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British Airways lounge at Edinburgh Airport to close on Sunday for refurbishment

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The British Airways lounge upgrade programme, which has recently seen the Heathrow Terminal 5B lounge get an overhaul and new furniture added to Galleries First, is heading north.

The (surprisingly large) BA lounge at Edinburgh Airport will close on Sunday for three weeks for refurbishment.

This isn’t a bad lounge – the sheer size of it means that you can usually find somewhere quiet to sit and there is enough variety of furnishings to keep both business and leisure passengers happy.

Our 2022 review of the British Airways Edinburgh lounge is here – we might pop back after Christmas to see what is new.

British Airways could not confirm which lounge would be used as the alternative, although it appears to be the Aspire lounge by Gate 4, as this is currently unavailable for cash bookings. Our recent 2023 review of the Aspire lounge by Gate 4 (there are two Aspire lounges so make sure you head to the right one) is here.

If you have a Priority Pass airport lounge club card, I would recommend the Plaza Premium lounge (review here) instead which is a far more pleasant space.

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Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five 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 1,500 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee 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 £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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

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 £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (107)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • SydneySwan says:
    25 Nov25 November 06:12

    BA refunds must be handled by the same company that Qantas outsources to.

  • AndrewF says:
    25 Nov25 November 06:26

    I had a more positive experience with compensation timings – 07 Oct NCE-LHR flight cancelled due to aircraft damage. Rebooked onto the first flight on 08 Oct.

    Claim submitted on 09 Oct for food, accommodation and extra parking costs. Claim settled on 30 Oct and money in my account on 03 November.

    I was surprisingly impressed!

  • Dace says:
    25 Nov25 November 06:35

    Slightly OT. However, is there any indication of when Amex will be scrapping the pro-rata refund?

  • Jimbo says:
    25 Nov25 November 06:56

    Sorry to hear they did this to a minor travelling on her own. That’s definitely worth a complaint to the very top.
    BA customer services responding to comp, missing tier points etc etc are a disgrace. I’m continually getting emails apologising for the delay. I’ve had three separate issues since July. Not one resolved. I’m glad I’m nowhere near my tier renewal as the system cannot do basic arithmetic – it’s poor calculation has left be 200 tier points short of silver for next June’s renewal. 2 Comp issues are still outstanding too. It’s unacceptable

  • Jamie says:
    25 Nov25 November 06:57

    I’ve had a number of claims with BA this year and have consistently found that those involving downgrades take significantly longer to settle than claims for just cancellations or delays.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
    25 Nov25 November 07:14

    75%?

    For a flight the length of GVA – LHR it should have been 30!

    On payment of claims I would say general advice is to keep it very simple. The more waffle people write the harder it is for an agent to work out what the problem is.

    They don’t need to know it’s a special flight for your significant birthday and you’re never flying BA again. They just need to know the flight details and that’s it!

    • JDB says:
      25 Nov25 November 07:55

      Yes, it should have been 30%, not 75% and in fact on these short flights you will generally get a bit more by asking for the difference rather than the UK261 percentage.

  • James says:
    25 Nov25 November 07:24

    For the downgrade, the regulation specifies it should be paid within 7 days (Article 10)

    If an operating air carrier places a passenger in a class lower than that for which the ticket was purchased, it shall within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), reimburse:

    I think we can accept maybe a small delay, but 15 weeks rather than 1 is a bit of a joke. Clearly the regulator not interested or else they should be taking enforcement action against such blatant breaches of the rules.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      25 Nov25 November 09:11

      I understand that the CAA does not have the necessary enforcement powers.

      A regulator can’t enfoce if it dosen’t have the legal power to enforce.

      • meta says:
        25 Nov25 November 10:11

        The courts do have power. I have managed BA to agree on interest recently for downgrade recently on the basis that they didn’t send me monies within 7 days. It’s really silly amounts, but at least they had to pay something.

  • ABA says:
    25 Nov25 November 07:25

    Rob’s experience is in line with mine when a flight was cancelled in Feb 23 and the compensation payment was made in May 23. I did receive an email to state the amount with a note to say I don’t have to do anything if I am in agreement with the amount offered and they’ll pay within 48 hrs or so, which they did.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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