The much improved Venice Airport lounge for British Airways passengers

When we were flying out of Venice two weeks ago, I was delighted to see that – as part of a major airport redevelopment – the Marco Polo lounge used by British Airways passengers (it is also in Priority Pass and Amex Gold‘s Lounge Club) has been overhauled.

The two photos above and below do not really do it justice.  There is now an outdoor terrace, an indoor Winter garden and decent food, and the variety of seating works well for solo business travellers as well as holidaying families. 

There is even a barista – you are not allowed to make your own coffee.

One other benefit from the redevelopment is that there is now a direct elevated travelator link between the water taxi dock and the terminal.  You do not need to weave your way through the car park in the rain any longer.

If you have been to the Marco Polo lounge in Venice before and been disappointed, I recommend trying it again.

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

As a reminder, here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge 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.

The Platinum Card has doubled its sign-up bonus to 60,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert to 60,000 Avios, if you apply by 1st June 2022.

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.