Bits: cheap DragonPass lounges, 750 Avios with No1 Lounges, airberlin new short-haul business

News in brief:

Daily Telegraph / DragonPass lounge offer returns

The Daily Telegraph has brought back its occasional airport lounge access promotion with lounge network Dragonpass.

Via this link (ignore the April date), you can buy passes to any lounge used by DragonPass for £16.50.  This is a discount on the usual price and the DragonPass £50 membership fee is waived.

For most UK lounges this will be the cheapest way of buying access this summer.

However ….. remember that No1 Lounges has an excellent Avios-based deal for its lounges at Heathrow Terminal 3, Gatwick, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

For £20 per person, you receive lounge access AND 750 Avios points.  This is a better deal than the DragonPass offer.

The Avios will only be credited to an avios.com account but you can move them to BA later via ‘Combine My Avios’ online.

As long as you avoid the overcrowded Gatwick North lounge, struggling under the weight of BA passengers who are currently lounge-less, the No1 Lounges portfolio is very impressive.  At £20 per visit, less the value you place on 750 Avios, this offer (click here) is a good deal.

airberlin launches short-haul business class

With what feels like the influence of 49% shareholder Etihad behind it, airberlin is launching a pseudo business class product on its short-haul network.

As a member of oneworld, you can redeem Avios points on the airberlin network.  I am flying them next week as it happens.  There are currently no airberlin flights to or from the UK however.

There are two reasons for this change.  One is that, at the same time, airberlin is moving to 100% buy-on-board catering in economy.  It currently offers a free drink and snack with the option of paying for more.

Secondly, and this is only a guess, Etihad believes it can attract more premium transfer passengers connecting to / from Etihad if they can book business class all the way to their final destination.  It will also help airberlin attract transfer passengers to its expanding long-haul network.

This is what is happening:

business class will be only the front row of seats so a maximum of four passengers

the middle seat will be left free

the seat pitch will be adjusted in rows 2+ so that row 1 gets 32 inches of legroom

benefits include a welcome drink, a pillow, free food from the buy on board menu, priority boarding, priority check-in, fast-track security, lounge or airberlin waiting area access, extra baggage allowance

all business class tickets will be fully flexible and seat reservations will be free

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (July 2025)

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

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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 Credit Card

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

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

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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