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The Marco Polo Club lounge at Venice Airport joins Priority Pass

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The Marco Polo Club airport lounge at Venice has (re)joined Priority Pass.

I have used this lounge numerous times as a British Airways status cardholder.  The main benefit is the size – it is big.  That said, I always found it fairly crowded in peak season because some US airlines run long-haul flights to Venice with a lot of premium passengers. 

The decor is poor and food limited, although one comment  below suggests things have changed since I was last there in August.

It is also available to anyone with a free Lounge Club pass from their American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card or a Mastercard World Elite LoungeKey pass.  You can get two free Priority Pass cards, each admitting two people to a participating lounge, with the American Express Platinum charge card.


Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK 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 Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold 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 review here.

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

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 £195 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 huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients 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.

Comments (100)

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

  • Omar says:

    Well this is awkward, I did indeed get a phone call from the competition folks to say I had won a place due to the original winner pulling out.

    • Rob says:

      Well done, nothing to feel awkward about. Hope you have a good night.

  • Mark Smith says:

    O/T – I got Marriott Gold status using status match from SPG Gold and was told last summer that my Marriott Gold status would expire 31 Jan 18. I have just checked and it is still showing as Gold online…any risk of this not being honoured if me booking a night triggers some sort of automatic check of my status eligibility? To be honest it probably should have expired a while ago (my SPG Gold was from holding an Amex Plat for about 2 months in Jan 2016!) but dont want to book on the basis of getting lounge access etc. to find this is then not offered. Thanks!

    • rom says:

      I think you would be fine. If not changed by end of Feb, then they have extended it!

    • Scallder says:

      If you get the SPG app, your digital card on there shows the expiry date. Your Marriott status will last for as long as the SPG one is valid

  • Oz says:

    OT IHG Premium card: How long is the Free Night voucher valid for? Couldn’t see anything in T&C.

  • JamesB says:

    OT @ experienced seasonal bookers: is there much chance of BA releasing further award seats in any class between 15-24 December?. Awards are currently sold out and fares are sky high, economy class is going at business class prices.

    • Rob says:

      To where?

      In 3 of the last 5 years BA has had a major panic in early December and started a sale to dump unsold Club World seats.

      • JamesB says:

        SE Asia. Yes, I recall those sales and their dumping reward seats too but I thought they were for flights departing after Xmas. I might just try to lock in anything and replace it later if a sale or more awards come round again this winter.

        • JamesB says:

          Thanks Anthony and Stu, will keep looking and jeep my options open. It is an unexpected trip so T-355 wasn’t an option. I got flight back on 20/1 ok so I am now just looking for outward flight. I can cancel if a decent revenue fare turns up.

    • Anthony Dunn says:

      Remember that BA will offer (for a booking period of only a few days) CW seats, particularly to trans-Atlantic routes – primarily NYC but I think that there are others. These are at a very substantial discount to normal rates ex-LON. The travel period appears to be in the immediate period before, over and after Christmas.

      • Stu N says:

        They did a flash sale in April last year, and another couple in late summer and as rob says November. Good deals too; we got EDI-LHR-JFK in CW plus 4 nights in decent midtown hotel (Melia Innside Nomad) for £3k for 2.

        For Avios they tend to open stuff up around 11-12 months out then (as far as there is any pattern) do further releases approx 6 months and 3 months out as seats are selling (or not)!

  • Clive says:

    Well arrived in Hong Kong on BA and my bag decided to take a detour to Vegas Baby !! Bag was put on a flight to HK via SFO and arrived after we left for Bali so no bag for 4 days. Bag eventually arrived late on day four but still to receive confirmation that bag is here and they will not deliver to hotel so have to collect at the airport. I proactively called the baggage service at the airport and found that my bag had arrived so if I had not done this and went to the airport I would still be without baggage. Now we have bought necessities however apart from compensation for this do you think I should receive additional (Avios) for the inconvenience? Kinds regard P’eed off in Bali

    • JamesB says:

      You need to add that bag to your HHA!

    • Genghis says:

      Worth a try if you can be bothered. My wife’s bag arrived over two days late in CPT last month. Quick travel insurance claim and the money was in our account the week after.

  • Zoe says:

    OT if I have BA Premium card and send my OH a referral and he clicks through then selects the Gold Amex will I still get a referral bonus?

  • John Pagani says:

    I won the the competition but refused the prize because I’m travelling this week so you were absolutely right! It pays to follow hfp!

    • Chris Palmer says:

      There seems to have been at least 3 winners (mentioned in the post and comments)..!

    • Rob says:

      We have told Hilton that they should do an event just for HFP readers, as we hijack them anyway and they would get more PR that way!

  • Genghis says:

    9k avios?

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

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