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Can I use Cathay Pacific airport lounges with a British Airways Silver or Gold card?

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A question I am often asked is whether you can use Cathay Pacific lounges if you have a British Airways Gold, Silver or Bronze status card – especially their excellent lounges in London Heathrow Terminal 3.

Lounge access is one of the perks that many people aspire too when the travel. Nothing beats escaping the crowds of a busy terminal and settling down with some free wine or champagne before a long flight.

Can I use Cathay Pacific airport lounges with a British Airways Silver or Gold card?

Your entitlement to lounge access already depends on what status you hold, even with British Airways’ own lounges. Bronze members are not entitled to lounge access whilst Silver and Gold members are.

Executive Club Silver status is the equivalent to oneworld Sapphire tier, allowing you to access the oneworld equivalent business class lounges, for example. This includes Cathay Pacific business class lounges across its entire network, of which there is one at Heathrow Terminal 3.

Gold card holders can also access first class lounges. Cathay Pacific first class lounges have an excellent reputation and come with a la carte dining – something the British Airways Galleries First lounge doesn’t have. Many British Airways Gold card holders prefer using the Cathay Pacific First Class offerings when they can – they have one in Heathrow Terminal 3, so travellers on British Airways flights from Terminal 3 can experience a real treat.

You can see our review of the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge at London Heathrow here.  Our review of the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge at London Heathrow is here.

Our recent Hong Kong lounge reviews are here:

You can check out the global network of lounges which you can enter with your British Airways status on the oneworld alliance website here.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) and NO FX fees Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

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

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

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