Bits: Luxury Travel Diary auctions, American arrivals lounge closes, new Qantas lounge for T3
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News in brief:
More Luxury Travel Diary auctions closing
The Luxury Travel Diary site dropped me a line about another wave of its luxury auctions closing this week. These are often worth a look as there are often deals to be had.
Packages closing soon include two Maldives deals and packages in Portugal, Tuscany, Playa del Carmen, Qatar, Bali, Singapore and Greece.
As usual, it is worth having a look to see if anything takes your fancy.
American Airlines arrivals lounge at Terminal 3 closed
As part of a major global lounge overhaul, American Airlines has temporarily closed its arrivals lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3.
It will re-open in the Summer. Until then, any eligible passengers arriving in Terminal 3 on a BA, Qantas, Cathay Pacific or American flight can use the British Airways arrivals lounge in Terminal 5. Whether you would want to go to all that trouble is a different question.
The BA arrivals lounge is open until 2.30pm daily.
Qantas building a new lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3
Qantas has decided to build a dedicated lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3. This will offer yet another option for eligible British Airways passengers flying from T3. They can already choose from the BA lounge, the AA lounge, the Cathay Pacific lounge (currently closed for refurbishment) and, if they have access, two Priority Pass options.
The specifications sound excellent and the drawing above looks good. It will be a large space, seating 230, occupying the area previously used by SAS. Opening is pencilled in for early 2017.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)
Here are the four 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 1,300 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.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit 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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 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 £195 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 huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients 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.
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