Where can I use Priority Pass for Lounges 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 $36credit but we’d only generally recommend this option if you have complimentary or unlimited Priority Pass access.

Using Priority Pass at participating airport restaurants and bars

Whilst most Priority Pass holders would have a fair idea about which lounges across Australia and the world they have access before a flight did you know that another big feature of Priority Pass is airport ‘experiences’ – namely restaurants and bars? Yes you heard it right, you don’t necessary have to visit a participating lounge at the airport your travelling through to still get benefit out of your membership through visitation of participating airport restaurants and bars.

This means next time you are travelling through an airport that doesn’t appear to have a participating lounge it certainly pays to keep a close eye out to the Priority Pass/ Lounge Key website or App as there’s a fair chance there will be a participating restaurant that you can visit and flash your membership card in exchange for a $36 credit. At some of Australia’s biggest airport such as Melbourne and Sydney domestic there are even both lounges and restaurants available to visit with your membership.

Participating Priority Pass Restaurants+Bars in Australian Airports

Visiting participating restaurants and bars can be a great option for those with unlimited visits especially when travelling domestically in Australia whereby the only lounges in the network are the REX lounge at Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Airports in addition to the Aspire Lounge at Perth Airport. Whilst the REX lounge is certainly by all means a comfortable place to relax and have a light refreshment visiting an airport restaurant is likely going be a better option if you want something more substantial when travelling through domestic Australian airport terminals. When travelling international through Australia’s major airport’s you are likely to encounter more lounge options particularly at Sydney and Melbourne Airports.

Brisbane Airport

Domestic:

Merlo Cafe Graze Grill and Bar The Common Mezze Za Za

International:

Corretor Cafe and BAR

Sydney Airport

Domestic T2:

MoVida Bistro 2020 and Bar

Domestic T3:

Wok on Air Bar Roma

Sydney International:

Mach2 Peroni Bar

Melbourne Airport

Domestic T3:

Biggie Smalls

Domestic T4:

Quickshots

International:

Cafe Sol Urban Provodore Bar Pulpo by MoVida

Canberra Airport

Domestic:

Noodles XO Capital Brewing City Hill Coffee

Gold Coast Airport

Domestic:

Coffee and Co

International:

Wollumbin

Townsville Airport

Domestic:

Castle Hill Cafe

Is it better to visit Priority Pass Lounges or participating restaurants/ bars?

The answer to this question certainly does not have to be a zero sum equation although it is worth keeping in mind a few considerations with regards to first the availability of options to visit at the airport, your level of membership and whether redemptions are free, the amount of spare time you have before a flight and of course what sort of mood and preferences you have on the day of flying. That being said if you got plenty of time to spare and there are both participating lounges and restaurants there is no harm in getting the best of both worlds and visiting them both (or even more).

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.

Summing Up

Overall, using Priority Pass or Lounge Key at participating airport food outlets can be a great way to get extra value out of your membership with a few key caveats – the most important being that your membership provides complementary visits otherwise you could find yourself spending more to redeem a credit that’s worth less. That being said for those who have unlimited or complementary visits this is a great initiate of the programs and really opens up the opportunity to get more value out of your membership by providing more options and most important more opportunities to elevate your airport experience even at terminals that don’t have participating lounges.