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British Airways adds lounge access at more European airports including Porto and Reykjavik

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Last September, we published a list of British Airways European destinations which did not offer lounge access.

There are some airports on the British Airways network which simply do not have an airport lounge, as I found out in Pula, Croatia last Summer.  There isn’t much British Airways can do about this.  There are others, however, where there is a lounge but British Airways simply refuses to pay for it.

British Airways is now doing what it can to set this right.  In early February, they added Innsbruck, Ibiza, Krakow and Seville.

As of this Monday, you can now also access a lounge at Porto and Reykjavik.

Anika reviewed the lounge in Porto last year.  Click here to see what you have been missing.

The campaign continues …..

These airports have a lounge which BA won’t pay for but you can use a Priority Pass instead:

Lanzarote ACE

Catania/Fontanarossa CTA

Madeira FNC

Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis HER

Humberside HUY

Mykonos JMK

Olbia/Costa Smeralda OLB

Palermo/Punta Raisi PMO (landside)

Paphos International PFO

Thessaloniki Macedonia International SKG (as of 1st July 2017)

Split SPU

Rhodes – Diagoras International RHU

Tallinn TLL

These airports have a lounge which BA won’t pay for and which only accept cash, not Priority Pass / Lounge Club:

Brindisi/Casale BDS

Bordeaux-Merignac BOD

Bari/Palese International BRI

Cagliari CAG

Dalaman International DLM

London City Airport LCY (in the Private Jet Terminal)

And finally, here is a reminder of British Airways-served airports which have no lounge at all so you can’t blame BA for not letting you in:

Bergen, Flesland Airport BGO

Corfu / Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport CFU

Chania International Airport CHQ

Chambery-Savoie CMF

Bergerac-Roumaniere EGC

Friedrichshafen FDH

Fuerteventura FUE

Grenoble-Isere GNB

Frederico Garcia Lorca GRX

Skiathos Island National JSI

Santorini JTR

Kos KGS

Kalamata KLX

Limoges LIG

Menorca MAH

San Javier MJV

Nantes Atlantique NTE

Asturias OVD

Pula PUY

Rotterdam RTM

Quimper-Cornouaille UIP

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Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here.

You can apply here.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

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.

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

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

American Express Business Platinum

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

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (139)

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

  • Keith says:
    28 Feb28 February 17:19

    O/T is the AMEX travel spend £600 cumulative so I could book three different flights?

    • moktar says:
      28 Feb28 February 17:33

      Yes. Worked for me for 1 flight and 1 hotel

    • Lee says:
      28 Feb28 February 17:57

      Just booked 3 Dubai experiences worth total of £606 for next month, quick save 200 quid before its expire.

    • James says:
      28 Feb28 February 18:34

      I’ve been frantically looking too !!

      Maybe 2 TP runs to Malta ! although I’m more tempted by something I’d actually use a PE to Cairo for a trip diving in the red sea – but then flights CAI-HRG are £155 !!

  • Craig Strickland says:
    28 Feb28 February 17:32

    OT: Well, off the original topic anyway. Strangely I have just been offered and completed an e-Rewards survey that discussed credit cards that earn status and points!

    • New Card says:
      28 Feb28 February 17:41

      If you had to guess, who commissioned it? 🙂

      • Craig Strickland says:
        28 Feb28 February 17:46

        Without wishing to risk the confidentiality agreements, there were several and none of them would be a surprise to readers of this thread.

  • James says:
    28 Feb28 February 18:32

    BA just cancelled my flight to Dublin on Friday 🙁
    Not told me yet but its online when I have a look in my booking.

    I have an airbnb booked which I will not be able to cancel. Do I have to rely on my travel insurance for this ?

    There are other flights BA have not cancelled on that day but they have not proactively moved us onto one of the others – will they ? Or would we need to call up and request that ?
    My Father is thinking he’d rather not go now this weekend so it might be quite a good excuse to bin the whole thing……if BA or travel insurance will cover the AirBnB.

    Hmmm……

    • Anna says:
      28 Feb28 February 19:49

      They have a duty to put you on another flight or give you a refund, your travel insurer might say it was your choice to cancel if you went for the latter option. I had a flight cancelled recently and not re-booked, they said this was an error when they called but they were selling the seats on the alternative flights for a fortune!

      • Bored says:
        1 Mar1 March 01:01

        No way!!! How much were they charging for these flights??? £343 perhaps?

        😉

  • Craig Strickland says:
    28 Feb28 February 18:47

    OT. Looking at using the Amex £200 of £600 spend offer. I can find about £450 of experiences for various holidays that look good. Thinking of topping it up with a car hire, does this get charged immediately and will it count? Thanks.

    • KevMc says:
      28 Feb28 February 19:20

      Yes and yes. Everything I’ve ever booked via Amex Travel has been charged immediately

      • Craig Strickland says:
        28 Feb28 February 19:22

        Here goes nothing then, agent just told me Avis don’t charge immediately.

        • Lady London says:
          1 Mar1 March 00:31

          With a car hire normally you can choose between pre-paying online on your card immediately when you book, or paying when you return the car. Both have pros and cons. Prepaying is pretty much always cheaper but very risky if your plans change as it might not be rebookable.

          One advantage of prepaying is that it’s usually in UK pounds if booked on the UK website of a car hire company. Once you’ve paid even if the UK Pound value goes down against the local currency where you pick up the car before the date you pick up the car, you are protected from exchange rate changes if you don’t add extras when picking up the car as you already paid everything. Adding extras when you pick up the car will be in the local currency and might even trigger the whole thing to be revalued into local currency (not done that, but think so!).

    • Craig Strickland says:
      28 Feb28 February 20:11

      For the record, just made one hire car and two excursion bookings. Three separate transactions and have received the thanks for using your offer email.

  • Robin says:
    28 Feb28 February 20:11

    Hi off topic hoping for some help from the community. Does anyone know whether if you book hotels through Amex Travel, will the stay still qualify as a Hilton stay under the Diamond status challenge, where you have to stay 8 stays in a 3 month period. I was trying to use my Amex £50 voucher for £200 spend which expires today.

  • The Original Nick says:
    28 Feb28 February 21:50

    O:T, I have an Avis offer on my AMEX BA CC. Spend £125 or more for £20 back. Maybe useful for some.

  • w says:
    28 Feb28 February 22:00

    So, what does that mean for the SPG & BAPP Amex? Days numbered as well?

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

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