If you’re into luxury shopping, you’ve likely come across Bicester Collection Villages which are popular among luxury travellers in recent years. With its charming open-air villages, good discounts on luxury brands, and curated VIP experiences, it’s more than just a shopping destination.
On my recent trip to Ireland this 2025, I had the chance to shop like a VIP at Kildare Village, which is part of the Bicester Collection. Here’s everything you need to know and how certain cards can unlock these experiences for you as well.
The Bicester Collection
The Bicester Collection is a group of luxury outlet shopping destinations across Europe, China, and the United States. While most people know Bicester Village near London, the full collection is much broader.
- Europe: 9 Villages (UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium)
- China: 2 Villages (Shanghai, Suzhou)
- USA: 2 Villages (New York & Los Angeles – partnered via “The Bicester Collection US”)
Each village offers a mix of luxury and premium brands, with up to 60% off retail prices, all in a boutique-style outdoor setting.
What’s special?
The Bicester Collection has a loyalty program that rewards frequent and high-spending shoppers with extra discounts, exclusive benefits, and unique experiences.
What makes it even more interesting is that these benefits are not limited to just regular members. They’re also offered through select global partners like Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Axis Bank, and more.
Here are some of the benefits that you can enjoy with it:
- The Apartment Access (also called Private Suite)
- VIP Pass: 10% additional discount
- Hands-Free Shopping
- Priority Parking & a few more extras
To ensure a smooth experience, it’s a good idea to get email confirmation of the services you plan to use at least two days in advance. Some villages, especially the one in the UK, can get quite busy.
Let’s dive into each of these, along with my personal experience at Kildare Village, Ireland.
The Apartment
The Apartment is a luxury private lounge inside the shopping village. Think of it as the airport lounge for outlet shopping. It’s a calm & quiet private space away from the buzzing crowd.
The setup is beautiful. The lounge interiors are top-class. If I had to compare, I’d say it’s like a Taj Club Lounge, something like the one at Taj Bengal, Kolkata, or even better.
They serve tea, coffee, drinks, and light snacks. But don’t expect much on the food front. It’s nothing like what we get at airport lounges.
Personal Experience:
I’ve visited Kildare Village a few times over the past three years. Previously, I ignored this benefit. But this time, I gave it a try.
As soon as we reached the village, we walked over to Guest Services. They verified the eligibility and someone took us to The Apartment.
The Apartment is a spacious two-storey building with plenty of room to relax, especially since occupancy was under 30% during our visit. The interiors are tastefully done in every corner, and the staff were polite and professional throughout.
We were given a few refreshment options to choose from. I picked a hot chocolate, which was served along with some light snacks.
Apart from that, they have private trial rooms and a really nice washroom with premium face towels. Trust me, that alone is a blessing considering how crowded the public restrooms can get in these villages.
Since shopping here easily takes a full day, this quiet lounge felt like an oasis in the desert.
Only thing to note is that access is limited to once per day for 40 minutes per person. Probably their way to keep it quiet and exclusive. This might be different for each village.
VIP Pass
The VIP Pass gives an additional 10% discount at participating boutiques. While it doesn’t sound like much, it adds up quickly if you’re shopping big.
To utilise this benefit, You’ll need to generate a QR code from the website. From my experience, the 10% discount works, but not at all stores.
During my visit, the Gant outlet did not honour the discount stating that the product I picked was already discounted, while Ralph Lauren honoured.
Hands-Free Shopping
This is one of the most underrated perks.
Once activated, all your bags are collected by staff from each boutique and delivered to Guest Services. No need to carry anything in hand.
Makes a big difference when you’re hopping between shops, restaurants and the apartment.
To use this benefit, Guest Services will generate a QR code for you, which you’ll need to show at the stores. After billing, the store seals the product and sends it to guest Services
Depending on the crowd, it may take 30 minutes or more for the bags to reach. In my case, everything arrived smoothly and it was totally hassle-free.
Accessing the benefits
Now that you know what’s on offer, here’s how you can get access using cards and programs available in India:
- Axis Multi-currency Forex Card: VIP Pass only
- Axis Burgundy Multi-currency Forex Card: VIP Pass, Apartment Access, Hands-Free Shopping
- Accor (Gold / Platinum / Diamond): varies by tier
Refer to the Axis Offers link or Accor Offer link for details of the benefits offered by each.
Globally, partners include American Express, HSBC Premier, Visa Infinite, and Mastercard World Elite. Sadly, in India, these options are currently limited.
Even Amex India used to offer it with the Platinum Charge Card, but that benefit seems to be inactive now.
Points & Miles on Spends
On top of all that, you can also earn miles or points with partners like Accor, Air India, Etihad & more.
After my purchase, I emailed the frequent flyer team of the village to credit the points to my Accor ALL account, and they processed it within two weeks.
While it’s not much, happiness is seeing any credit on Accor a/c. 🙂
Bottomline
The Apartment at Kildare Village adds a luxury factor to the shopping day. Access to a private lounge, VIP discounts, and hands-free shopping makes the whole experience a lot smoother and more enjoyable.
That said, it would be great if more Indian banks offered these perks through their premium cards. And even better if the Bicester Collection sets up a location in India someday.
We have so many malls and luxury brands here, but there’s nothing like the Bicester experience. If Dubai can recreate such villages in their crazy weather with full air-conditioning system, I wonder what’s stopping India from doing something similar.
Have you visited a Bicester Village in Europe or anywhere else? Feel free to share your experience in the comments below.