In fact, I’d say that this lounge is a must for passengers with time to kill before a flight. Rest assured, the walk was worth it - find out why in my full review of the lounge.Įquipped with five shower rooms, hot food, a beautiful bar, open seating, Wi-Fi and views of the ramp, this United Club is probably the best in the network. To get there, I had to trek through the underground walkway and onward to customs and immigration in the main Terminal 2 building and then back to 2B for the lounge. As a Star Alliance business-class passenger, I had several lounges to choose from, including Singapore Airlines, Air Canada and United - though United’s offering came highly recommended to me by TPG United guru Zach Honig. With nearly four hours to spend at Heathrow, I felt a lounge visit was certainly in order. As a connecting passenger, I had to clear customs and go through security again check-in was handled by agents near the customs area for those who hadn’t checked into their flight. United Airlines Flight 17, from Heathrow to Newark (EWR), departed from Terminal 2B.

Remember that if you’re short on United miles, they transfer instantly from Chase Ultimate Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, and it’s easy to collect UR points, considering cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card are each offering a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. Since this was a Star Alliance award booking, you could also book through the United MileagePlus program - the same ticket would have cost 80,000 miles plus $170 in taxes and fees. If you don’t want to deal with such a high spending requirement, the personal Platinum Card is offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $5,000 within the first three months of account opening.

If you want to book via Aeroplan but find yourself short on miles, consider signing up for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN, which is currently offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points - 50,000 after you spend $10,000 in the first three months and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $15,000 also within the first three months from account opening. It cost 75,000 miles (and $95 in associated taxes and fees), transferred at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, to get me the 7,000+ miles from ADD to NYC, via LHR. As I explained in my review of Ethiopian’s business class, we booked this trip through Aeroplan. After a redeye flight from ADD and a few hours in the excellent United Club at LHR, all that was left of the journey was this flight on a United 767. This flight was the final leg of my trip home from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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