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British Airways changes its lounge access rules for Easter

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British Airways has changed its lounge access rules over Easter, but only for Gold members.  Although, oddly, neither my wife nor I were emailed about this although some Gold members were.

Until 15th April, a Gold member can bring up to five extra guests.

There is a snag though – you need to use Galleries Club and not Galleries First, which also means that Heathrow travellers cannot use the private security line at the First Wing.  At Heathrow Terminal 3, you cannot use fast-track security either.

The offer is only valid at Heathrow and Gatwick.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

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

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

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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 an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

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.

Comments (86)

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

  • TGLoyalty says:

    Yes 3k but do not add during application only once you have the card.

    Also cancel it before any upgrade to plat as you can claim another 5k for adding a supp

  • Lloyd says:

    OT, I’m wanting to book a premium economy seat from Manchester to Hong Kong via Vienna with Lufthansa/Austrian, however, with the change to Miles&More going revenue based, it means where this would once have earned me 13,596 miles, it will now only earn me 3152 miles if I book it direct with Lufthansa. I understand that if I book through an online travel agent I may still earn miles under the old system, as I will if I book through a partner airline. However, I can’t find a star alliance partner who will let me book this route, and not sure about which online travel agents are reputable, and will credit miles under the old system. Any ideas?

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

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