Best UK credit cards for airport lounge access

Travel can sometimes be tiring and uncomfortable, which is why many UK travellers like to make use of airport lounges. They offer comfort, private space and a chance for relaxation before your flight, along with free refreshments, Wi-Fi and often other facilities like showers or sleeping pods.

You can access airport lounges by buying passes or upgrading to premium tickets for your flight, but did you know you can also get in using your credit card?

Below, we’ll run through 6 of the best UK credit cards offering airport lounge access, with details of fees, interest rates and anything else you need to know.

We’ll also show you a travel-friendly alternative - the Wise card. It’s not a credit card and doesn’t offer airport lounge access but it’s an international debit card linked to your Wise account.

You can use it for spending in 150+ countries worldwide, automatically converting your pounds to the local currency at the great mid-market exchange rate, only adding a tiny, transparent conversion fee*.

💳 Learn more about the Wise card

6 of the best UK credit cards for airport lounge access

There are only a few UK credit cards which offer airport lounge access as a perk. Most tend to be premium cards, which may mean a monthly/annual fee or a hard-to-meet eligibility threshold - or potentially both.

Here’s an at-a-glance look at your options:

Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®¹

The Santander World Elite Mastercard is only for Santander Select and Private Banking customers, so you’ll need to meet the eligibility conditions to open one of those accounts as well as passing the usual credit card checks.

If successful though, you’ll get a card which offers access to more than 1,400 airport lounges via LoungeKey. It isn’t free, but you’ll only pay a flat fee of £24 per person for each visit.

Other features and perks include:

• Mastercard® Airport Security Fast Track
• Global data roaming with Flexiroam
• Discounts on Santander travel insurance
• 0.5% cashback (max. £15 a month) on all purchases
• No foreign transaction fees.

The card costs £15 a month, and has a representative APR of 49.8% (variable). The rate for purchases is 18.9% (variable).

Barclaycard Avios Plus Card²

The Barclaycard Avios Plus Card offers access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide for a discounted charge of £20.50 per person, per visit. It’s offered through partners DragonPass and Assurant. You can also pre-book your spot in a lounge for an additional £6 per person.

The credit card has other travel perks too, including:

• Collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 you spend on eligible purchases
• A welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 in the first 3 months
• Get a cabin upgrade voucher if you spend £10,000 in a year.

There are no specific eligibility conditions (apart from the usual credit rating checks) but the card has a monthly fee of £20. The representative APR is 80.1% (variable), with a purchase rate of 29.9% APR (variable).

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card³

The first of two Amex cards on our list, the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card offers 4 free airport lounge passes a year to cardholders. You can access over 1,300 Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide.

Other perks of the card include:

• Welcome bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend £3,000 in the first three months of having the card
• Earn 1 Membership Reward point for every £1 of eligible spending
• £10 a month cashback from Deliveroo
• Exclusive access to Amex Experiences and Amex Offers
• Travel Accident and Travel Inconvenience Insurance.

The card has a fee of £195 a year, but it's free for the first year. The representative APR is 87.3% (variable) and the APR for purchases is 30% (variable). To get the card, you’ll need to have an annual income of at least £20,000.

American Express Platinum Card⁴

Another travel-friendly card from Amex, the American Express Platinum Card offers free and unlimited access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide with Priority Pass. You can bring one guest with you on each visit for no extra cost.

The card also offers:

• Welcome bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend £6,000 in the first three months of having the card
• Earn Membership Reward points on eligible spending
• Up to £200 in Global Dining statement credits
• Up to £100 Harvey Nichols lifestyle credit
• Hotel benefits, including room upgrades
• Exclusive access to Amex Experiences and Amex Offers
• Worldwide travel insurance.

However, there is a rather hefty fee of £650 a year to pay in return for all of these benefits. The representative APR is also a whopping 694.9% (variable), with a 30% variable rate on purchases. Eligibility for the card is limited to applicants who earn at least £35,000 a year.

HSBC Premier Credit Card⁵

The first of two HSBC credit cards offering airport lounge access, the HSBC Premier Credit Card is the only one on our list with no monthly or annual fee.

Cardholders get access to over 1,600 airport lounges with Priority Pass, paying a flat fee of £24 per person, per visit.

Other benefits include:

• Rewards points on eligible spending, with extra points for spending in other currencies
• Swap points for shopping vouchers, air miles, hotel stays or fine wines
• Discounts at Expedia and Agoda hotels
• 24/7 worldwide assistance.

The card has a representative APR of 23.9%, and the same rate for purchases. To apply, you need to have an HSBC Premier Account.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard⁶

Last but by no means least, we have the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard. This offers free unlimited access to over 1,600 airport lounges worldwide with Priority Pass. This extends to both the main cardholder and any additional cardholders.

Other benefits include:

• Rewards points on eligible spending, with extra points for spending in other currencies
• Spend points at airline, hotel, travel and leisure partners
• Airport security fast track
• Discounts at Expedia and Agoda hotels
• 24/7 worldwide assistance.

In return for all of these perks, there’s an annual fee of £290 to pay. The representative APR is an eye-watering 100.2% (variable), with a 29.9% variable rate on purchases. To apply for the card, you’ll need to be an HSBC Premier Account holder.

Get the Wise card for international spending and cash withdrawals

Looking for an alternative for holiday spending? Check out the Wise card. It isn’t a credit card and doesn’t offer airport lounge access, but is a fantastic option for low-cost spending and cash withdrawals worldwide.

Open a Wise account online and you can order the Wise card for a one-time fee of £7 or get the virtual Wise card for £0. You can use this clever card in 150+ countries. It automatically converts your pounds to local currency whenever you spend using the mid-market exchange rate, only adding a tiny, transparent conversion fee* – or it’s free if you already have the local currency in your Wise account.

Need cash? You also get two free ATM withdrawals for up to 200 GBP (or currency equivalent) each month. Wise will not charge you for these withdrawals, but additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks.

And if you need to send money overseas, such as to pay expenses on a holiday home or book a hotel, you can use your Wise account to do it in just a few clicks.

Sign up with Wise for free 🚀

After reading this, you should have a better idea of what’s out there in terms of UK credit cards offering airport lounge access.

It’s probably not worth paying a high annual fee just for the lounge access, but if you’ll use all of the other travel perks and benefits - it could end up being decent value.

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 28-May-2025