Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Where does British Airways offer ‘overnight bag drop’?

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

‘Overnight bag drop’ is one of those features which some travellers appreciate and others turn their nose up and say ‘What’s the point?’.

A reader mentioned this to me the other day. I realised we’d never done a full article on where British Airways offers it, so I thought it was worth a look.

It is currently available at five terminals across four UK airports. You can’t access the service outside the UK.

British Airways overnight bag drop

What is ‘overnight bag drop’?

At selected airports, British Airways allows you to check in your luggage the day before your flight.

In theory, it’s a benefit for both parties:

  • by moving some passengers from the busy morning peak to the quieter afternoon period, the airline can spread out demand for check-in desks
  • by checking their baggage the day before, the passenger can have a less stressful start to their trip the following day

The vast majority of users of ‘overnight bag drop’ will be passengers staying at airport hotels the night before their flight. Those with young children may appreciate the ability for one passenger to pop over to the terminal with the luggage whilst the children stay in the hotel. No-one wants their children stuck in a long queue first thing in the morning.

One person can check in bags on behalf of multiple people as long as all passports and boarding passes or tickets can be shown. The official rules on ba.com are here.

British Airways overnight bag drop

Where does BA offer ‘overnight bag drop’?

‘Overnight bag drop’ is currently available at these airports:

London Heathrow Terminal 3

  • Drop off between 4pm and 9.30pm
  • Cut-off for departures: 10am the following day

London Heathrow Terminal 5

  • Drop off between 4pm and 10pm
  • Cut-off for departures: 10am the following day

London Gatwick

  • Drop off between 6pm and 9pm
  • Cut-off for departures: 1pm the following day

London City Airport

  • Drop off between 4pm and 8.30pm
  • Cut-off for departures: 10am the following day

Edinburgh

  • Drop off between 4pm and 8pm
  • Cut-off for departures: 12 noon the following day

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

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

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (76)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Shirley says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:45

    At Gatwick they take bags from 4pm to 9pm, even though they advertise 6pm start

  • Andy says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:45

    We live close to Glasgow Airport. I was recently able to pop over there, and check-in bags for my family’s flight at 1030 the next morning with Jet2 – only 1 person needed. Made the next day easier. There was 1 hour free parking provided on scanning of boarding pass too. Seems much better than what BA is offering (and isn’t offering at GLA).

    • CJD says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:19

      It’s a shame BA don’t offer the service at Glasgow given there’s a departure to Heathrow at 6:00 and departures to Heathrow, Gatwick and London City which all depart between 6:25 and 6:35.

    • SamG says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:09

      Yes Jet2 say bags for up to 6 people can be checked in by 1 person as long as you’ve got all the docs. Doing it in a few weeks at Stansted – 6 of us going so 2+the kids in one car straight to the hotel and 2 in the other car with the seats down as the “luggage truck” to go via the airport and do the drop off.

      • CamFlyer says:
        20 Mar20 March 17:35

        I used Jet2 twilight checkin at STN last year before a morning flight (with a then 4 yo), staying at the Hampton. It was fantastic, and I would gladly do it again. It completely destressed the morning before departure.

    • StuPoo says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:22

      I had an unpleasant experience with Jet2 bag drop last year @ MAN.

      I arrived alone at the airport ~20:00 for a 06:00 flight the following day with 4x large bags (1 for each of the family) to find 6(?) staffed Jet2 desks – each with a member of staff sitting at them and no queue/no other people. I was denied bag drop on the basis that I had not checked on. When I enquired if I could check in there and then, given the 6x members of staff at hand, they replied “no – check in is closed”. I was sent away and told to come back at 04:00 the following morning.

      Very disappointing experience …

  • SammyJ says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:58

    Manchester Airport have gone a step further (although no use for BA) and now offer free parking for their twilight bag drop. From there website:

    “Twilight Bag Drop

    Eligible airlines: Virgin, TUI, Jet2.com, easyJet, and Ryanair (see below for more information on eligible flights and opening times).

    For passengers looking to take advantage of our twilight bag drop service, you can now get free parking at one of our car parks to do so.

    Simply take a token at the entry barrier and proceed to check-in and drop off your bags. Attend the ticket desk with your boarding pass and car park token to validate your token. Return your token at the exit barrier and the barrier will rise.

    This service is available at the following car parks:

    Terminal 2 West Multi Storey Car Park

    Virgin: Open 16:00 – 20:00, for all flights the following day

    TUI: Open 14:00 – 21:00, for flights before midday the next day

    Jet2.com: Open 16:30 – 21:00, for flights before midday the next day

    T3 Multi-Storey and Pick Up Car Park

    easyJet: Open 18:00 – 21:00, for flights before 08:30 the next day

    Ryanair: Open 19:00 – 22:00, for flights before 08:00 the next day”

  • SammyJ says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:58

    *their website!

  • Clare says:
    20 Mar20 March 07:59

    The one and only time I’ve used it, my parents bags made it, but mine didn’t, which meant I spent an unpleasant evening waiting for the later flight in Cairo. Have never used it again.

  • jj says:
    20 Mar20 March 08:07

    Sounds great until you realise that your toiletries, dirty underwear and evening clothes from the night before will be in your hand luggage.

    That’s why I’ve never used it.

    • FlyingTayto says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:38

      Suppose it depends on what size of hand luggage you are bringing?

      If you are bringing a small roller case or backpack plenty of room for the previous days clothing & small toiletry bag.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      20 Mar20 March 08:55

      I find a plastic bag suffices to separate the dirty from the clean.

      But even if you don’t check the bag in the night before you’re still going to put your worn clothes in with your unworn!

    • john says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:32

      And the time that you find your luggage doesn’t arrive for whatever reason, you’ll be very happy that you have these extra things with you in your hand luggage 🙂

    • Andrew. says:
      20 Mar20 March 12:19

      Have you considered disposable Tena pull-ups for travelling if you habitually “dirty” your underwear?

  • Lou says:
    20 Mar20 March 08:22

    I’m a big fan of this, use it all the time. It was a kick in the teeth last year during the security incident at Gatwick when they didn’t offer it and we had to queue in the massive scrum in the morning

  • Mark Smith says:
    20 Mar20 March 08:24

    Have used this multiple times with the family when doing early departures from LGW and LHR. Arrive early evening the night before, drop bags, stay at the Sofitel (LHR) or Hilton (LGW) and then breeze through the next morning HBO. Has made life so much less stressful especially with 2 little ones in tow!

    • mvcvz says:
      20 Mar20 March 09:12

      What’s the attraction in going to an airport twice prior to a flight? I generally find that once is a miserable enough experience for me.

      • Throwawayname says:
        20 Mar20 March 10:19

        If you live locally, you can drive to the airport with all the stuff you want to check in, drop it off, return home, then the following morning walk the 10-15 minutes to the bus stop and get there without worrying about parking etc.

      • jj says:
        20 Mar20 March 11:00

        If you’re staying in the Sofitel, it’s a 5′ walk to check-in at a time when the airport is deserted. Hardly miserable.

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
          20 Mar20 March 11:38

          I’ve even used it when staying at the T4 CP and even with the hassle of doing the terminal switch to T5 it did actually make the morning easier to manage.

          Will be even easier now I know about the H30 bus!

          But @mvcvz if it doesn’t suit you then simply don’t avail yourself of it! It’s an optiion that some will use and some won’t. A bit like Airportr that’s useful for some but not others.

          • mvcvz says:
            20 Mar20 March 12:29

            @BA Flyer IHG Stayer
            I don’t avail myself of it. I was simply asking why the concept is quite so appealing to others.

      • Peter K says:
        20 Mar20 March 15:16

        mvcvz

        What makes the airport experience miserable? For most people it’s the queues and waiting.
        With twilight bag drop you don’t wait to check in your bags because it’s so quiet. And of course you don’t go through security then. You’re literally in and out in minutes.
        Then the following day you arrive later and only queue for security and avoid the queue for bag check-in, so ultimately spend less time in the airport.
        So twilight bag drop is there to avoid the key reasons for a miserable airport experience!

        • CJD says:
          20 Mar20 March 21:19

          Exactly this, I don’t get what’s not to get? When we get to Madrid the day before our Mexico flight it’ll be a quick hop to T4, bag drop, then off to central Madrid for a night before heading back to the airport in the morning and straight through security and to the lounge.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!