News: British Airways reroutes Buenos Aires, get airport takeaway via Priority Pass

News in brief:

British Airways reroutes Buenos Aires flights

A heads up that British Airways will, for the Winter 2023 season starting in late October, be operating the Buenos Aires route via Rio de Janeiro.

Last Winter, the route operated via Sao Paulo.

It’s worth noting that Iberia flies up to twice per day to Buenos Aires in Winter. These are non-stop flights from Madrid on a new A350 aircraft and may be a better option versus sitting around in Rio during the stop.

IAG’s low cost long-haul carrier LEVEL will also fly from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, with nine flights per week from November.

Order an airport takeaway with the Priority Pass app!

Airport lounge card operator Priority Pass is continuing to expand its offering, although this new service is …. different.

You can now use the Priority Pass app to order ‘food to go’ from 485 restaurants in 44 airports across the UK and US.

Participating UK airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester and Glasgow.

It is important to note upfront that the food is not free. You don’t get any sort of discount for having a Priority Pass. It is simply a new feature that is available via their app for anyone willing to pay.

To order, open the Priority Pass app and search for an airport in the same way as if you were looking for lounge information.

For Heathrow Terminal 2, for example, you can order from:

• Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen
• Caviar House & Prunier Seafood Bar
• Leon
• The Queens Arms
• Wondertree
• YO! Sushi

Once you’ve selected a restaurant you can pick and pay for your dishes in a similar way to using Deliveroo etc.

I can see some value in this, especially if you are running late or stuck in a slow moving security queue. The issue is that, as this is all ‘to go’, you will need to find somewhere in the main terminal to sit – not always easy – and for many people having somewhere to sit is a key reason for visiting an airport restaurant.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (June 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 13th June, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card is doubled to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – and you get £200 to spend at Amex Travel too! 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 £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 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.