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Since the beginning of this month, Plaza Premium Lounges have no longer been part of the Priority Pass network and that has left the program with a shortage of lounges at London Heathrow.
In a move that has clearly been made to address (at least in part) the lack of Priority Pass lounges at Heathrow T2 as quickly as possible, Priority Pass has signed up a restaurant at the terminal at which holders of select Priority Pass memberships can enjoy a credit towards whatever they choose to spend.
Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen
With the Plaza Premium lounges departing the Priority Pass network, Heathrow Terminal 2 was left without a lounge for Priority Pass members to use and with T2 being the London home of major airlines such as Lufthansa, United, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Air Canada, this was a very bad position for the network to be in.
That’s where the Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen now comes into play.
The restaurant is located near gates A20 and A21 (one level down from where passengers exit airport security) and is open from 07:00 through to the time of the last scheduled flight of the day.
Big Smoke Taphouse and Kitchen is a very recent addition to Heathrow T2 (this location only opened a couple of months ago) and claims to offer British pub food and a wide range of beers, ales, and wines all served in a welcoming atmosphere.
Although I wouldn’t call a number of the items on the menus “traditional British pub food” (smoked beef brisket, soft corn tacos, and pancakes with maple syrup are definitely not steeped in the history of the British public house), the restaurant’s offering looks very promising with all-day breakfasts, burgers, steaks, salads, and sharing plates all available.
What Priority Pass Offers
If you hold a Priority Pass membership courtesy of an American Express card, there’s nothing for you to see here. the PP memberships that come with some of the more premium American Express cards do not offer access to Priority Pass restaurants.
If you hold a Priority Pass Select membership courtesy of a card issued by the likes of Chase, Citi, HSBC, you and whatever guests your membership allows you to bring into the lounge with you, will each be given a £15 credit (approx. $21) to apply to whatever you purchase in the restaurant.
If you hold a Priority Pass membership that was purchased directly from Priority Pass, the £15 credit issued to the main member will count as a single lounge visit from your annual allowance. If you hold Prestige membership (which offers unlimited free lounge visits) and if you have Standard Plus membership and you haven’t used up your yearly 10 free visits, this isn’t an issue. If, however, you have a Standard membership that charges you for every visit you make, you’ll find yourself paying Priority Pass more (for your visit) than you’ll be getting back in credit.
As all memberships purchased directly from Priority Pass do not offer free guest access (and as guest access costs more than £15/guest), no one should be using one of these memberships to guest a person into the restaurant if they don’t want to find themselves out of pocket.
Bottom Line
The Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen at Heathrow T2 is now part of the Priority Pass network. If you have a Priority Pass membership that comes courtesy of an Amex card this doesn’t really do you much good but for most other members reading this post, this looks like it will be a nice option to have.
Featured image courtesy of the Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen
[HT: Head For Points]
