Bits: BA Gatwick lounge closes in January, Virgin removes infant seats, new Amex cashback deals

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News in brief:

British Airways Gatwick lounge to close in January

British Airways confirmed yesterday that its lounge at Gatwick will close in January. This is to enable work to begin on a new lounge pavilion in time for the consolidation of easyJet flights in Gatwick North next November.

At that time, British Airways will move to Gatwick South and into a new lounge complex. It is believed that this will feature the new ‘Concorde Bar’ concept for ticketed First Class passengers instead of a Galleries First lounge for Gold card holders.

Between January and November, British Airways will not have a lounge at Gatwick. Customers will be invited to use the No 1 Traveller lounge instead. Whilst currently full to capacity on most days – to the extent that Priority Pass customers are often turned away – work being done at present is intended to lead to additional space.

There are still various questions to be answered. Will the No 1 Traveller cap of three hours per visit remain? Will BA guests be able to have premium drinks and food for free, unlike standard No 1 Traveller clients? Will BA passengers have a dedicated room in the lounge? We will find out in January.

Virgin Atlantic to stop carrying car seats for infants

Virgin Atlantic announced yesterday that it will not carry infant car seats onboard from December 1st.

If you have booked a seat for an infant under 2, you will need to bring your own car seat. If you do not bring one, the infant will still be allowed to use the seat booked for it but not during take off, landing and turbulence.

Upper Class customers have never been able to use a car seat for an infant because of the air bags contained in the seats and this policy will continue.

To accompany this story, here is a photo of me at work on a Virgin Atlantic check in desk, for reasons that will become clearer later in the week …..

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New American Express statement offers

Finally, three new American Express statement cashback offers have been launched. Some, all or none of these will be available for registration under the ‘Offers’ tab of your online statement.

South African Airways – spend £500, get £100 (valid to March 21st)

House of Fraser – spend £70, get £10 (valid to November 1st)

Fat Face – spend £50, get £10 (expires, at a guess, on November 1st)

None of these are yet available for general registration on the cardmemberoffers.co.uk website.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

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

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending: