Which UK airports offer £15 meal credits via Priority Pass?

Airport lounge access card Priority Pass has been on a roll in the last couple of months, adding a large number of new UK restaurant deals for its cardholders via a deal with catering group SSP.

At each, you will receive a £15 credit towards a meal or drinks. If your Priority Pass allows a free guest and you arrive with someone else, you will receive a £30 credit between you.

Unfortunately these deals are NOT available to anyone who gets their Priority Pass via American Express. It is available to anyone who gets their pass directly from Priority Pass or via another financial partner such as the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard or the brand new £15 per month Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.

We have run a few articles in recent weeks as new restaurants and bars have been added. In this article I wanted to bring everything together in one place.

The latest changes are:

• Cardiff – Beer House has replaced Caffe Ritazza
• Edinburgh – a deal has been agreed and will be announced soon – I know who it will be and it will be well received

London:

London City Airport

• Juniper & Co
• Soul & Grain
• Cabin Bar (temporarily closed)

London Heathrow

• Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen (Terminal 2)
• The Oceanic Pub & Kitchen (Terminal 3)
• The Globe Pub & Kitchen (Terminal 5)

You can also get free treatments at the two Be Relax Spa sites in Terminal 5.

London Gatwick

• Tortilla (North)
• Juniper & Co (North)
• The Breakfast Club (North)
• The Grain Store Cafe & Bar (South)

London Luton

• Avalon Crafted Coffee
• Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen
• Nolito

London Stansted

• The Camden Bar & Kitchen

Outside London:

Manchester International

• Starbucks (Terminal 1)
• The Grain Loft (Terminal 1)
• PizzaLuxe (Terminal 1)
• Upper Crust (Terminal 1)

Bristol International

• Starbucks
• Cabin Bar
• Tortilla
• Brigg & Stow

Cardiff

• Beer House

Glasgow International

• Bird & Signet

Edinburgh International

• Coming soon!

But if your Priority Pass is issued by American Express ….

There are a grand total of TWO restaurant experiences globally that Amex-issued Priority Pass customers can use.

One 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. The other is the Moevenpick Cafe in Berlin Brandenburg.

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.

You can find out more about these new Priority Pass options by searching for an airport via its website.

PS. Without wishing to state the obvious, you should not take part in any of these restaurant deals if you have a ‘pay per use’ or – if you’re not alone – a ‘pay for guests’ Priority Pass. The guest fee is now £24 and you are getting £15 of restaurant credit so you can see the problem here!

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 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 1,500 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.

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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 £290 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.