The much improved Venice Airport lounge for British Airways passengers

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When we were flying out of Venice two weeks ago, I was delighted to see that – as part of a major airport redevelopment – the Marco Polo lounge used by British Airways passengers (it is also in Priority Pass and Amex Gold‘s Lounge Club) has been overhauled.

The two photos above and below do not really do it justice. There is now an outdoor terrace, an indoor Winter garden and decent food, and the variety of seating works well for solo business travellers as well as holidaying families.

There is even a barista – you are not allowed to make your own coffee.

One other benefit from the redevelopment is that there is now a direct elevated travelator link between the water taxi dock and the terminal. You do not need to weave your way through the car park in the rain any longer.

If you have been to the Marco Polo lounge in Venice before and been disappointed, I recommend trying it again.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Benylin says:

11 Sep11 September 12:25

OT: 1Y anniversary coming up, any recommendations for a nice hotel to book? I am looking for a luxury or 5* hotel, or best that I can get for £150-180. I am in London with car so can travel an hour or 2.
- Rob says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 12:32
  
  Not sure how much Four Seasons Hampshire is midweek (very pricey at weekends) but room-only, with Emyr booking it so you get free breakfast and $75 of hotel spend credit, would be a good deal if the pricing worked. Potential for low £200s.
  
  Whilst you’re not going far, I have a soft spot for Hilton Syon Park but it is only pseudo countryside – and is attached to a garden centre!
  
  Chewton Glen, The Grove, Whatley Manor (Wiltshire, no kids) worth a look but, again, would need to be midweek to avoid the weekend price surge.
- Chris says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:10
  
  Personal soft spot for Hanbury Manor (Marriott)
- Cat says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 17:59
  
  I second both Hanbury Manor and Syon Park. If you like spas, Pennyhill Park…
- Nick Burch says:
  
  12 Sep12 September 08:33
  
  The Crowne Plaza at Heythrope Park in Oxfordshire (about 15 mins drive north of Oxford) is pretty nice, solid 4* rather than 5* but decent restaurant, fairly good spa, lovely huge grounds. May also help with your accelerate targets too!
  
  If you want a huge spa but only average hotel, Whittlebury Hall near Silverstone is another option, and you may be able to get a good spa+hotel+dinner package from them or from a spa break reseller
TripRep says:

11 Sep11 September 13:14

OT: Hilton Leeds

Any folks stayed there or the DT, doesn’t look like either has an exec lounge…
- MattK says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 14:29
  
  Neither have a lounge. I stayed in Hilton Leeds recently for 1 night. Got an upgrade to a suite, assume courtesy of my diamond status, as I didn’t as for an upgrade. A complimentary gin and tonic in the room.
  
  Didn’t rate the air con, it seemed pretty inefficient.
  
  Fine but not an overwhelmingly great hotel.
  - TripRep says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 15:54
    
    Thanks Matt, also considering the Radisson Blu aswell
  - Genghis says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 16:23
    
    Hilton Leeds is a dump. V good kippers for breakfast though.
- Clive says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 17:00
  
  Marriott has a lounge and is a slightly better location. Stayed at the Hilton and it is fine for an overnight but beds leave alot to be desired. Ask for a drink voucher when you check in as they don’t hand them out.
- johnny_c-l says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 18:46
  
  I prefer Hilton Leeds to the Doubletree despite it being old. Diamond upgrades are good and service is quicker than the Doubletree. Food (incl. breakfast) is best avoided.
Hsergio10 says:

11 Sep11 September 14:25

OT:Emirates is offering up to $1000 Discount If Flight is Paid By Any American Express Card From U.S. Gateway (*)

Save on qualifying round-trip flights with Emirates after you book and pay with any American Express® Card from August 26, 2018, through December 31, 2018, for travel September 1, 2018, through May 31, 2019. Use the promotion code EKAMEX2.

Depart from any Emirates gateway in the U.S., travel to the Emirates destination of your choice, and receive:

• $50 off Economy Class fares
• $300 off Business Class fares
• $1,000 off First Class fares

(*)Offer valid when you pay with any American Express® Credit or Charge Card.

a US colleague forwarded this to me. Hope it helps
Benylin says:

11 Sep11 September 14:45

OT:
What airline & hotel partners apart from BA and Emirates lets you pool points? Is there a way to pool Marriott?

My entire family have points now on the Amex gold that I’m trying to pool now and just assessing my options.
- Stu N says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 15:02
  
  Marriot by phone, relatively low limit which is waived if you need them for a booking. Also Hilton that you can do online. Not sure about any others.
- Bagoly says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 16:37
  
  Mlies & More, but only if registered to an address in DACH (Germany , Austria, Switzerland)
- Rob says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 17:56
  
  Hilton lets you pool, Marriott lets you transfer up to 100k per year between people.
  - tom1 says:
    
    11 Sep11 September 21:59
    
    isn’t Hilton ‘pooling’ just transferring between accounts?
    I have done it a few times recently and I just entered the account number I was transferring to and their email address. went through next working day in all cases.
    - Rob says:
      
      12 Sep12 September 00:39
      
      Yes, they call it pooling but in reality that’s what it is. Which is handy as my Mrs was in one last night and I want her (double) points!
Pug206 says:

11 Sep11 September 15:26

Does availability of Cathay cash flights to Hong Kong generally mean that Avios seats on those flights will also be released/available too?

Final destination is Denpasar via HKG. I know other alternatives are available but really would like to fly Cathay in PE. Conversation with BA call centre ended with me being fobbed off with Cathay reward seats haven’t been released, keep trying. Groan!

Any tips on how to nab Cathay award seats pls and do I have to be an Air Asia member to view reward availability on Cathay website?

TIA
- Crafty says:
  
  11 Sep11 September 18:30
  
  Out of curiosity why are you keen on Cathay PE? We were discussing it on here yesterday. It’s an option for at least 2 of us for upcoming trips. Previously the person who had travelled said it was nothing special.
  - Pug206 says:
    
    12 Sep12 September 10:14
    
    Reviews suggest it’s a better product than BA.
Rickers says:

11 Sep11 September 16:18

Hey Rob, thanks for highlighting the new card offers on Amex; I seldom look at these unless prompted, but not only did my Gold account show me the 400 MR Points for £10 Tesco spend offer, it also offered me 500 MR Points if I spend £10 in Boots.
Neither of these targets will be difficult to achieve !!!
Chris says:

11 Sep11 September 17:23

OT: has anyone been able to confirm whether the £100 back on £500 Hilton US in store spend works when buying online?
Hugh says:

11 Sep11 September 18:26

There’s a spend £10 in Boots get 500 MR in my list of AMEX offers, in addition to the Tesco spend £10 get 400 MR