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NEW: Amex Platinum (and Bus Plat) holders can pre-book UK airport lounges for FREE

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Good news! After a successful trial last year, American Express has brought back airport lounge pre-booking to allow you to make the most of your Priority Pass benefit.

Effective immediately, holders of The Platinum Card and The American Express Business Platinum Card can pre-book selected UK airport lounges for free.

This benefit is guaranteed to run until at least the end of 2027.

Full details are on the Priority Pass website here.

Amex Platinum holders can now pre-book UK airport lounges for FREE

How many lounges can you pre-book?

If you have The Platinum Card or The American Express Business Platinum Card you will have received FOUR pre-booking credits which need to be used by 31st December 2025.

You need one credit per person entering the lounge, so a couple would require two credits.

For 2026 and 2027, you will receive EIGHT pre-booking credits on 1st January.

Here is an important point: unlike the trial last year, supplementary cardholders DO NOT receive their own pre-booking allowance.

How do you pre-book an airport lounge?

You need to download the Priority Pass app and register your card.

Search for a participating lounge and you will see a button which allows you to prebook.

Note that, due to an IT bug, pre-booking will not be possible for some people (including myself). You will find that, irrespective of whether you use the app or website, it is impossible to enter an email address to receive the necessary 2FA code.

What is the small print?

There are a few rules to note:

  • the primary cardholder must be one of the guests – you cannot pre-book for other people if you are not there yourself
  • you can reserve a lounge slot up to three months in advance
  • pre-booking credits do NOT carry forward if unused in any calendar year
  • a credit is counted as ‘used’ at the time of booking, not the date of your visit. If you book in December 2025 for a lounge visit in January 2026, the credit is taken from your 2025 allowance.
  • pre-booking credits will be returned if the booking is cancelled more than 48 hours before arrival. Cancellations within 48 hours of arrival, or no-shows, will result in the credit being forfeited.
  • credits will not be returned, irrespective of when a booking is cancelled, if the original booking was made in the previous calendar year (eg if you book in December 2025 for a January 2026 flight and cancel the booking after 1st January 2026, the credits will not be returned)
Amex Platinum (and Bus Plat) holders can now pre-book UK airport lounges for FREE

Am I guaranteed to be able to pre-book?

No.

Some lounges do not release pre-booking slots at peak times. This is usually when an airline has pre-booked some or all of a lounge for its own passengers.

Which lounges are participating?

This is the list of participating lounges, with links to the relevant pre-booking page on the Priority Pass website:

Lounge NameAirport
Northern Lights LoungeAberdeen
Aspire LoungeBelfast George Best City
Aspire LoungeBirmingham International
Aspire Lounge (South)Birmingham International
No1 Lounge BirminghamBirmingham International
Aspire Lounge (Gate 16)Edinburgh
Upper DeckGlasgow
Aspire LoungeHumberside
Aspire LoungeInverness
Aspire LoungeLiverpool John Lennon
No1 Lounge Gatwick – South TerminalLondon Gatwick
No1 Lounge Gatwick – North TerminalLondon Gatwick
My Lounge – North TerminalLondon Gatwick
My Lounge – South TerminalLondon Gatwick
Club Aspire Lounge – South TerminalLondon Gatwick
No1 Lounge Heathrow – Terminal 2London Heathrow
No1 Lounge Heathrow – Terminal 3London Heathrow
My Lounge – Terminal 3London Heathrow
Club Aspire Lounge – Terminal 5London Heathrow
No1 Lounge LutonLondon Luton
My LoungeLondon Luton
Aspire Lounge – Terminal 1Manchester
Aspire Lounge – Terminal 2Manchester
Aspire LoungeNewcastle International
Spitfire LoungeSouthampton

Plaza Premium lounges are NOT available for pre-booking via Priority Pass. This is a blow but – since No1 Lounge opened in Heathrow Terminal 2 – Heathrow Terminal 4 is the only UK airport terminal where Plaza Premium is the only independent option.

Clubrooms lounges are NOT included. This is a change from the trial last year.

HfP has reviewed most of the lounges listed above. Our index of UK airport lounge reviews is here.

Conclusion

This is a good step forward for holders of The Platinum Card and The American Express Business Platinum Card.

It’s a shame not to see Plaza Premium included, especially as it would improve capacity at Heathrow Terminal 5. With many British Airways flyers losing their Silver status next April, there will be a surge of people looking to use the two independent lounges – and only Club Aspire is available via this deal.

You can find out more about the offer – and check the current list of participating lounges, if you are reading this after the original date of publication – by visiting this page of the Priority Pass website.

PS. As a reminder, click here to learn more about The Platinum Card sign-up offer of 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which converts to 50,000 Avios.

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

The American Express Business Platinum Card

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

Category

American Express Platinum card

Comments (190)

  • Domo1915 says:
    30 Jul30 July 06:52

    Just tried to book for 4 of us. Get through to payment screen. Is charging us £12. So seems to be only 2 credits?

    Reply
    • Rob says:
      30 Jul30 July 07:16

      It’s 4 based on what I was told.

      Reply
      • Domo1915 says:
        30 Jul30 July 07:29

        This is 2x adults and 2x kids. So unless they’ve removed booking fee for kids? Historically you paid fee for all guests.

        Reply
    • JDB says:
      30 Jul30 July 07:16

      It’s not that you only have two credits, but the system is charging you the pre-booking fee for the two people you can’t bring in on that card – i.e. you can’t use your pre-booking credits for a supplementary card or anyone else.

      Reply
      • Domo1915 says:
        30 Jul30 July 07:27

        When they had the trial you could use all 4 credits in the one booking for 4 people.

        Reply
  • Speedbird676 says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:03

    It would have been handy if they introduced this last month.

    Reply
  • Tom says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:08

    I just tried to book Clubrooms in Birmingham in October and it went all the way through to the payment screen for card details for the £30 fee for two of us. The article says that based on the trial this would be paid by Amex. Is what I’m seeing different to what happened in the trial?

    Reply
  • Manya says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:15

    Good benefit but would’ve liked the benefit to also be given to supp card holders.

    Reply
  • Kpa says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:21

    I really think Amex need to work out a coherent plan for this card. There’s a vast gulf between those scraping qualification on a ~£40k salary and those on £200k+ who haven’t qualified for (or don’t want) Centurion. In that upper bracket (and, for me, personally), cardholders are probably traveling in up-front cabins all the time, and so PP is a really minor benefit (I know Rob has commented similarly before for himself). I think I’ve used PP twice in five years. A few “free” prebookings doesn’t add any value to me to this card whatsoever – might save me £10 a year if that – probably less. What I would value is discounts at higher end retailers (though BBR has stopped on Cent now I think). Shame to see the HN credit go, that was genuinely “free” money (if you treat the membership fee as a sunk cost), as are the dining credits. Amex seem a bit confused about the purpose and focus of this card, IMHO.

    Reply
    • JDB says:
      30 Jul30 July 08:42

      @kpa – you have hit the nail on the head. Amex pretends to potential cardholders and people like HN that this card is its ultimate lifestyle credit card for a high spending sophisticated people, yet offers fairly LCD benefits and is regarded simply as a coupon book. The complaints we see on HfP about spending hours chasing £5 statement credits, how can I avoid spending as much as £52 at HN or taking issue about potentially having to pay a £6 pre- booking fee offer a more realistic window into the cardholder base.

      Reply
      • Rob says:
        30 Jul30 July 09:07

        I think kpa has an optimistic view of the lifestyle that £200k buys you! £500k, possibly. You are probably on £1m before you are booking long haul J for cash for a family of 4 every trip and still likely to be in a sale.

        I felt extravagant booking First Class on LNER last week (to be fair it was almost £600 return for the four of us) – obviously due to delays more than half is coming back to me of course 🙂

        Reply
        • kpa says:
          30 Jul30 July 09:18

          @Rob – granted, you’re in central London and a family of four in that situation is a different story for any salary point. Personally, I’m single, live on my own in rural home counties; £200k+ gives a fair chunk of disposable cash – for example last year self-funded GGL, a few £k spent on Blacklane, another few £k in Bond St shops, another couple of watches, etc. Maybe one day I’ll grow up and have kids and my cash will be a bit more stretched!

          I do think there is a huge gap between the Plat and Cent though. There was rumours of a middle-tier card a few years back which came to nothing. (was that called “Optima”? a quick google suggests that’s something else for the US market, the name escapes me).

          The fact you’re suggesting £200k isn’t a huge disposable (in a family situation) just backs up JDB’s point that this isn’t the “ultimate lifestyle” card that Amex pretends it is. Plat concierge has gone downhill significantly in the ten years I’ve held the card; I get significantly better value from my Innerplace concierge these days.

          That said, of course, I make significant profit on the card(s) each year. I’m sure I’m not alone in holding BAPP, Personal Plat, and Business Plat; the value I take from all three significantly outweighs the cost. Which probably means I’m not the money-making target audience they’re ultimately aiming for! In which case, they should be honest about that and pitch a card for the middle tier – above Plat, below Cent – with more focused benefits that we might make use of, and that they might profit more from.

          YMMV! It’s certainly an interesting discussion point.

          Reply
          • JDB says:
            30 Jul30 July 10:02

            @kpa – I’m not sure a £200k income even in the Home Counties makes people feel rich, particularly if one has children requiring bigger accommodation when property prices are still so high. That bigger accommodation also has higher running costs including much higher council tax than London – ours is almost £5,000 this year. You also likely need at least one and probably two cars not needed in London etc. At that income you couldn’t really be contemplating private education as one could have done on a comparable income as one could not so long ago.

          • Rob says:
            30 Jul30 July 10:42

            £5k, blimey. Oddly when you read about the uber-wealthy being hit with extra UK taxes, they never mention that the maximium council tax in Kensington is £2,000ish.

            Quick look at Zillow shows that a $10m property in New York would have a $90,000 annual property tax bill.

          • No Longer Entitled says:
            30 Jul30 July 14:20

            New York is cheap. That same $10m house where I used to live in New Canaan, CT (think home counties commuter belt) would cost you $166,900 in real estate taxes every year. It always makes me smile when people moan about their Council Tax.

          • HertsSam says:
            30 Jul30 July 22:19

            There was a review of the Centurion card a few years ago in HfP. If memory serves, either in the article or the discussion it was suggested a customer would need to be spending £30k – £35k a month before Amex would think of offering Centurion.
            That works out at let’s say £420k a year.
            I know some people use their Amex for employer directed spend, so I won’t guesttimate their salary.
            But let us say that £420k is all personal (non-employer) spend and with a 50% tax rate, I would guesttimate a salary in excess of £1.5M. Which might give £750k after-tax income of which £420k might be spent on the kind of discretionary items for which Amex can be used. I know certain people use Amex to pay various types of (tax/household) bills, but let us say at that salary level a well-heeled person isn’t gong to spend their time and effort for effectively a minimal part of the spend requirement.
            My speculation could be wildly off-track, but I think a £200k or even £400k salary is insufficient for Centurion, unless you are doing employer expensed spend.

    • Paul says:
      30 Jul30 July 08:42

      Agreed.
      For me it was the insurance but this too has been enhanced. Europe Assist are awful to deal with. The PP might be useful from next year but otherwise, since 2008, I could count the number of lounge visits on the fingers on both hands.

      Reply
      • BlairWaldorfSalad says:
        30 Jul30 July 10:31

        kpa: “I’m single, live on my own in rural home counties; £200k+ gives a fair chunk of disposable cash – for example last year self-funded GGL, a few £k spent on Blacklane, another few £k in Bond St shops, another couple of watches, etc.”

        Any chance of a HfP reader competition to win a date with kpa?

        Reply
        • Niall says:
          30 Jul30 July 10:53

          I like that kpa has the basic self awareness and good sense to feel relatively rich when earning a salary almost 7 times the average and in the top 2% of the country. Rob is on a different planet.

          Reply
          • Rob says:
            30 Jul30 July 10:58

            That wasn’t the discussion. The discussion was about how much you’d want to earn before you would buy Business Class long haul flight tickets for a family as a matter of course.

          • kpa says:
            30 Jul30 July 11:11

            @Niall I didn’t mean to sound blasé; apologies. I’m aware I’m in a fortunate position. I added this out of context that there are Plat cardholders (at least me!) for whom this update/announcement doesn’t really change anything, it’s not a selling point for the card at all. If you hold status with your airline (which lots on this site do – at least for now), or if you always fly J/F anyway, the PP is a very minor part of the Plat offering. Giving free prebook which would save me perhaps £10 a year (in a good year), isn’t a selling point for the card.

          • Niall says:
            30 Jul30 July 11:35

            Fair enough Rob! Although £500k? I earn approx £125k, fly mostly J long haul (many years exclusively J) and have had BA status for lounge access for years although I don’t have kids. A family I’d expect on average to go away a lot lot less often than I do. And if two parents with incomes then I’d think J travel on all holidays is very achievable. Isn’t that a lot of what this site is about?

            And kpa, sorry your point was very clear and I agree.

          • StanTheMan says:
            30 Jul30 July 13:46

            Nial. 125k after tax pays the school fees. Even with 2 parents earning that – no family is flying J on all holidays on that income.

          • Niall says:
            30 Jul30 July 14:05

            Stan. Two Ls in Niall.

            I’d love to see the stats on demographics of the readership of this site when people think £80k a year on school fees is even close to typical.

            I’ve never felt both so poor and so successful in my travel planning before when I’ve been able to send my siblings’ families in J with Avios in the past. I guess I should be looking at any families in J and considering they must be £1m per person earners.

            I’m also now wondering how many holidays these families are taking per year.

          • ken says:
            30 Jul30 July 15:19

            Niall, I don’t think you appreciate the cost of having children.

            Childcare costs (per child) at a nursery near me (in Liverpool) are £16k a year.
            From the minute they are born you are haemorraging money for the next 21 years +.

            Day school minimum £16k
            You are topping their University loan up by £10k a year

            I’d imagine you can increase this by a third for the South East

            You are holidaying at peak times. The idea that families at this level dropping £15 – £20k just on J flights for a fortnights holiday is just not realistic.

          • Niall says:
            30 Jul30 July 15:44

            Ken, I’m really not. I appreciate these costs and I actually have a very good idea of costs and how people spend their money through my job.

            I am objecting to the scale of the ridiculousness of the figures mentioned. That an individual earner would have to be on £1m a year to be going on their holidays in J. Or a £80k a year school bill is normal. Or even the number you quote of £20k a family for J flights alone as if this is the average for business class flights (consider short and long haul!)

            I am sure many of the regular readers here (such as David) absolutely do J for their family all or most of the time with much more normal income levels.

    • camille55 says:
      30 Jul30 July 12:59

      HN £125 per quarter isn’t going. It goes on till 31 Dec 2025. They had better renew or replace it though!!

      Reply
      • David says:
        30 Jul30 July 13:55

        So your telling me on my very modest income I’m travelling more in J with a family than a millionaire. (2-3 trips per year). Food for thought.

        Reply
        • Rob says:
          30 Jul30 July 14:34

          I was travelling more in J when I was a (relatively) penniless single 20-something than I do now, given I have pay for four now!

          My entire long-haul travel for this year will be the Qatar Airways work trip I did to Doha in May, three nights in New York in October (personal trip, no family) and a family holiday to Cape Town in December.

          Reply
  • Swiss Jim says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:49

    Seems you can’t pre-book Escape Lounge at Stansted even though you can if not logged in with Amex credentials. Poor.

    Reply
  • ChampagneSocialist says:
    30 Jul30 July 07:54

    Tried to pre-book using PP app and got stuck at the 2FA stage – despite my email address being correct and multiple attempts, I never receive the authentication code to progress to the actual pre-booking process..

    Reply
    • James Addiction says:
      30 Jul30 July 08:10

      This is the same it’s been for me for years. No code. I gave up in the end.
      It should come as no surprise that this new feature is buggy.

      Reply
  • ColinThames says:
    30 Jul30 July 08:11

    I’ve got a Bus Plat AND a Bus Gold Amex. When I got the cards PP sent me a membership card for each with the same number.
    If I cancel my Plat, what happens with any bookings I’d made that are yet to happen?

    Reply
    • Rob says:
      30 Jul30 July 08:16

      Oddly Amex didn’t tell us that.

      Reply
      • ColinThames says:
        30 Jul30 July 08:25

        Fair enough. Guess I’ll find out. PP and DragonPass seem to handle cards issued by different means in different ways.
        DP creates a new account for each. Their support team told me I had to have a different email and mobile for each one. So if I cancel the Barclaycard Avios Plus card I’d lose the account and any bookings, no doubt.
        PP might just retain them, fingers crossed.

        Reply

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