British Airways Gatwick First lounge to close at 3pm … and permanently from November?
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In what amounts to another slap in the face for British Airways Executive Club Gold card holders, British Airways announced yesterday that the First Class lounge at Gatwick Airport will now be closing from 3pm daily.
The rationale for this is that this is the departure time for the last flight of the day which has a First Class cabin.
Gold card holders will need to use the Terraces lounge next door from 3pm. BA has said that additional seating will be installed in the lounge, although that will be ‘at a later date’ and not in time for the introduction of 3pm closing on April 13th.
As a very marginal piece of compensation, sandwiches will be made available until 8pm in the Terraces lounges. Apparently they are now removed at 6pm leaving no fresh food at all. Bacons rolls will also be available until 9.30am.
In theory, you may expect me to be annoyed by this. However, as I wrote last year when I was in the First Class lounge at Gatwick, it is a complete dump. On that occasion I walked out and used my Priority Pass to visit the No 1 Traveller lounge downstairs, which is an oasis by contrast. Some photos from No 1 Traveller at Gatwick North are in this article.
There is also a rumour going around on Flyertalk that the First lounge at Gatwick will be closed entirely in November 2015. In November 2016, British Airways will move to the South Terminal and that will have only one lounge with no dedicated First / Gold facility at all.
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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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
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British Airways American Express
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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.
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
The Platinum Card from American Express
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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.
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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.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
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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.
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American Express Business Gold
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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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