Is a credit card with lounge access worth a higher annual fee?
Complimentary lounge access is a perk offered with some travel credit cards. It’s described as ‘complimentary’ (as opposed to ‘free’) by credit card providers because the cost is bundled into your card’s annual fee.
And the reality is, credit cards with airport lounge access included are on average significantly more expensive than other credit cards.
Analysis by Money found that credit cards with lounge access have an average annual fee of $437, while the average fee on all credit cards is around $135 (in fact, many have no card fee). That’s a difference of $302 per year on average.
How to decide if you should get a credit card with lounge access?
- Is the card good value overall? This is important. A credit card offering two lounge passes could save you a couple of hundred dollars versus paying for the lounge access out of pocket. But the same card could end up costing you multiples of that if it has a high annual fee and interest rate, and comes with hefty international transaction fees and a low number of interest-free days.
- What other card perks are there? Pay attention to the other card benefits too. If you travel regularly, a credit card with travel insurance included could represent better value. Of course, some cards offer both. You could also consider a card that will earn you more reward points that you can put towards a lounge visit or pretty much anything).
- How limited or extensive is the lounge access? Check the terms and conditions to see exactly how much ‘access’ you’re actually getting. How many passes do you get? Which airports can you use them at? Which lounges at those airports (sometimes there are several per airport)? Can you bring guests with you?
- Will you actually use the lounge passes? If you don’t use your passes in one year, you usually can’t carry them forward to the next year. In some cases you can transfer them to another person but that’s not always possible. Another factor here is that if the lounge is particularly busy on the day of your flight, you may not get in. This is rare but it can happen.
- Would you have lounge access anyway without the card? If you’re a frequent flyer with an airline, there is a chance your status already means you can access the airline’s lounges and partner lounges. The credit card lounge passes may not give you anything you can’t already access.
- Are the lounges you will have access to any good? This one is subjective and comes down to what you value while you’re waiting on a flight and which lounge you’re going to. Just don’t assume that lounge access means you’ll be stepping out of a busy airport terminal and into paradise.
There are lounges and then there are lounges
Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert
From my experience of airport lounges, a lot of them are pretty ordinary. They’re basically somewhere quiet to sit in a softer chair with some basic level food and maybe a free drink or two. The question is: is it better than sitting out at the gate lounge? It’s not always going to be, depending on the airport. If you want the first-class experience, you're going to pay for it.
Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert
Types of credit card lounge access: Unlimited Vs passes
Not all credit card lounge access is created equal. With all but a few very premium rewards credit cards, what you’re actually getting is a couple of complimentary passes to visit one of the airport lounges that the credit card company is partnered with.
However, if the credit card offers unlimited lounge access, you can visit airport lounges as often as you like. But again, you will be limited to the lounges in a particular lounge network.
Which airport lounges will I be able to access with my credit card?
A credit card offering lounge access is linked to a particular set of airport lounges. You’ll only be able to visit those lounges. The good news is most lounge networks have lounges at the main major Australian airports and have hundreds of locations globally.
Before you can access the lounge passes, you’ll need to enrol as a member of the lounge network. There’s usually an annual fee for membership but it’s waived for eligible credit cardholders as part of the lounge pass card benefit.
Airport lounge networks connected to credit cards in Australia
Priority Pass Lounges
Offers access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 148 countries. Most credit cards connected with Priority Pass offer complimentary ‘Standard’ membership which would usually cost $99 (US).
The ‘Standard’ membership doesn’t actually give you automatic lounge access as part of the membership fee. You still need to pay $35 US per lounge visit as a standard member. But most credit cards offer two lounge passes for free.
In other words, for a credit card that comes with standard membership and two lounge passes, that benefit works out to be the equivalent of $169 US (around $260 AUD).
You can get Priority Pass access with eligible credit cards from:
- American Express
- Bank of Melbourne
- BankSA
- BOQ
- Citi
- St.George
- Westpac
LoungeKey Lounges
LoungeKey boasts more than 1,000 lounges globally, but it’s the lounge network of choice for a relatively small number of Australian credit card providers.
Eligible cardholders won’t need to pay to join as a LoungeKey member but once they have used up all their free passes, they will need to pay a LoungeKey fee ($32) to access further lounges.
You can get LoungeKey access with eligible credit cards from:
- Bankwest
- HSBC
Centurion Lounges (Amex)
Centurion Lounges are operated by American Express and can be exclusively accessed by Amex credit card customers. There are Centurion Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne international airports, as well as a host of international locations. American Express card holders in Australia are limited to using the Centurion Lounges in Australia, with the exception of Amex Platinum card holders who can access Centurion Lounges globally (plus many other lounges).
Qantas Club Lounges
Card holders with a Qantas credit card offering lounge access will almost certainly be looking for a Qantas Club lounge. There are 37 of these in Australian airports and a further 50 or so internationally, some of which are run by partner airlines or lounge providers.
Your upcoming flight will need to be with Qantas or Jetstar in order for you to be able to access a Qantas Club Lounge. Guests are allowed too, but will also need to be flying Qantas or Jetstar.
You can get Qantas Club access with eligible credit cards from:
- American Express
- Bank of Melbourne
- BankSA
- Qantas
- St.George
- Westpac
Qantas First Lounges
This is the higher tier of Qantas lounge usually reserved for eligible Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyers. There are Qantas First Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore and Los Angeles. Only one credit card – the Qantas Premier Titanium – offers Qantas First Lounge access (two passes).
Virgin Lounges
There are seven domestic Virgin Lounges in Australia that eligible card holders with single-entry passes have access to (international Virgin Lounges are off limits via Velocity credit card lounge access).
A single-entry Virgin Lounge pass would cost $65 if you were to pay for it, meaning the two passes per year available on eligible cards effectively have a total value of $130. That would make a decent dent in the $329 annual fee on Virgin’s own Velocity High Flyer credit card.
You can get Virgin Lounge access with eligible credit cards from:
- American Express
- Westpac
- Virgin
Mastercard TravelPass (DragonPass)
Eligible Mastercard cardholders get access to the DragonPass network of airport lounges at 856 airports globally, including eight in Australia. Access would normally cost $99 US for standard membership. This gives you one free lounge pass, with a $35 US entry fee applying for additional passes.
Only Commbank provides its lounge access benefit (two passes) to eligible credit cardholders through DragonPass.
What are the best airport lounges in the world to visit?
The quality of airport lounges can vary massively. And if you have a limited number of complimentary credit card passes up your sleeve, it ’s important to use them wisely.
Here are credit card expert Brad Kelly’s top picks based on the dozens of lounge visits at airports across the globe (in no particular order).
- Sydney International First Class Lounge (Qantas)
- Private Room in Changi Airport, Singapore (Singapore Airlines)
- First Class Lounge at Dubai International (Emirates)
