points applied. Reluctant to call BA due to call centre delays/being cut off saying too busy to deal with

  • Dougy says:
    30 Jan30 January 10:30

    My 241 voucher expires end of March 2022. Should I still book and cancel flight to get FTV voucher, as was putting off in the hope of voucher being extended by then

    • Rob says:
      30 Jan30 January 11:40

      Zero chance of extensions. What would all the people who have lost vouchers since 1st October think?

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!