Review: the British Airways arrivals lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 5
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This is my review of the British Airways arrivals lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5.
This is part of our series of reviews of airport lounges across the UK. You see all of the reviews here.
It had been a long time since I visited the BA arrivals lounge – certainly longer than the four years I have been running this site. When we travel as a family we usually just want to get home as quickly as possible, and in any event flights from the Middle East arrive after the 2pm closing time. At the same time, my solo flights over the last few years have generally been on airlines other than BA as I try to test out the competition.
My visit 13 days ago was a rare one. I won’t be forgetting it in a hurry, since I landed in Heathrow to the fall-out from the EU referendum and the first thing I saw when I entered the lounge was David Cameron resigning.
Let’s jump back a bit. The British Airways arrivals lounge is situated landside in Terminal 5. Once you pass through customs and emerge into the main terminal area, you need to head to your left, past the massed ranks of waiting Addison Lee drivers, and take the lift or escalator up to the first floor.
The entrance rules for the British Airways arrivals lounge are slightly different to the airside Galleries lounges. This is how I believe it works:
BA Gold Guest List – you’re in, if you arrived on a long-haul flight on any airline in any class. Bring a guest.
BA Gold – you’re in, if you arrived on a long-haul BA flight in any class. No guest.
Iberia or AA top tier member – you’re in, if you arrived on a flight which is part of the AA / IB / BA joint venture agreement (ie anything across the Atlantic) in any class
Any other oneworld Emerald card – no access
BA Silver or oneworld equivalent – no access
BA Bronze or oneworld equivalent – no access
Arriving in First Class or Club World – you’re in, but you can’t bring a guest
If you arrive into Terminal 3, you may – when it reopens after refurbishment – also use the American Airlines arrivals lounge which has its own complex set of access rules.
The British Airways Terminal 5 arrivals lounge
As you enter, the spa area is off to your left and the casual seating area (where I went, to watch Brexit on the TV) is to your right. Directly in front of you is the main dining area:
…. which has a look you will be familiar with from the British Airways departure lounges:
It isn’t fine dining but, for breakfast, it does the job. Note that food is only available until 12.30 even though the lounge remains open until 2pm:
If you are arriving in First Class, there is a special First Class dining room. You still need to carry your food from the main buffet which makes it pretty pointless to be honest. I don’t know if there are any special ‘to order’ items because I was outside watching the TV.
Here is the seating area off to the right:
and
Here is the entrance to the spa area which includes showers:
I am guessing this is somewhere where you can do your nails ‘n’ stuff …. looked a bit confusing to me 🙂
Opposite the spa entrance is a decent size business centre:
All in all, the British Airways arrivals lounge in Terminal 5 is a good facility. I have always had a soft spot for it. It wasn’t too busy when I was there and the food on offer was more than adequate. One advantage of having it is that you can refuse breakfast on the plane in order to get some extra sleep, knowing you can eat as soon as you land.
If you’ve never been, it is worth visiting next you time you arrive in Terminal 5 in Club World or First in the morning.
If you want to find out more, there is a special page dedicated to the lounge on ba.com which you will find here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (June 2022)
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.
Until 18th July 2022 there is an astonishing special offer on these cards. You get 50,000 Avios on the Avios Plus Mastercard and 10,000 Avios on the free Avios Mastercard. You can apply here. We strongly recommend getting the Avios Plus card whilst this offer is running.
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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Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
10,000 Avios for signing up (SPECIAL OFFER) and an upgrade voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review
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
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on Amex Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 Membership Rewards points until 19th July 2022. This card is free for the first year.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
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 10,000 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company Read our full review
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
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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.

American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

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.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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