Our review of Aspire Rewards – and how Priority Pass lounge visits count

Aspire Rewards is the little-known reward scheme for Aspire and Club Aspire airport lounges in the UK, except for those at Heathrow and Gatwick.

It isn’t widely used, but it shoud be on your radar because Priority Pass and DragonPass visits count.  What is better than picking up an extra reward from something that you are not paying for in the first place?

You can find out more on the Aspire Rewards website here.

Aspire Rewards is app based, available via the Apple and Google app stores.  There is no ‘non digital’ alternative.

You need to download the Aspire Rewards app, create an account and then scan the QR code in the app each time you enter an Aspire lounge.

As far as I can see, there is no ability to drop the membership card into Apple Wallet which is a little annoying.

How do you earn Aspire Rewards points?

The scheme is simplicity itself:

• You earn 4 points per £1 if you book via executivelounges.com or pay on the door

• You used to earn 50 points per lounge visit (25 points for a child) if you enter via a Priority Pass or other lounge scheme card – the website now says that you earn “a set amount of points displayed within the lounge at the time of visit”

• You will also earn “a set amount of points displayed within the lounge at the time of visit” if you visit an Aspire lounge because it is your official airline lounge, eg Newcastle where British Airways passengers use the Aspire lounge.

Importantly, “multiple visitors within one transaction can be added to one loyalty account”.

You can only earn points at UK Aspire lounges, excluding the Heathrow and Gatwick sites.

How do you spend Aspire Rewards points?

There are two sorts of rewards:

• 500 points gets you a free lounge visit – this does NOT seem to be transferable because you redeem by scanning your phone

• 700 points gets you a £5 shopping voucher (when available, which at present they are not)

Historically you could get shopping vouchers for John Lewis, Amazon and Marks & Spencer, and the Aspire website still shows their logos. These seem to come and go, weirdly, and at present the only reward option showing in the app is a free lounge visit.

If you are paying cash for your lounge visits then the scheme is generous. You’d be getting a free visit for every 4-5 paid visits. It is weak if you are visiting purely on Priority Pass cards.

Note that your points have a 24 month hard expiry – activity does not keep them alive.

Which lounges take part in Aspire Rewards?

Here are the participating lounges, according to the app.  I have linked to our reviews:

Belfast City lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Birmingham North lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Birmingham South lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Edinburgh x 2 lounges (Aspire) – review here and review here

Humberside lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Inverness lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Liverpool lounge (Aspire) – review here 

London Luton lounge (Aspire) – review here (but leaving Aspire soon)

Manchester Terminal 1 lounge (Aspire) – review here 

Manchester Terminal 2 lounge (Aspire) 

Newcastle lounge (Aspire / Aspire Plus) – review here 

Note that the lounges in Heathrow and Gatwick do NOT take part.

You can find out more about Aspire Rewards on its website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2023)

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 Plaza Premium, Delta Air Lines and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey 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.