Qantas’ big price hike for lounge access and why the airline thinks it’s justified

The cost of a Qantas Club membership will jump 17 per cent next month, with the airline pointing out it’s the first price hike in seven years.

Qantas will increase fees for its Qantas Club lounges by 17 per cent, adding about $100 to the annual cost of membership.

The first increase in seven years takes effect next month and will lift the cost of new memberships from $699 to $828, including the $129 joining fee, and the price of renewal from $540 to $629.

Qantas justified the increase by pointing out the airline was investing $100m into its lounge network, and rolling out new furniture across Qantas Clubs.

A spokesman said the price hike would help cover increased costs passed on to the airline from a range of suppliers over the past seven years.

“This follows a reduction in the membership fees for several years during the pandemic,” the spokesman said.

The price hike would take effect from April 18, and memberships expiring at any time in 2024 could renew before that date to avoid the increased cost.

David Flynn from Executive Traveller said the higher prices would make Qantas Club membership much harder to justify.

“As airports have lifted the quality of food and drink options in their terminals with some excellent cafes, bars and bistros, many travellers will find it’s simply better value to have a meal and a drink or two in the terminal, especially when there’s so much more choice on the menu compared to the Qantas Club buffet,” Mr Flynn said.

“The changes could however pave the way for Qantas to introduce the rumoured subscription-based lounge program, where the lower monthly cost could prove more appealing in light of the hikes to these yearly-based fees.”

Melbourne Airport’s Qantas Club.

Frequent flyer expert Adele Eliseo of the Champagne Mile said there were a number of ways to access the Qantas Club, that did not require paying an annual membership fee.

“You can actually get access to Qantas Club by attaining the top tier of their ‘points club plus’ which requires 350,000 points to achieve,” Ms Eliseo said.

“There’s also a number of (Qantas linked) credit cards that offer lounge passes which can be sufficient for many travellers.”

She said anyone considering a membership should consider how many visits they would expect to make in a year, to determine if the cost can be justified.

“There are other benefits that come with Qantas Club membership such as priority check-in and extra baggage,” Ms Eliseo said.

“But it’s probably worth pointing out the quality of the lounges does vary quite considerably.”

Qantas highlighted that Club members could access 24 lounges across the domestic network, and more than 600 international lounges through the airline and its Oneworld partners.

Virgin Australia charged a comparatively small $399 annual fee for access to its seven domestic lounges in Australia.

It’s understood Virgin had no plans to increase its fees at this point.

Overseas lounge memberships were much more expensive, with United Airlines charging $991 a year and American Airlines pricing lounge access at $1300 a year.

Originally published as Qantas’ big price hike for lounge access and why the airline thinks it’s justified