Bits: new BA Corsica route bookable, photos and access rules for Plaza Premium T5 lounge

News in brief:

New BA route to Figari, Corsica now bookable

I mentioned yesterday that Alex Cruz, BA CEO, announced a new route to Figari in Corsica (picture below) in his speech at World Travel Market on Monday.

This flight is now bookable on ba.com, either for cash or Avios.

Flights will operate once per week, on Sundays, from 25th March to 21st October.

Flights depart Heathrow at 12.05, arriving at 15.30.  The return flight leaves Figari at 16.15, arriving in Heathrow at 17.40.

Access information for new Plaza Premium Terminal 5 lounge

Yesterday I wrote about the opening of the new Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 which promises to massively improve the British Airways travelling experience for anyone travelling in Economy who has no BA status.

I wasn’t sure yesterday if the lounge was accepting Priority Pass or Lounge Club.  Historically there has been a lag of a few weeks between the opening of a Plaza Premium lounge and its acceptance of these cards.

Reader feedback yesterday is that neither Priority Pass or Lounge Club are accepted at the moment.

American Express Platinum IS accepted, due to the exclusive Plaza Premium deal with Amex.  This includes a guest.

DragonPass is accepted – see their website here.  You are only likely to have one of these if you are a Barclays current account holder opted into the travel pack add-on.

Lounge Key (issued with World Elite Mastercards) does not yet list it on their website.  As Lounge Key is owned by Priority Pass, I am guessing it will not yet get you in.

And, of course, you can use good old money on the door.

Here are some publicity photographs for the lounge.  There is an official press event at the end of the month and we will do a full review at that point.

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You can find out more, and book access, on the Plaza Premium website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (August 2022)

As a reminder, here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a 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 Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here. 

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20.  You get two 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.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network.  Guests are charged at £20 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.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.