British Airways vs Aspire – which is the best lounge in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?

A couple of weeks ago I ran a review from reader Alison on the two new(-ish) lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol – the British Airways lounge and the Aspire lounge.

I got the chance to try both myself last week.  The first thing to note is that the huge diversionary route to the lounges, caused by building work, has been drastically reduced.  There is still a diversion in place but it only adds 1-2 minutes to the walk.

The second thing to note is that the lounge is on the way to the BA gate (usually D26).  Whilst it is a long walk to the lounge and then a whopping 9 minute walk – even with my long legs – from the lounge to the gate, you need to do this walk whether or not you visit the lounge.  The extra time taken to divert upstairs is modest by comparison.

Inside the British Airways lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol airport

Let’s look at the British Airways lounge first.  The good news is that everything is brand new, as you would expect.  There is also a lot of light and views of the apron, eg:

and

and

Let’s not talk about food.  This is all they had at 2pm in terms of fresh food:

although there was no shortage of drink:

There are no computers, if that is important to you.

Inside the Aspire lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol airport

In need of sustenance, I hit the Aspire lounge next door.  You can get in with a Priority Pass (free with Amex Platinum) or a Lounge Club (two free visits with Amex Gold) card, or with cash.

The first thing you realise is that this lounge is b-i-g.  Big, light and, obviously, with all-new furnishings.

and

The mid-afternoon fresh food offering was better than British Airways (not hard!).  There were also a series of hot food trays which gave me the impression that more substantial food would have been available in the evening.

Good news – they have stroopwafels as well.

Bad news – the newspaper and magazine selection is woeful:

There are a number of computers to use.  These are, oddly, chargeable.  However, they are part of the Boingo network so if you have an American Express Platinum card registered with Boingo, as I do, you can use that log-in and not pay.  Wi-fi is free.

Overall, the only reason to visit the British Airways lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol is to get a British newspaper.  Once you’ve done that, there is very little reason to hang around if you have access to the Aspire lounge.

To be honest, if I was BA and had seen the plans for the Aspire lounge, I wouldn’t have bothered building my own.  Aspire could have added in the space being used by British Airways and BA could have saved the capital expenditure.  Instead, BA appears to have blown its budget on the building work with no money left for food!

If you are planning to visit the Aspire lounge and do not have a Priority Pass, your best option is to book in advance and guarantee admission via the Aspire website here.

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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 and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here. 

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20.  You get two 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

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

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.