Do you know that American Express has a private lounge for cardholders at The O2 arena?

It turns out that it has been five years since we wrote about the American Express lounge at The O2 arena in London.

I got to visit it for the first time recently (I’m normally hiding away in the Marriott or Virgin Red suites!) when I went to The Killers with my daughter. She insisted on buying standing tickets for cash rather than using points for a suite. Kids today ….

I was impressed by what I found. It’s a far bigger space than I anticipated and very well fitted out. There is a door at the back which leads to a backstage corridor and gets you speedy access to the arena floor. It wasn’t too busy, with my daughter and I finding a sofa to sit on with no difficulty.

How do you get access to the Amex lounge at The O2?

You can’t just turn up unfortunately.

This is the process:

“Present your American Express Card and valid show ticket at The Guests Services Hub under the Outlet Shopping Staircase to secure up to 4 passes per Cardmember. Passes are limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis, so early arrival is recommended.”

The lounge opens at 5.30pm for most shows and I think passes are made available from that time.

Your passes allow you to use the VIP entry lane although security at The O2 is pretty brisk anyway, especially since the new screening equipment was installed.

The entrance to the lounge is directly in front of you once you have passed through security.

Get a free drink too!

You will receive a free drink.

The way this used to work is that you showed your American Express card at the welcome desk in the lounge and received a voucher in return. I’m not sure if this is still the case, because I totally forgot it was a benefit and didn’t claim mine – the host at the entrance did not ask me if I had a card.

I assume that – whilst you can get four lounge passes from one American Express card – you would need one card per person for everyone to get a free drink. I am happy to be corrected on this though, and if you scroll down to the comments someone has probably already set me straight!

You will also receive 10% off all food and drink purchased in the lounge if you pay with an American Express card.

More details can be found on this page of the American Express website.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

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

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review