Qatar Airways opens new lounges in Doha for British Airways Gold and Silver cardholders

Qatar Airways has, out of the blue, announced the addition of three new lounges at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

This follows the opening of the new Qatar Airways frequent flyer lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 which opened in June 2022.

It is a new strategy for Qatar Airways, which up until a year or two ago was happy to allow status passengers without a business class ticket into its main ‘Al Mourjan’ business class lounge at Doha. It then moved to the unbundling of some business class fares which no longer included lounge access of any sort, and began sending status travellers in Economy to the very average Oryx lounge.

The good news is that Qatar’s new status lounges look smart:

Not one, not two, but three new lounges ….

There are three new lounges for frequent flyers at Doha. This may seem excessive but may simply be down to the fact that a larger, single space was unavailable – the capacity numbers are not huge compared to the scale of the airport:

• Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge can accommodate up to 140 passengers
• Qatar Airways Gold Lounge can accommodate up to 85 passengers
• Qatar Airways Silver Lounge can accommodate up to 195 passengers

In total, Qatar’s new lounges can accommodate up to 420 additional passengers.

The Platinum Lounge is open to oneworld Emerald passengers including British Airways Gold members, whilst the Gold lounge is open to oneworld Sapphire and above – equivalent to BA Silver.

Interestingly, Qatar has also opened a Silver Lounge which appears to be for Qatar Privilege Club Silver cardholders only. The oneworld alliance doesn’t mandate lounge access for Ruby status holders (ie. BA Bronze). Whilst Qatar Airways is opening this lounge for its own Privilege Club Silver (oneworld Ruby) members – you cannot get access with a British Airways Executive Club Bronze card.

All the lounges are open 24 hours a day. oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members can guest one additional person to other lounge.

What’s the difference between Qatar’s three new lounges?

The lounges look smart, although so far only a handful of images have been revealed which we’ve included throughout this article. It’s not entirely clear if the Platinum and Silver lounges are differently furnished, for example.

What we do know is that all lounges will feature Diptyque amenities, presumably the same ones that are used in the Al Mourjan lounge and in Qatar’s business class cabin, and that all have “stunning floor-to-ceiling tarmac views”.

Some of the facilities also vary from lounge to lounge:

Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge

The Platinum Lounge is located in Concourse A of Hamad International Airport and features a quiet area, prayer room, bar, restaurant and showers. This lounge is the only one of the three to offer a la carte dining in addition to a buffet service.

Qatar Airways Gold Lounge

One step down is the Gold Lounge, again located in Concourse A. This lounge features family seating, a bar, a dining area, a full buffet dining experience and showers.

Qatar Airways Silver Lounge

Finally, Qatar’s lowest-ranking lounge is the Silver Lounge, located in Concourse B. This lounge has meeting rooms, a family area, a quiet area, buffet dining and baggage storage facilities. If you want a shower, you’re out of luck – you’ll need access to the Gold or Platinum lounges for that.

What are the entry rules for all five of Qatar’s lounges in Doha?

The addition of these frequent flyers means there are now five Qatar Airways-operated lounges in Doha, as well as a number of third party lounges. As a quick recap, here are the entry rules to Qatar’s five lounges:

Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge

The Al Safwa is Qatar Aiways’ most premium lounge. Access is only to Qatar Airways and oneworld First Class ticketed customers. Guests are not permitted. Our latest review of the Al Safwa lounge is here.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge

Next-best is the Al Mourjan business class lounge. This is available to Qatar Airways customers travelling on Elite/Comfort/Classic business class tickets or oneworld business class customers and above. Our latest review of the Al Mourjan lounge is here. You can buy access to this lounge.

Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge

This lounge is for anyone with Qatar Airways Platinum status or oneworld Emerald (eg. BA Gold) who is not flying in business class or first class. You can bring up to one guest. The lounge is on Concourse A.

Qatar Airways Gold Lounge

This lounge is for anyone with Qatar Airways Gold status or oneworld Sapphire (eg. BA Silver) who is not flying in business class or first class. You can bring up to one guest. The lounge is on Concourse A.

Qatar Airways Silver Lounge

This lounge is for anyone with Qatar Airways Silver status or above who is not flying in business or first. It is not open to oneworld Ruby frequent flyers. Only Platinum or Gold members who choose to use this lounge can bring a guest. The lounge is on Concourse B.

I hope that’s clear …..

PS. There is actually another Qatar Airways lounge in Doha – the Mariner Lounge. This is open to ‘eligible seafarers & offshore workers’. It looks surprisingly decent given that it is open to passengers travelling in any class who can show ‘valid documentation’.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

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 Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. 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.

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