Where can you fly on British Airways from Terminal 3 for the Qantas and Cathay lounges?

Long time readers of HfP will know that when you are flying from Heathrow Terminal 3 you are spoilt for choice when it comes to airline lounges.

The excellent Qantas lounge (review here) is regarded as one of the best business class lounges in the UK.  You also have the Cathay Pacific lounges (review) which are a great place to go if you have a British Airways Gold card and would like to enjoy free restaurant dining in their First Class lounge. The Business Class part isn’t too bad either.

If that wasn’t enough, American Express has also made Heathrow Terminal 3 the home for one of the first Centurion lounges to open outside the US. This lounge won your vote for ‘Best Independent Airport Lounge’ in the Head for Points Travel & Loyalty Awards 2023.

As well as the amazing Qantas and Cathay Pacific lounges, you can also visit the T3 American Airlines and British Airways Galleries lounges.  These are both perfectly acceptable but not in the same league as the others.  Anyone with Gold Guest List status with British Airways can try the new First Dining Room in the Galleries lounge.

If you have a Priority Pass card, there are two good independent lounges – Club Aspire (review) and No1 Lounge (review). Club Aspire closes on 2nd April for conversion to the My Lounge brand and, until October 2025, No1 Lounge will be your only Priority Pass option.

Have you flown from Terminal 3 in a while?

All this means that Heathrow Terminal 3 is the place to be if you want to relax in style before a British Airways flight (unless, of course, you can use The Concorde Room in Terminal 5.)

Remember that you need to be travelling in Club Europe / Club World to access the lounges, or have a British Airways Silver card or above, or oneworld equivalent.  You will need a BA Gold card or equivalent to access the First Class private dining section of the Cathay Pacific lounge.

You should also note that not all the lounges are open all day, so they may not be an option for very early or late evening flights.

Which British Airways routes operate from Terminal 3?

This list is for the Summer 2025 season, for flights from the end of March until the end of October. It is based on official British Airways documents.

You can also access these lounges with a business class flight on any other oneworld airline using Terminal 3.  A very attractive option would be the handful of Finnair’s Helsinki flights which use the new A350 long-haul aircraft which I reviewed here.  Book yourself in business class, for cash or Avios, and you can check out the new Terminal 3 lounges and then fly to Helsinki on a flat bed!

Note that this list is correct as of the time of writing but some routes may move between terminals at short notice. Other routes may split services between terminals.

British Airways short-haul and mid-haul routes from Terminal 3 (Summer 2025):

• Billund
• Bucharest
• Budapest
• Figari
• Gibraltar
• Gothenburg
• Krakow
• Ljubljana
• Luxembourg
• Marseille
• Olbia
• Oslo
• Perugia
• Prague
• Rimini
• Sofia
• Stuttgart
• Toulouse
• Valencia
• Vienna
• Zagreb

British Airways long-haul routes from Terminal 3 (Summer 2025):

• Accra
• Atlanta
• Grand Cayman
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Phoenix
• Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
• Sao Paulo

Which lounge should you visit in Terminal 3?

I selflessly spent a day touring the various lounges in Terminal 3, and you can read my final rankings here.

If you have a British Airways Executive Club Gold card or are flying in First Class, the obvious choice is the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge, reviewed here. Note that recent feedback is that the lounge is occasionally restricting entry to BA Gold members during the afternoon due to capacity constraints – Cathay has its own flights departing at 5pm and 6.20pm.

You can also visit the American Airlines First lounge, review here. Or why not try both?

If you have a British Airways Executive Club Silver card, it is a toss up between the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge, reviewed here and image above, and the Qantas London Lounge, reviewed here. Of course, you can try both – plus the British Airways and American Airlines lounges too.

If you don’t have status but do have an American Express Platinum card, you can visit The Centurion Lounge, reviewed here.

If you don’t have any status but do have a Priority Pass, there is a No1 Lounge in Terminal 3, reviewed here. You can guarantee entry by paying £6 to reserve a spot via this website. Bookings for cash can be made here.

The Club Aspire lounge is also in Priority Pass, review here, but is closing permanently on 2nd April 2025 for conversion to a My Lounge and will not re-open until October.

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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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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