Southampton Airport to finally reopen its lounge
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If you have a British Airways weekend flight from Southampton Airport this Summer, there is some good news.
The Spitfire Lounge is finally about to reopen. The airport is hardly pushing the boat out with its opening hours, however:
From 30th April:
Saturday: 05:30 – 15:00
Sunday: 05:30 – 14:00

From 14th May:
Saturday: 05:30 – 12:30
Sunday: 07:00 – 14:30
From 24th May:
Tuesday: 15:30 – 19:30
Saturday: 05:30 – 12:30
Sunday: 07:00 – 14:30
I am guessing that the weekend opening hours are to fit around the British Airways departures. It would be interesting to know what is so special about Tuesday afternoons.
You can access the lounge with Priority Pass (buy one here, get two free entries with Amex Gold or get unlimited free access for four people with Amex Platinum) or DragonPass. The usual access rules apply for passengers on British Airways flights.
Our last review of Southampton Airport’s Spitfire lounge, submitted by a reader, is here.

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (March 2023)
As a reminder, here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit card:

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and unbeatable travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
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.

American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 30th March) and a £200 Amex Travel credit every year Read our full review
If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.
Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

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
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 £20. 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.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review
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.