British Airways airport lounge openings over Christmas – where can you go?

Which British Airways airport lounges are open over Christmas?

We have got hold of a copy of BA’s internal lounge access guidelines for the Christmas period. The good news for anyone flying First Class is that The Concorde Room is back.

This is what you will find open, and when, in Terminal 5:

• Galleries First – open 5am to 10pm. The terrace area will be available to all passengers, not just ticketed First Class passengers, during those times when the Concorde Room is open.

• Galleries Club South – open 5am to 9pm, passengers to use Galleries First from 9pm to 10pm

• Galleries Club North – open between 17th and 23rd December, and 27th/28th December, from 5am to 2pm

• The Concorde Room – open between 17th and 20th December from 8am to 3pm (First Class ticket holders only, other passengers may be sent there if Galleries First is busy)

All other BA lounges remain closed. It isn’t clear what sort of food and drink service is currently offered.

The two independent lounges in Terminal 5, Club Aspire (buy here) and Plaza Premium (buy here) are also open.

Plaza Premium is by far the best of the two. Remember that it does not accept Priority Pass but you can still get in by flashing your American Express Platinum card at the door. The Club Aspire lounge does accept Priority Pass.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

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

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

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 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

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

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

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

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

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:

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

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

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)