Qantas Frequent Flyer has announced a slight increase in fees for Qantas Club, which gives you access to lounges, priority check-in, domestic upgrades and an additional checked baggage allowance.
However, you’ll now earn bonus Qantas Points on your membership dues.
In this guide, we outline pricing, points earn, the benefits of membership, and alternative ways to access these privileges.
Pricing
Here is the new pricing structure effective 1 August 2017, broken into individual and partner memberships:
| Individual | New rate (NZD) | New points earn rate | New redemption rate (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Join fee | $269 | 807 | 70,000 |
| 1 Year | $600 | 1,800 | 78,000 |
| 2 Year | $990 | 2,970 | 155,000 |
| 4 Year | $1,870 | 5,610 | 285,000 |
| Partner | New rate (NZD) | New points earn rate | New redemption rate (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Join fee | $139 | 417 | 37,000 |
| 1 Year | $330 | 990 | 52,000 |
| 2 Year | $580 | 1,740 | 89,000 |
| 4 Year | $1,080 | 3,240 | 155,000 |
Qantas Club annual pricing for primary members is more expensive in New Zealand, though the joining fee is considerably cheaper, as is membership for partners.
Redeeming your points for a Qantas Club membership generally represents poor value. For example, you’ll only get 0.38 cents per point value from using 70,000 Qantas Points for your NZ$269 joining fee, which is well below the 2.1 cents that we value Qantas Points at.
You’ll get much better value from using your Qantas Points for something like Emirates First Class
You can join Qantas Club here.
Earn Qantas Points on Qantas Club fees
You’ll now earn three Qantas Points for every dollar you spend on your join and annual Qantas Club membership fees. That means you’d earn 3,777 Qantas Points on a joining fee and two-year membership.
Pay with an American Express Platinum Charge, and earn an extra 1,259 Qantas Points, for a total of 5,036 points.
Benefits
As a Qantas Club member, you’ll get access to the following lounges when your next onward flight that day is a Qantas or Jetstar flight number:
- Qantas Club lounges when travelling within Australia, like the Qantas Club in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra and Cairns
- Qantas International Business Lounges, like in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or the Qantas/oneworld International Business Lounge Los Angeles
- Qantas International Lounges, such as Brisbane, Hong Kong and London Heathrow
- Emirates Business Lounge in Dubai
- American Airlines Admirals Club lounges
- Cathay Pacific Lounge in London Heathrow
- Alaska Airlines lounges in Los Angeles, Seattle, Anchorage and Portland when connecting to or from a Qantas flight and an Alaska Airlines flight
- Associated lounges in most international ports where there is no Qantas or partner airline lounge partner airline lounge
You’ll also get these other benefits:
- Priority check-in on Qantas flights
- Access to On Departure Upgrades using Qantas Points on Australian domestic flights
- Additional checked baggage allowance when travelling in Economy or Premium Economy
- Discounts on Qantas Meeting Rooms in Australia
To understand the differences between the six types of lounges Qantas runs, including Qantas Clubs and International Business Lounges, check out the definitive Point Hacks guide to Qantas lounges.
Other ways to access Qantas lounges
Through a credit card
There are currently no credit cards in New Zealand that offer lounge passes that can be used at Qantas Lounges, either here at home, or abroad.
Status
If you have Qantas Gold status or above or the equivalent status with a partner airline like Emirates or Cathay Pacific, then you’ll enjoy the privileges above not only on Qantas flights but when travelling with any oneworld airline.
Paying for access
Qantas periodically runs trials to give lower-tier frequent flyers the opportunity to buy a day pass for Qantas lounges in Australia and overseas.
Our take
A Qantas Club membership does not come cheap, even with the occasional discount, so this option is best suited to those who fly frequently and quite exclusively on Qantas and/or Jetstar – and for Kiwis, this means either Trans-Tasman, or internationally.
There are no domestic Qantas lounges in New Zealand, so it won’t be useful for travel on Jetstar here at home.
For those with other travel patterns, it may be best to work your way to obtaining elite status, which will give you benefits across a wider range of airlines and airports.
