Priority Pass adds a new option at London Luton Airport which most of you can’t use

Priority Pass has added a new option at London Luton Airport. The Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen has joined the programme as a restaurant member.

Priority Pass members can visit The Big Smoke and get a £15 credit towards its range of craft beers, gins and ‘classic pub food’.

Unfortunately – as with the sister The Big Smoke outlet in Heathrow Terminal 2 which we reviewed here – anyone who gets their Priority Pass via American Express cannot use this benefit. I’d say that 90% of HfP readers who have a Priority Pass fall into this category. You can, of course, access the Aspire lounge at Luton – our latest review of the Aspire lounge at Luton Airport is here.

There is a grand total of ONE restaurant experience globally that Amex-issued Priority Pass customers can use and that is The Grain Store at London Gatwick’s South Terminal. Given that this is the British Airways terminal, it is at least convenient for most HfP readers.

My best guess is that Priority Pass wants to charge American Express a higher fee for restaurant visits, as it pays out more than it pays a lounge operator, and that the two parties could not reach an agreement.

This is something that American Express may want to look at again given the frustration over being unable to access UK lounges with Priority Pass due to overcrowding. The fee differential cannot be more than £1-£2 per visit, given that no other bank or credit card provider has brought in a similar restriction.

If you get a free Priority Pass via any other financial product you hold, or indeed pay for one directly – you can visit The Big Smoke in either Luton or Heathrow Terminal 2 and get £15 of products on the house.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

Here are the four 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 1,300 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.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

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.

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 £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

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