NEWS & OFFERS: The Concorde Dining Room DXB in Pictures, Free ITA to Miles & More Status Match & Become an Avios Millionaire

First Pictures of the New Dubai British Airways Lounge

On Wednesday, we brought you details on the newly opened BA Dubai lounge. Now, we have some photos to share with you!

The lounge is the latest to open as part of British Airways’ global refresh programme, following upgrades in Washington, Singapore, Heathrow Terminal 5B and more. The fresh design concept includes new bars, bespoke furniture, improved menus, and local touches.

A very modern entrance The lounge is open to Club World passengers and to BA Silver or Gold members (Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald). An exclusive Concorde Room section is reserved for First Class travellers and Gold Guest List status holders.

The Concorde Dining Room

This exclusive area has six booths and two lounge areas. The spot feels premium and much more private than the rest of the lounge. You’ll find European Oak flooring and Nero Marble finishes.

There’s room for around 20 passengers, and it doesn’t feel crowded. Unlike the other section of the lounge, the Concorde section has the option of à la carte dining rather than a buffet.

The staff are incredibly attentive and the food is delicious. On the menu, you’ll find some local touches, such as the Mesee Platter and some familiar items like the Concorde Burger.

The wine list is also impressive, with Champagne at the front and centre. There’s something to suit almost everyone.

You can also see some of the selection on display.

All in all, this lounge is much better than the old lounge, which was getting rather tired and was extremely crowded at particular times of day.

British Airways’ Chief Customer Officer, Calum Laming, said:

“We announced our £7bn transformation programme last year and promised to improve the customer experience both on the ground and in the air. Across our global network we have 28 lounges in 20 airports that all play a huge part in our customers’ journeys, so we’re committed to offering the very best experience.

“Just like our customers and colleagues, each lounge is unique. Customers can expect to see nods to our British heritage blended seamlessly with features that celebrate the locality of the destination. We’ve worked with local designers, artists, and suppliers across the globe to ensure that each lounge has its own British Original personality – and we can’t wait to unveil more.”

Thanks to JJ Thakkar and Jamie Smith for letting us share these images

Free ITA Volare to Lufthansa Status Match

Lufthansa has just launched a fantastic free status match for ITA Volare status holders. You can apply via statusmatch.com until 28th February 2027.

As Lufthansa is part of the Star Alliance, you’ll enjoy alliance-wide benefits.

Here’s how your status matches up:

There are no flight requirements for this match. However, you will not be eligible if you have previously matched Miles&More status or if you have Volare status from a previous match.

Status usually shows in your Miles & More account within 10 Business days of approval, although early feedback suggests it’s more like 1 day.

Keep in mind that you will not receive the eVoucher benefit you would normally have with earned Senator status,

To apply, just fill out the form on statusmatch.com – apply here. Make sure you have signed up for a Miles & More account and have your membership numbers from both loyalty programmes to hand. You’ll also need proof of your Volare status.

Miles & More + Star Alliance Status

As a Frequent Traveller, you’ll benefit from up to 50% more miles, Business Class lounge access with Lufthansa Group airlines, extra baggage allowance (1 in Economy, 2 in Premium Economy and Business, 3 in First), plus access to Business Class check-in desks.

When flying with Star Alliance carriers, your Star Alliance Silver status adds priority reservations, waitlist and priority airport standby. While the Star Alliance benefits are fairly limited at this point, the Lufthansa benefits are 100% worth having.

If you’re able to match to Miles & More Senator Status, you’ll have a range of extra benefits. Highlights include lounge access across the Star Alliance, priority boarding, complimentary advance seat reservations with Lufthansa Group airlines, and a booking guarantee 48 hours prior to departure.

As a Star Alliance Gold, you’ll have priority check-in and baggage handling, Gold track, and the highest waitlist priority.

You’ll also receive complimentary First Class upgrades for you + one guest on the Heathrow Express. Even if you don’t need Star Alliance status, this benefit alone is worth applying for.

Status is valid until 28th February 2027. To extend beyond that, you must requalify by 31st December 2026.

Requalification

To requalify, you must meet the usual Tier Point earning thresholds. At least half of the Tier Points earned must be ‘Qualifying Points’, which means they must be earned by flying on a Lufthansa Group airline, such as Swiss.

A free status match is becoming a rarity these days! If you have ITA Volare status, this match is worth it!

Get your status matched here

Win 1 Million Avios With Barclays 

Barclays Premier Banking has launched a new prize draw with a top prize of 1 million Avios. There are also 20 runner-up prizes of 50,000 Avios.

For every £1,000 you add to an Investment ISA or Investment account by 21st November 2025, you’ll receive one entry into the draw. This includes new cash deposits, transfers of existing investments, and top-ups. Standard ISA rules apply. For example, £10,000 would get you 10 entries.

You must register online for your entry to the account; topping up your account is not enough. You can register here.

To participate, you must be a Barclays Premier Banking customer. Eligibility usually requires either £75,000 gross annual income to be paid into the accout or at least £100,000 in savings with Barclays. You must also have the Barclays Avios Rewards add-on (£12 per month). This gives you:

• 1,500 Avios each month,
• A yearly benefit of 7,000 bonus Avios or a British Airways Cabin Upgrade Voucher
• 6 discounted lounge passes via DragonPass.

When you sign up, you’ll get a 25,000 Avios bonus if you switch to Barclays Banking using the Current Account Switch Service and join Barclays Avios Rewards within three months. For more info, you can read our full Barclays article.

How Would You Spend 1 Million Avios?

You could go on a series of long-haul Club World Holidays or return First Class flights with plenty of Avios left:

• 136,000 Avios: off-peak First return London-New York
• 170,000 Avios: off-peak First return London-Cape Town
• 204,000 Avios: off-peak First return London-Tokyo

You could also use Combine My Avios to transfer your Avios to Aer Lingus, Finnair Plus, the Qatar Privilege Club and more!

This is one of the best Avios prize draws we’ve seen!

Register here