British Airways airport lounge openings over Christmas – where can you go?

Which British Airways airport lounges are open over Christmas?

We have got hold of a copy of BA’s internal lounge access guidelines for the Christmas period. The good news for anyone flying First Class is that The Concorde Room is back.

This is what you will find open, and when, in Terminal 5:

• Galleries First – open 5am to 10pm. The terrace area will be available to all passengers, not just ticketed First Class passengers, during those times when the Concorde Room is open.

• Galleries Club South – open 5am to 9pm, passengers to use Galleries First from 9pm to 10pm

• Galleries Club North – open between 17th and 23rd December, and 27th/28th December, from 5am to 2pm

• The Concorde Room – open between 17th and 20th December from 8am to 3pm (First Class ticket holders only, other passengers may be sent there if Galleries First is busy)

All other BA lounges remain closed. It isn’t clear what sort of food and drink service is currently offered.

The two independent lounges in Terminal 5, Club Aspire (buy here) and Plaza Premium (buy here) are also open.

Plaza Premium is by far the best of the two. Remember that it does not accept Priority Pass but you can still get in by flashing your American Express Platinum card at the door. The Club Aspire lounge does accept Priority Pass.

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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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.