One of the key perks of the UK American Express Platinum card is the unlimited Priority Pass access for both the cardholder and a guest. However, this benefit has long been undermined by a major issue: capacity limits at third-party lounges across UK airports. Getting in on the spot with a Priority Pass card is often hit-or-miss, which inevitably leads to a poor experience for Platinum users.
To address this, Amex rolled out a solution last year: each Priority Pass account linked to a Platinum card is granted a limited number of free lounge reservations. After a trial run in 2024, the programme is now officially re-launched:
- Available at 25 airport lounges UK-wide
- 4 free entitlements in 2025
- 8 free entitlements each in 2026 and 2027
- No entitlements included for supplementary Platinum cards
- Pre-book via the Priority Pass website or app
- Lounges are mainly operated by Club Aspire and No1 Lounges
- Unfortunately, Clubrooms (the premium brand within the same group) is no longer participating, even though it was last year
Due to ongoing tech issues on Priority Pass’s side, some users may not be able to enter a verification email, making it impossible to access the booking page. Thankfully, this can be worked around by inspecting the source code using any browser’s developer tools.
Simply remove the “disabled” code in the red circle, and you’ll be able to proceed.
Here’s how the pre-book entitlements looks like:
If you have the Centurion card, here’s what you get instead:
- Unlimited entitlements
- Access includes Clubrooms (LHR T3, LGW South/North, Birmingham)
- Both primary and supplementary cards qualify
Priority Pass lounge pre-booking usually cost £6 each, so the 4 free bookings this year are worth £24, rising to £48 annually from 2026. Given how difficult it is to get walk-in access at many lounges, this is definitely a useful perk, though Club Aspire and No1 lounges tend to be fairly average in quality.
That said, I’m personally a fan of My Lounge at Gatwick South, which tends to be quieter and I have never been denied entry due to capacity constraint.
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