NEWS: SAS improves lounge access, Easy 1000 Virgin points and ALL Accor news

SA improves lounge access

SAS’s business class on short haul has been a very odd hybrid product called Business Plus, which gave a more economy feel onboard but a few perks on the ground. I tried it on a short flight and got absolutely nothing other than a cup of water. However, I did appreciate the airport experience, including the lounge. SAS has been reinventing itself recently and has also had some great long-haul fares. While in the past I probably would have ruled out SAS, now they are definitely in the running when I am looking at business class fares. 

SAS will introduce ful business class to European flights from 1 October 2025. The new Business Class will feature a separate cabin at the front of the aircraft with blocked middle seats, a better dining experience with reusable porcelain tableware, and priority treatment at airports. 

Now, SAS has announced that they are introducing 35 more partner lounges for customers. By partnering with established lounge operators, SAS is able to rapidly expand access to high-quality lounges at 35 destinations.

“This is a comprehensive upgrade of our Business Class offer, with lounge access as a key part of the experience,” says Theres Briger, Head of Onground Product at SAS. “By partnering with established lounge operators, we can quickly give our customers access to a much broader network at important destinations across Europe and Scandinavia. The goal is to offer around 35 additional lounges at year-round destinations, and we already have agreements in place in cities such as Bergen, Helsinki, Billund, Stavanger and Aalborg.” 

The first partner lounges will open from October 1, 2025, with additional locations added throughout the autumn. Work is already underway to secure access at destinations such as Nice, Malaga, Palma, Lisbon, Venice, Florence, Naples, Malta, Madrid, Milan Linate, Manchester, Edinburgh, Prague, Krakow and Keflavik. 

“Our ambition is to have as much as possible in place by October 1, while recognizing this is a dynamic process where new agreements will be finalized step by step,” Briger continues. “This means some destinations are already ready, while others will follow throughout the autumn. We will keep customers continuously informed about which lounges are available, ensuring they can plan their journey with ease and receive the experience they expect.” 

Here are all the airports where SAS travelers will be getting lounge access: 

• Bergen 

• Stavanger 

• Helsinki 

• Aalborg 

• Malaga 

• Nice 

• Alicante 

• Palma 

• Manchester 

• Gran Canaria 

• Barcelona 

• Tallinn 

• Billund 

• Gdansk 

• Vilnius 

• Keflavik 

• Milan (Linate) 

• Faro 

• Aberdeen 

• Edinburgh 

• Madrid 

• Bologna 

• Prague 

• Wroclaw 

Easy 1000 Virgin points, plus get extra Virgin points on in-store purchases

BA has long had the ability to earn extra Avios by linkng yoiur credit cards to its shopping portal. Now Virgin is doing the same with its “Shops Away” portal.  With the latest upgrade from Shops Away, simply link your debit or credit card and earn points automatically.

There is also a bonus of an additional 1,000 bonus Virgin Point* when you make your first purchase with your linked card by 13 October 2025. But be quick as this offer is only available to the first 2,500 members to complete a linked transaction.

It is extremely simple to use this new feature:

1. Log into Shops Away and link your cards. This can be any credit or debit cards, even ones for other airlines!
2. Shop in-store using that card
3. Earn points on every transaction

Like BA, there is currently a fairly limited range of retailers and outlets such as O2 and BrewDog that are taking part. Each has a different rate of point earnings. Bonus Points will be credited to your account within 24 hours of the purchase being approved by the Shops Away merchant.

ALL Accor news – easy bonus points to keep your points alive plus Club Eurostar partnership bonus

There are several bits of news that will be of interest to ALL members. ALL is quite a different program, which is pretty simple when it comes to points. Points are worth a set amount of money off your hotel stays – 1000 PTS = €20. So you don’t have to save up for ages to spend them. If you don’t stay very often, this can be a good option, but you do have to watch for your points expiring, as they are only valid for 12 months if there is no further earning activity. The first two offers could be a solution for that.

Accor is promoting its WhatsApp function for members. I am generally a fan of messaging by companies, as it can save a lot of annoying time on hold. In the UK, we are far behind Spain, where nearly all businesses function via WhatsApp. 

This bonus is only valid when you activate notifications for the first time – an instant bonus you can use as a discount on hotel, restaurant, or experience reservations at any Accor destination.

Lots of people report getting the bonus instantly. However, at the time of writing I did not get the bonus. There are no real terms and conditions for the offer, so it is hard to know what the issue is. However, if your points are about to expire, it’s worth a go.

All you need to do is go into your account, then Communication Preferences, then under your phone number, tick WhatsApp. Then make sure you save your changes. 

There is also an offer is for 200+ bonus points for Silver status and above ALL Members who download and log in in to the ALL.com app for the first time. You must not have downloaded or been logged into the ALL.com app in the twelve months. Previous downloads, even if the ALL.com app has since been deleted, will render Members ineligible to the Offer.

Here are the levels of bonus:

 
• Classic: Not eligible
• Silver: 200 Reward Points
• Gold: 400 Reward Points
• Platinum: 700 Reward Points
• Diamond and above: 1,000 Reward Points.

The offer page is here.

Finally, until 18 October, Club Eurostar members can take advantage of a special promotion with Accor.

During this period, members who transfer their ALL Accor Reward points into Club Eurostar points will receive a 50% bonus in reward points.