Hi, has anyone used their THS global lounge pass at London Heathrow airport? What lounge was it and what was your experience?
We will have a 5-6 hour layover flying from Zurich on BA arriving at T5 before our QANTAS flight from T3 back to Australia that evening. So I’m interested in the lounges at T3.
I was just there last week. People were clamoring to get into the lounge because outside those doors was an absolute circus. The one in terminal 3 was not allowing people in who didn’t have a reservation in their online system, but they weren’t telling people that until they got to the desk. There was a line around the corner, people with credit cards, lounge entry passes, boarding passes, and ID in hand ready to get some rest, only to get to the counter and lose their mind at being refused entry.
Regardless of whether you have a pass or a pot of gold, go online and make make a reservation. They allow you to reserve in 2 hour increments I believe and have a buffet, bar, showers and I think quiet rooms for sleeping. I usually don’t mind airport clamor, but Heathrow is a whole other animal. It’s so worth it.
Thanks @Iwander. I had no idea you would need a reservation but will go make one shortly for my time between flights at Healthrow in a few weeks.
I hope it’s not a regular thing, but definitely worth checking. I was there the weekend after the queen’s funeral so maybe just bad timing, but I’ll never go through Heathrow again without checking first!
@Karen_E can you please let me know what lounge you use & how you book it direct using the THS voucher (in addition to getting the lounge pass via THS) & what your experience was. Many thanks, Jenny
Hi Jenny. To be honest I may use Priority Pass from one of our credit cards, but, if I do use the Trusted voucher I’ll fill you in on all the details. Only one of the two included lounges in both programs allows for reservations at a slight additional cost.
Looking at our itinerary, we arrive at T5 at 11:25am on a Wednesday and leave out of T3 at 14:25. So I’m not sure we’ll even have time for a lounge. I just hope we make our connection (Both are on British Airways, so maybe that will help?)
Does 3 hours sound like enough time to transit from T5 to T3? Will we need to go through customs/immigration (I assume not, but always hate assuming things about airports…)?
I can’t help you with your LHR transit questions @Karen_E as the last time I was there was 2013 and we didn’t have to change terminals
I have the good fortune of having lounge access with my Delta Amex card for Delta and AmEx lounges (when flying DL), my SkyTeam gold status (when flying ST internationally), and my Chase Sapphire card for Priority Pass (this card is for free access, not the paid access).
My most recent uses have been ATL for the DL lounge, LHR for the Virgin departure and arrivals lounges, DCA for DL, and SFO for DL, SFO where I used the PP card for $29 restaurant credit, and DEN where I used both the AmEX and DL lounges.
But in some cities, lounge access is getting tight - DL at JFK often has lines, some of the DL lounges in ATL have lines at some times, and I would have had a wait for the PP lounge in ATL.
Best to not count on having lounge access even with a pass!
@Crookie Your THS global lounge pass gives you access to either Club Aspire or No1 Lounge. Click here for descriptions of the lounges. It has been a couple of years since I have been at either of those lounges so I can’t personally say that one is better than the other. Club Aspire has a 4 rating on Trip Advisor and No1 has a 3 rating. If you request a lounge pass from THS, your name should already be on the reservation list so I don’t think that you’ll need to do anything further to assure that you have a spot.
For anyone using their Priority Pass at a London airport, I highly recommend paying GBP 6 to reserve your spot in a lounge. I found that out the hard way when I flew out of Gatwick in September. When I arrived at the lounge without a reservation, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. I was put on a virtual waiting list at number 18. If my flight hadn’t been delayed, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the lounge at all.
When I flew out of Gatwick on Monday, it was the same situation but this time I had a reservation at the No1 Lounge. 
Another big plus is that the lounge reservation also gives you access to the priority lane for security. I whizzed through without any problems and was seated in the lounge within 10 minutes of my arrival at Gatwick. It was a completely different scenario than in September.