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The new Salzburg Airport departure lounge is open

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Salzburg Airport used to be one of the few British Airways destinations without a lounge.  Eligible passengers were instead given a voucher to spend in the airport restaurant.

In July this year, Salzburg Airport opened its first departure lounge.  Reader Mark sent me a few pictures.

New British Airways lounge in Salzburg

The lounge serves Austrian, airberlin, BA, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.  You can also pay €36 for access.  Unfortunately it is not part of Priority Pass.

New British Airways lounge in Salzburg

The Sazburg airport lounge entrance is BEFORE the main security area.  You pass through a separate security channel to access the lounge and leave by a different door which leads directly to the gates.

It is not a huge facility and the facilies are not hugely sophisticated – but Mark says that it is a massive improvement on using the airport restaurant!

Further details including opening hours can be found here.

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Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (July 2025)

Here are the six options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

Your best value option (but no points):

The cheapest route to a Priority Pass airport lounge card is via the Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.

The credit card has a fee of £15 per month, and comes with a Priority Pass which gives unlimited free access for the cardholder. If you add a free supplementary cardholder, they will also receive unlimited free access.

Unlike the version of Priority Pass you receive with American Express, the Lloyds Bank version also lets you access £18 airport restaurant credits.

Even better, the credit card has 0% FX fees and comes with 0.5% cashback. Full details are in my Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard review.

Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard

A Priority Pass, 0% FX fees and up to 1% cashback for £15 per month Read our full review

Lounge access via American Express cards:

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 in-depth review of The Platinum Card from American Express is here.

You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card 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 Credit Card review here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Lounge access via HSBC Premier credit cards (Premier account holders only):

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 The American Express Business Platinum Card which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (18)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gabriel says:
    12 Dec12 December 07:02

    Good to see you on Apple News, although my main point of consumption will remain Feedly for now…

  • Jonathan says:
    12 Dec12 December 07:41

    OT: is there a way to avoid the seat reservation charges without waiting until 24 hrs before the flight (I’m a blue BA cardholder unfortunately). Seem to recall reading something about using another one world frequent flyer number and logging in via their site.

    P.s. Thanks Raffles for all the tips, have just booked my first ever business flights redemption using the 2:1 voucher.

    P.p.s if anyone’s been waiting for their companion voucher to appear on their BA account, it’s not a case of having to wait for the date your points ping across. The delay is a system issue at AMEX which is preventing them issuing the vouchers. If you kick up a fuss they’ll speak to their liaison at BA and the voucher will appear in minutes.

    • Rob says:
      12 Dec12 December 08:42

      No, no way around it.

    • Paul says:
      12 Dec12 December 11:33

      I think you are thinking of when people had Cathay Pacific Gold from their Amex Plat cards…?
      That got you free seat selection if BA Blue.

    • Idrive says:
      12 Dec12 December 13:03

      I did not get my 241 voucher due end of Nov i ll call them today to complain again.

  • tony says:
    12 Dec12 December 07:43

    That SZG lounge is going to be interesting. I’m on the new BA flight back to LHR shortly and CE goes back to row 10 – yet the lounge only hosts 25 guests.

    I think the restaurant – especially on a Saturday when BA alone now have three flights leaving in an hour and a bit – will remain the saner option!

  • vindaloo says:
    12 Dec12 December 08:11

    Still no lounge (or restaurant voucher for that matter) at London City, annoyingly.

  • Nick says:
    12 Dec12 December 09:07

    With a max of 25 patrons allowed in the lounge it will certainly never be quiet!

  • mike says:
    12 Dec12 December 11:12

    Hi all – any update on the TESCO 20 % conversion all I seem to have got is 5 lots of 480 avios in my BAEC when I converted £500 TESCO from 5 of my clubcard accounts ? All seems very odd

    • Rob says:
      12 Dec12 December 11:15

      Everyone got 480. Big Tesco screw up. Give them time ….

    • harry says:
      12 Dec12 December 18:35

      It actually looks good at this stage.

      We did 12 x £100 & got a similar result to you at this stage.

      It seems all conversions are getting recognised as worth the bonus.

  • Jeff says:
    12 Dec12 December 11:44

    Onboard bar in QR business class? I thought it was only for first class customers on the A380, unless QR afforded you complimentary access?

    Reflections on old (B777) v new (A380) business cabins?

    • Alan Gregg says:
      12 Dec12 December 12:22

      No business passengers get access. Which also means you can drink the Krug!

      • Alan Gregg says:
        12 Dec12 December 12:25

        Terrible English there!

        Business class passengers DO have access!

        This year I have flown business on Emirates, BA, Qantas, Qatar, Malaysian and Cathay. Qatar was by far my favourite all round package. Although the Emirates pod was very private.

      • mike says:
        12 Dec12 December 17:42

        do you mean “yes” business passengers get access rather than “no” business passengers get access – the answer you gave appears confusing ?

    • Richard says:
      12 Dec12 December 14:56

      As Alan says, the bar is for first and business – I didn’t get the impression anyone on the plane (or at the airport) knew we anything other than normal passengers.

      The new seat is definitely better for tall people. I’m 6″3 and the headrest on the 777 didn’t go high enough to clear my shoulders sitting upright. It seemed a nice refinement, there were little things like the noise-cancelling headphones being powered from the seat rather than an almost flat battery. The 380 is 1-2-1 vs 2-2-2 so if you are travelling alone I can see an individual pod being attractive.
      Most of the 777 flights were spent asleep and that was absolutely fine so I can’t grumble!

    • Rob says:
      12 Dec12 December 16:01

      No, J and F – bar is actually behind business class on the A380 so F has to walk through to get to it, same as Emirates.

      • ee says:
        13 Dec13 December 13:43

        On our recent flights DOHBKK the bar was never particularly busy. We sat in it for an hour or so on the return trip, and it was really enjoyable. The hostess was very pleasant and was happy to take pictures of people behind the bar – she even roped us in! Loved the QR experience, and such a bargin thanks to HFP!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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