Introducing pathways for non premium class travelers to visit airport lounges

Lounge access at the airport has long typically been seen as the primary domain for premium travelers. Think of that as those who are travelling in business class or first. Those with advanced airline or frequent flyer program status are also often granted the privilege to visit many lounges. To the everyday and more casual traveler flying economy the idea of visiting lounges is often not even entertained.

The great news is however that visiting airport lounges has never been easier even for the lay traveler without airline status or flying in a premium class. Whilst the flagship lounge networks operated by the airlines are usually reserved for premium or elite status holders of the airlines themselves there has been a big increase in independently run airport lounges which offer pay per use or access through various lounge membership schemes.

Some airline’s also offer paid opportunities to enter their lounges subject to availability or prior invitation. When paying straight up at the door expect to typically pay $40-$80 per singe visit entry with international lounges generally costing more although cheaper prices can sometime be had when booking online or through special offers.

Credit card holders with frequent flyer themed and points earning cards may also be treated to some annual lounge passes of the airline attributed to their card whilst in some cases with the most premium credit cards unlimited access to certain lounges or complimentary membership of a lounge access scheme may be included. Some credit cards may also offer the opportunity to visit lounges at a discounted rate similar to that of having an A’ la Carte pay-per use Priority Pass membership.

3 ways to visit a lounge without flying premium or with status

Paid access at the door

Perhaps the most uncomplicated but usually not the most cost effective, extensive or reliable method to access lounges is to simply pay directly at the door or purchase access online often at a discount. The benefit of this approach is that you will only ever pay for the occasions when you wish to visit a lounge or see value in visiting one of the lounges on offer at the airport your visiting. This means less risk of paying for access to a lounge you don’t ultimately use or not utilizing a lounge membership scheme enough to get your money’s worth of value out of it.

If you tend to be a big spender at airport restaurants and bars even despite the typical $40-$80 you may be able to get your money’s worth and enjoy some extra comfort at the airport in the process. If you don’t visit long enough nor fully access everything on offer however you’ll quickly find it may have not have been worth it.

Some of the big global independent lounge operators such as Plaza Premium and Aspire Lounges and many local operators offers paid access of this kind with discounts usually available with advanced booking online. Some, but certainly not all airlines especially for domestic lounges also offer paid access either at the door or through invitation to book online prior to the flight although expect to pay a hefty fee for the privilege and that’ll you unlikely to get in during busy times.

The downsides of this approach however are numerous. Whilst this approach certainly does have merits for the very occasional traveler who may only want to experience a lounge on the odd occasion you will will likely miss out on better value opportunities and a more extensive selection of lounges with this approach. Generally speaking direct paid entry to lounges is the most expensive pathway possible and is certainly not offered by all lounges. When it it is available it will only usually be for the lowest tier lounges and those operated specifically for premium passengers will be out of bounds. In any case paid lounge access will usually be at the bottom of pecking order when it comes to prioritization for access during busy times.

For those travelling more than a handful of times and don’t have any particular airline affinity its probably worth joining a lounge access scheme such as Priority Pass whereby variously types of membership are available from a’ la carte pricing to unlimited visits. More on that elsewhere in the guide below

Credit card schemes

Before deciding to part your hard earned cash on a paid up lounge membership program it pays to check whether your current credit card has any lounge access perks. Some high end cards offer complimentary unlimited membership of lounge access schemes such as Priority Pass or Lounge key. Others may offer standard membership which comes with the opportunity to purchase discounted access or the credit card may otherwise offer complimentary invitations or other discounts on lounges. American Express even run there own network of global airport lounges for which certain premium card holders can get access to!

Complementary lounge invitations or Lounge membership

Many higher end frequent flyer credit also come with several complimentary lounge invitations for the airline associated with the card. For those who only travel several times a year and usually with that airline this is all they really might need to enjoy the lounge. Airlines themselves may also award frequent flyer with complimentary lounge invitations for various reasons

Members of the base level Qantas Points Club receive some very handy perks which can come particularly beneficial for less frequent or leisure traveler. These include two lounge invitations per membership year whilst those who attain membership of Qantas Points Club Plus are even awarded complimentary Qantas Club membership for a year!

On any occasion when redeeming these free passes it is important to first understand their conditions before using them. They may have a certain expiry date, be subject to lounge capacity or only able to be used at certain airports or times. You’ll often need to link them to your booking prior to getting to airport first so it pays to be prepared.

Priority Pass and other lounge access schemes

One of the most popular ways to access lounges is through the various lounge access schemes such as Priority Pass, Lounge Pass or Lounge Buddy. By far the most popular Priority Pass offers 3 different types of membership which should suit intermittent, regular and frequent travelers. A relatively affordable entry level membership open up access to a network of lounges albeit at discounted per entry visit rate whilst the most expensive membership unlocks unlimited free access to the network. Mid tier memberships typically offer the best value for intermediate travelers and usually include a certain amount of free lounge entries per year such as 10 in the case of Priority’s Pass’s Standard Plus membership

Paid airline lounge membership

Many airlines offer paid lounge membership especially across their domestic lounge networks. For Australian travelers both Qantas and Virgin offer paid lounge membership options.

For frequent Qantas travelers it may be worth considering paying or using points to attain paid up Qantas Club membership which allows unlimited access to Qantas Club network and select Qantas international business lounges and partner lounges when flying Qantas or on QF flight number. New members will first have to pay a joining fee of $99 (or 16,000 Qantas points) and an increased first time membership fee. Memberships can be paid for in either 1 year, 2 year or 4 year terms and are cheaper for renewing members and longer terms as per the chart below

Virgin Australia on the other hand offer a more simplified paid membership option to their single tier lounge network across Australia with the membership fee currently waived for Red and Silver members and a flat $399 yearly fee. Lifetime and senior lifetime memberships are also available. It is important to note than Virgin’s network of lounges are far more limited than Qantas however limited mainly to capital cities.

What is Priority Pass and what are the levels of membership

Priority Pass offers 3 different types of membership which should suit intermittent, regular and frequent travelers.

For the occasional traveler it may be worth considering getting a standard Priority Pass membership which comes currently at a 50% discount at 34 pounds which allows access to all lounges across the network at discounted member and guest cost of 20 pounds per visit and is available here . Whilst it is unlikely to be great value if you only visit 1 or 2 lounges a year it may offer some slight savings if visiting 3 or 4 times a year.

If visiting 5 or more times and ideally close to 10 visits a year as possible there is some good value to be had in Standard Plus Membership which comes currently at a 35% discount at at a cost of 122 pounds and is available here. After the 10 complimentary visits have been exhausted further visits are permitted at a cost of $20 pounds each although the sweet spot for this membership is when using as close to the 10 visits as possible.

If you are likely to visit at least 21 Priority Pass lounges a year it will be best value to get a Prestige membership for 339 pounds which offers unlimited member visits with guests an additional 20 pounds per visit. If you plan to visit less than 21 times but still a regular traveler the Standard plus option will be better value.

How can you attain Priority Pass membership?

Joining Priority Pass is a relatively straights forward approach, is open to most nationalities and there is no pre existing eligibility requirements or ongoing commitments. It’s a basic sign up form as seen below however do be careful that your name used meets exactly what will be on your boarding pass and ID/passport used when flying to ensure no dramas when trying to access lounges. Make sure you put in the correct address and billing details as a physical membership card will then be sent in the post. Priority Pass now also has an app that you can use to locate lounges and other important information and importantly you can activate a digital membership card to store in the app after joining. We’d recommend keeping the physical card on you whenever possible however.

Where can I use Priority Pass in Australia?

Priority Pass members have access to over 1300 lounges and experiences (usually airport restaurants or bars) worldwide which includes over 440 at airports in the Asia Pacific region alone. Participating Priority pass lounges in Australia include the Rex Lounge Network (Sydney, Melbourne, Sydney), Marhaba Lounge at Melbourne and The House at Melbourne and Sydney, the Aspire Lounges at Perth. Travelers finding themselves across the ditch in New Zealand can also visit the Strata Lounge in Auckland and the Mania Lounge at Christchurch. Many other airports also have participating restaurants or bars (especially those without a eligible lounge) which you can use your entitlement for a $32 credit but we’d only generally recommend this option if you have complimentary or unlimited Priority Pass access.

What is Lounge Key and who can get it

Lounge Key is a similar program to Priority Pass which gives you access to over 1,100 lounges worldwide. It is generally designed to be offered to banks and credit card providers to allocate to customers with eligible credit cards. If your credit card offers this entitlement it is important to first sign up for a lounge key account and link your credit card with it and also present when checking in at eligible lounges. There is now a app and digital card but we’d recommend always having both on you to ensure a seamless entry.

Which airlines offer paid lounge membership

Aside from Qantas and Virgin who offer paid membership lounge access many airlines abroad also have paid access programs. These include Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines and United. Expect to pay around $350- $500 USD a year for the privilege. When considering these options it pays to check the extent of there network and which ones offer access to partner lounges which will significantly increase the pool of lounges available to you.

Limitations of alternative pathways to lounge access

It is great that lounge access has never been more accessible to the everyday traveler but it is important not to forget the purpose of lounges first and foremost are most commonly still to cater to the premium traveler. That isn’t to say that it isn’t possible for economy passengers to access lounges as its true to say many airlines offering several tiers of lounges there is increasingly options catering to an economy class base and independent lounges open to the general flying public.

During peak times paid entry and lounge access scheme members are likely to be put last in terms of priority to ensure premium and elite status passengers have access first. Even seemingly independent or global lounge chains are quite possibly likely to be contracted by airlines who don’t have dedicated lounges at said airport and they will be under pressure to accommodate their premium passages first. Paying per use for lounges is also likely to not be the most economical approach in the long run whilst paying up front for lounge membership could be costly if you don’t use it enough to recoup the membership costs.

That being said however, using alternative pathways can be an excellent option for enjoying the benefits of lounge access at the airport for the occasional to regular traveler who doesn’t have a particularly strong airline loyalty and doesn’t typically fly business class. They key however is using these alternative pathways with managed expectations which means understanding that you might not always be able to find a eligible lounge at all airports or terminals and that there is no guarantees that they will always will be able to accommodate your entry.

Summing up: Is paid lounge access and the various lounge entry schemes worth it?

The true answer is that it really depends on each individual’s own individual circumstances, preferences and flying patterns.

For those who are already frequent flyers, tend to have a habit of flying business, have a strong airline loyalty or hold advanced status with an airline that either affords or is close to affording certain lounge accesses then its quite possible alternative lounge access schemes may not be worth it. If you belong to one of these categories were are not saying don’t buy a lounge membership but its strongly worth considering whether you’d get your money’s worth if you already have complimentary access elsewhere through airlines and or credit cards. If you are a frequent flyer with certain airlines it may be worth continuing to invest your loyalty if you are close to attaining status with free lounge entry.

Paying for lounge membership of a dedicated airline network also presents many questions as to whether it would be worth it as they often come with hefty price tags of $300-$600 a year (even more for US carriers charged in USD). This is because of the amount of flights you would have to take to get value out of the membership and if you were flying this regular you might already be coming close to gaining status that comes with complimentary lounge access.

On the flip side if you are a more casual or leisure flyer it may very well worth paying for lounge access on the odd occasion you fly if you can see getting your money’s worth or more out of the entry fee. For the more intermediate traveler who takes flights fairly regular but doesn’t have any particular airline loyalty or status paying for membership of a lounge access scheme such as Priority Pass can be excellent option.