British Airways Gatwick Arrivals Lounge to close on October 31st

If you are flying into Heathrow in First or Club World, and land before 2pm, the Terminal 5 Arrivals Lounge is not a bad place to have a shower, grab some food and catch up on your emails.

The Gatwick alternative, though, has never appealed to me.  I have never even visited it, despite doing a few long-haul flights into Gatwick over the years.  Perhaps it was the effort of going over to the Sofitel hotel, where it is based, or perhaps it was just the fact that I doubted it could have much to offer.

I’ll never get to find out, though, as British Airways is closing the Arrivals Lounge in the Gatwick Airport Sofitel on 31st October.  It was apparently used by fewer than 5% of the passengers who were eligible to use it and, with the Sofitel contract up for renewal, BA has decided to spend its money elsewhere.

There is no word yet as to whether a replacement facility will emerge, but there will definitely be nothing available in the short term.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

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

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.

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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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