Four impressive airport lounges you can visit with your Barclaycard DragonPass

This article is been sponsored by Barclaycard

Since October, holders of the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card have been able to buy airport lounge passes at a reduced rate of £18.50.

The discount is being offered in conjunction with DragonPass, the lounge aggregator, under its ‘DragonPass Premier+’ offering.

DragonPass, like other lounge aggregators, has access to over a thousand lounges worldwide. This includes some great independent lounges as well as some airline-branded lounges which are open to all passengers outside of the airline’s own flights.

One of the benefits of DragonPass over other lounge aggregators such as Priority Pass is that it has access to Plaza Premium lounges. Plaza Premium operates some great independent lounges all over the world, but a few years ago it cut ties with Priority Pass. Fortunately, you can continue to access these lounges using DragonPass.

Barclaycard challenged us to find four of the best lounges you can access using your DragonPass membership. These are all lounges I have visited personally and consider some of the best independent airport lounges out there.

Get four free lounge passes if you add Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards

There is now an additional lounge pass benefit for anyone who holds both a Premier Banking Current Account with Barclays Avios Rewards and the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

You will receive four free lounge passes to use at anywhere in the DragonPass network, per year. This is worth £74: £18.50 per guest x 4

Your ‘year’ is counted from the date you open the second qualifying Barclays product – either Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards or the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card. This becomes your membership anniversary.

Each pass gives one person access to a participating lounge. You can use your passes as you wish as long as you are travelling – either for yourself, on four separate trips, or for yourself and to guest anyone you are travelling with.

You can also use these passes for additional benefits such as a meal voucher or spa treatment in some locations.

Here are four European recommendations of mine from the DragonPass offering:

Plaza Premium Gatwick North

Plaza Premium recently took over the former Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Gatwick and has converted it to its own brand of lounge. This is an impressive space – bright, spacious and lavishly furnished, it’s easy to see where the money was spent.

As the top floor of Gatwick North’s lounge pavilion it features dual aspect floor-to-ceiling windows, whilst a marble bar sits at its centre. This isn’t your usual rectangular lounge. For example, forest green booths are scalloped out of a curving wall and a delicate chandelier hangs above the bar.

Aberdeen Northern Lights Lounge

Aberdeen is not, ahem, somewhere you would expect to find a high-quality airport lounge and yet, somehow, it does. Table service, a la carte dining – it has it all, and outclasses lounges in many major airports.

The lounge is particularly good for any Whisk(e)y fanatics, with an extensive collection behind the bar.

All the better, you can enjoy the view of massive helicopters taking off for North Sea oil rigs whilst you wait from the big windows. That’s not a sight you can see at most airports!

The Vienna Lounge (extra charge)

There’s an extra charge for The Vienna Lounge in, you guessed it, Vienna Airport, but in my opinion it’s worth it. Just an extra €5 gets you into what is undoubtedly one of the best airport lounges in Europe.

Inspired by Viennese cafes, this is a big facility, but it never feels like it. It has been thoughtful partitioned into unique spaces; some more private than others, with a range of burgundy and teal leather seating.

Prints of Klimt and Schiele adorn the walls in a partnership with the Leopold Museum, who genuinely hand-picked each and every piece. There’s a large outdoor terrace, showers, a TV lounge, plus a large conference room and board room that can be booked by the hour.

After spending close to five hours in the lounge due to a delayed flight I can say I wish all airports had lounges like this one.

Plaza Premium Edinburgh

One of Plaza Premium’s newest lounges, the Edinburgh lounge is an excellent showcase of Plaza Premium at its best. Featuring lots of natural light, the space is carefully divided into various zones.

An overflow room is available for private hire and can be turned into a first class lounge or dedicated to a particular airline, whilst a large children’s playroom ensures other guests are not disturbed.

You can enjoy cocktails, wines and other spirits at the Edinburgh Gin Bar whilst British classics such as fish and chips, chicken tikka masala and shepherds pie are available at the self serve buffet.