You can use Avios for Plaza Premium lounges – but shouldn’t

A few years ago it was possible to use Avios to purchase vouchers to visit independent airport lounges, but British Airways pulled the offer.

I realised the other day that you CAN still redeem Avios for any of the Plaza Premium airport lounges at London Heathrow.

The deal is tucked away inside the ‘Experiences’ redemption platform here.

It’s a bit fiddly. You need to search for ‘activities’ at Heathrow, which brings up over 1,800 ways to spend your Avios on museums, shows, attractions etc in the London area. Filter the results with the word ‘lounge’ and Plaza Premium will pop up.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that it’s a terrible deal.

As with everything else on the ‘experiences’ platform, you’re getting about 0.5p per Avios. A 3-hour pass for the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 is 7,600 Avios per person!

If you expect to be there for more than three hours, you’re looking at 12,400 Avios per person. Given that I value an Avios at 1p+ this is clearly bad value.

If you don’t have access to an airport lounge via a credit card or bank account benefit, the cheapest option is to open a Regus account (yes, Regus, the office rental company) and use it to buy DragonPass vouchers for £24 each. These get you into the same Plaza Premium lounges which require 7,600 Avios via ba.com.

The Terminal 5 lounge is pictured below. We last reviewed Plaza Premium Heathrow Terminal 5 here.

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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.