Where can you fly on British Airways from Terminal 3 for the Qantas and Cathay lounges?

Long time readers of HfP will know that when you are flying from Heathrow Terminal 3 you are spoilt for choice when it comes to airline lounges.

The excellent Qantas lounge (review here) is regarded as one of the best business class lounges in the UK.  You also have the Cathay Pacific lounges (review) which are a great place to go if you have a British Airways Gold card and would like to enjoy free restaurant dining in their First Class lounge. The Business Class part isn’t too bad either.

If that wasn’t enough, American Express has also made Heathrow Terminal 3 its home for one of the first Centurion lounges to open outside the US. This lounge won your vote for ‘Best Independent Airport Lounge’ in the Head for Points Travel & Loyalty Awards 2023.

As well as the amazing Qantas and Cathay Pacific lounges, you can also visit the T3 American Airlines and British Airways Galleries lounges.  These are both perfectly acceptable but not in the same league as the others.  Anyone with Gold Guest List status with British Airways can try the new First Dining Room in the Galleries lounge.

If you have a Priority Pass card, there are also two good independent lounges – Club Aspire (review) and No1 Lounge (review).

Have you flown from Terminal 3 in a while?

All this means that Heathrow Terminal 3 is the place to be if you want to relax in style before a British Airways flight (unless, of course, you can use the BA Concorde Room in Terminal 5.)

Remember that you need to be travelling in Club Europe / Club World to access the lounges, or have a British Airways Silver card or above, or oneworld equivalent.  You will need a BA Gold card or equivalent to access the First Class private dining section of the Cathay Pacific lounge.

You should also note that not all the lounges are open all day, so they may not be an option for very early or late evening flights.

Which British Airways routes operate from Terminal 3?

This list is for the Summer 2024 season, for flights from the end of March until the end of October. It is based on official British Airways documents.

You can also access these lounges with a business class flight on any other oneworld airline using Terminal 3.  A very attractive option would be the handful of Finnair’s Helsinki flights which use the new A350 long-haul aircraft which I reviewed here.  Book yourself in business class, for cash or Avios, and you can check out the new Terminal 3 lounges and then fly to Helsinki on a flat bed!

Note that this list is correct as of the time of writing but some routes may move between terminals at short notice or may operate across different terminals at different times in the Summer season.

British Airways short-haul and mid-haul routes from Terminal 3:

• Billund
• Bucharest
• Budapest
• Figari
• Gibraltar
• Gothenburg
• Krakow
• Ljubljana
• Luxembourg
• Lyon
• Marseille
• Olbia
• Oslo
• Perugia
• Prague
• Pula
• Sofia
• Stuttgart
• Valencia
• Vienna
• Zagreb

British Airways long-haul routes from Terminal 3:

• Accra
• Atlanta
• Austin
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Cayman Islands
• Las Vegas
• Phoenix
• Sao Paulo
• Turks and Caicos
• Vancouver

Which lounge should you visit in Terminal 3?

I selflessly spent a day touring the various lounges in Terminal 3, and you can read my final rankings here.

If you have a British Airways Executive Club Gold card or are flying in First Class, the obvious choice is the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge, reviewed here. You can also visit the American Airlines First lounge, review here. Or why not try both?

If you have a British Airways Executive Club Silver card, it is a toss up between the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge, reviewed here and image above, and the Qantas London Lounge, reviewed here. Of course, you can try both – plus the British Airways and American Airlines lounges too.

If you don’t have status but do have an American Express Platinum card, you can visit The Centurion Lounge, reviewed here.

If you don’t have any status but do have a Priority Pass, there is a No1 Lounge in Terminal 3, reviewed here. You can guarantee entry by paying £6 to reserve a spot via this website. Bookings for cash can be made here. There is also a Club Aspire lounge in Priority Pass, review here, which can also be pre-booked.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

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

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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