Qantas Club: 770AUD for what?

[Bundy Bear]

free wifi at Qantas lounges around Australia and the free wifi at the BA terraces lounges where I am currently plus the food, drinks and newspapers/reading material also handy when you have extra luggage plus all the other things that people have said

 

[Sprucegoose]

I paid for QF life and for years found it really handy and thought it good value.
Now i have status its not relevent but still if i reduce my travel it will still be there. I used to just do a reasonable amount of domestic discount whY and it was nice to have a place to relax before a flight and faster check in.

E

I initially bought membership (or the coy did) so i could have a shower then jump on a flight. these days I will be LTG in a few years anyway so the remaining 2 years I had on my 4 yr deal is dead and buried. Have been WP for a while now. So you can get caught out - but I never see it in those terms - but a Scotsman may see things a wee bit differently......


SPRUCE

 

[MAX_1]

I am Qantas Club Life and sometimes do question whether I would pay to join today.
Last week, I travelled to Melbourne to play golf with 19 other mates for 6 days. The last day,Sunday,we checked out of the hotel , went to Riversdale Golf Club , played golf and came off hot and sticky.
The plan was to shower and change at Riversdale and then head to the airport.
Riversdale is undergoing renovations and there were no change rooms.
The it dawned on me, have a shower at the Qantas Club.
For me, having a membership at QC for the past 20 + years ( purchased by using FF points at the time) is worth it.
Max
PS.The pies and spicy chicken balls were tasty in the Business section last Sunday

 

[chrisb]

For me the biggest benefit of the QP is being able to shower after work on a Friday afternoon before getting on a 5 hour flight home.

 

[drewbles]

I bought a QP membership back in around 2003 when a friend an I were going a RTW on OW. To us it meant we could at least find somewhere comfortable to sit in a busy airport, possible drink/snack/shower where possible. Also made the long haul flights far more relaxing (with a shower and drink before flying more than 8 hours anywhere). It was around $640 back then from memory, but was worth it with the BA/AA lounge access.

A year later I went on my employers corporate plan and that saved me even more. Doing a lot of SYD/MEL-PER runs, the lounge gets plenty of use by me (especially in PER where delays are part of most days).

I still have 8 months of QP access in storage now that i'm WP. I'm now aiming to get LTG to not ever need to use it again, but that's at least 7-8 years off at my current rate of travel

 

[harvyk]

Whilst yes I also agree the value of the QP has been going the wrong way, it's value was proven to me earlier on this year when I had 3 hours to kill at TBIT at LAX...

I had just stepped off a 5 hour flight, I was looking forward to another 14 hours of flying, another 3 hours of sitting around an airport (SYD) and then another hour of flying, the ability to have a shower and a decent feed and some good stiff drinks made what was effectively 30 hours of travel (inc sitting around in airports and on planes) in Y (inc a 5 hour stretch on an AA B757 in Y) somewhat bearable.

There are certainly times when I don't bother going to the lounges, but there is the once in a while situation (eg delays) where lounge access makes the difference between hell and a pleasant trip.

 

[liamg]

I had just stepped off a 5 hour flight, I was looking forward to another 14 hours of flying, another 3 hours of sitting around an airport (SYD) and then another hour of flying, the ability to have a shower and a decent feed and some good stiff drinks made what was effectively 30 hours of travel (inc sitting around in airports and on planes) in Y (inc a 5 hour stretch on an AA B757 in Y) somewhat bearable.

This is exactly the reason I got QC. I'm doing this on Wednesday and it's the top of the list. Second would be priority check in for long-haul flights. Man, that saves time.

L.

 

[Flying Fox]

Travelling in the USA with QP membership and AA makes life much easier. Gives you the ability to get to the short lines and sit somewhere nice without having to constantly watch your hand luggage and have a bit of a snack for free.

 

[Dave Noble]

Travelling in the USA with QP membership and AA makes life much easier. Gives you the ability to get to the short lines and sit somewhere nice without having to constantly watch your hand luggage and have a bit of a snack for free.

The Qantas Club membership affords lounge access on AA, doesn't provide any access to short queues ( such as check in or security ) though

Dave

 

[NM]

The Qantas Club membership affords lounge access on AA, doesn't provide any access to short queues ( such as check in or security ) though

But when combined with some AA status, it can be a good combination. Note that "snacks" may an overstatement when it comes to food available in AAdmirals Club lounges.

 

[Maca44]

The Qantas Club membership affords lounge access on AA, doesn't provide any access to short queues ( such as check in or security ) though

Dave

Last year was my first experience with YUP/KUP fares, and the separate security line for F Class pax was great and saved so much time.

 

[liamg]

But when combined with some AA status, it can be a good combination. Note that "snacks" may an overstatement when it comes to food available in AAdmirals Club lounges.

That's what I'd heard, but I've been surprised so far with some toasted bagel and shmear options for breakfast and some cheese and crackers in the late evening.

Of course, it's no competition against even domestic QCs, let alone the lofty heights reached at the BA T5 lounges at LHR... but it could have been worse.

L.

 

[Dave Noble]

Last year was my first experience with YUP/KUP fares, and the separate security line for F Class pax was great and saved so much time.

The Qantas Club membership wasn't what assisted with queues; having a 1st class boarding pass did

The QC membership just allowed lounge access

Dave

 

[NM]

That's what I'd heard, but I've been surprised so far with some toasted bagel and shmear options for breakfast and some cheese and crackers in the late evening.

And don't forget the pretzels :-| and the weak, bitter coffee :evil: with non-dairy creamer :evil::evil:.

 

[drewbles]

The Qantas Club membership wasn't what assisted with queues; having a 1st class boarding pass did

The QC membership just allowed lounge access

Dave

Once upon a time, you could use your QP membership for J checkin on BA and AA. This benefit has ceased though. IIRC 2003 it was still available, back when you could use a US Airways lounge as well. International benefits for QP have since been wound way back to pretty much just BA and AA lounge access (and drink chits).

As for snacks in the AC, you're usually lucky to get anything more than the 'premium pretzel mix' from the dog food dispensers (the long tubes with a twisty tap and a plastic drink cup). The bagels do appear with some regularity at the bigger lounges though, but that's about all (T4 LAX excluded as they do have a little bit of snacky food throughout the day)

 

[serfty]

... (T4 LAX excluded as they do have a little bit of snacky food throughout the day)

That's more to do with it being a partial QP ...

For reference, I remember some on FT getting exited about Crudités.

 

[dsotm]

I've found the club excellent, both in international and domestic flying. About ten years ago Qantas was offering life membership for $3,000, so I thought it might be a good investment. And it has been. I just wish I bought the spouse membership at the time as well.

 

[MEL vis SYD]

The Qantas Club membership wasn't what assisted with queues; having a 1st class boarding pass did

The QC membership just allowed lounge access

Dave

I've been meaning to ask. I'm flying LAX-SFO next month in First on a Y-Up fare with AA. It has an AA flight number.

I am a Qantas Club member. Will I be able to access the AAAdmirals Lounge at LAX?

 

[liamg]

I've been meaning to ask. I'm flying LAX-SFO next month in First on a Y-Up fare with AA. It has an AA flight number.

I am a Qantas Club member. Will I be able to access the AAAdmirals Lounge at LAX?

Yep. And in my experience, it's the best of the AA clubs. Probably because it's shared with Qantas

 

[ronone69]

Many many many years ago I paid life membership for Qantas Club. This was before there were any FF programs - yeh that long ago - 1992 .... It was $2,420. I thought it was a great long term investment. And it would have been if FF programs had never been invented.

If you travel a lot for business, club membership is important. It makes traveling much easier and less stressful. As QF Platinum and SQ Solitaire PPS I have access to lounges in every major airport around the world - with QF - the first class or business lounges - and some of them are fantastic. With SQ I normally fly in the pointy part of the plane in any case but the SQ Private Room in the FC lounge in Terminal 3 at Changi is a very nice experience.

Lounges really are the only way to truly fly !!!