Norwegian drops lounge access for flyers in the Norwegian Premium cabin

Norwegian has quietly removed lounge access for the majority of its Premium customers.

As posted by a HfP reader yesterday, it turns out that the rules were changed on 21st December. 

From that point, only customers booking refundable PremiumFlex tickets have had lounge access included in their ticket.  This will presumably cut the number of lounge visitors by about 80%.

Here is the current list of perks by seat type from the Norwegian website:

The timing is odd.  The new My Lounge at Gatwick South, which I reviewed yesterday, is heavily branded ‘The home of Norwegian’ but will now have very few Norwegian customers using it.

Norwegian is saying that anyone who booked a Premium ticket before 21st December will still get lounge access, but you will need to visit a check-in counter to pick up a paper invitation.  Hand-baggage only customers cannot simply turn up at the lounge and gain access.

Whilst this is understandable given Norwegian’s financial issues, it removes a key point of difference between Norwegian Premium, Virgin Atlantic Premium and British Airways World Traveller Plus.

I would still recommend Norwegian Premium, purely because you get a bigger and better seat but the other perks seem to be withering away.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2023)

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 Plaza Premium, Delta Air Lines and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

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 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey 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.

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