Airport lounge access when not flying business class

[Mystic]

My husband and I are travelling later this year on a RWT with Cathay, Finland, air Berlin and 1 flight .
i was wondering if my Qantas American Premium card will allow entry to any Amex lounges in Hong Kong, Beijing, Helsinki, Rome.
If not any suggestions as to most economical way to purchase passes. some our flights have a few hours stop overs.
I do not expect us to be using a lot of long distance flights after this year ( getting to old)
thanks for your wonderful help. The Aus FrequentFlyer web in a great resource.
Cheers
Mystic

 

[Sprucegoose]

Not sure what a Qantas American Premium Card is?

Did you mean Qantas Amex Card?

 

[Mystic]

Not sure what a Qantas American Premium Card is?

Did you mean Qantas Amex Card?

Sorry yes a Amex Qantas premium /gold card. I know the yearly fee is over$200 although I get a either reduction or cancelling of fee each year when requested.
My question is can we either use this Amex card or is there a way of buying a membership to enter Cathay/Finair lounges.
thanks Mystic

 

[Buzzard]

Look into purchasing Priority Pass. Better still, look into Citi Signature (still free for life?) that offers free Priority Pass.
Other members may have a better suggestion but that is all I can come up with - other than posting on the Lounge Meets thread and hoping for a guest spot.

 

[Mystic]

Look into purchasing Priority Pass. Better still, look into Citi Signature (still free for life?) that offers free Priority Pass.
Other members may have a better suggestion but that is all I can come up with - other than posting on the Lounge Meets thread and hoping for a guest spot.

Thank you very much I gather CITI signature is a credit card. Do you have a Internet address. I will google it.
cheers
Mystic

 

[Mystic]

Sorry another question. Do you need a priority pass for each airport or each airline thanks
Mystic

 

[Glider_]

Priority Pass is a business that will issue you with a card that will allow you access to their lounges or lounges for airlines they have agreements with. Depending on the membership level you pay for, depends on the number of free visits to lounges you can make before you pay US$27ea to enter. They have over 700 participating lounges, but in Australia they only have an agreement with lounges in Cairns and Melbourne. You can read all of the details about it here:
https://www.prioritypass.com/Join/What-it-Costs.cfm
I'm not an expert on this but it appears that for your purposes the most economical use of this program is to buy one Standard membership for US$99 then pay US$54 (US$27 each) to use the lounge at the airports you choose as you need them. Priority Pass has a phone app to help you easily find which of their lounges you can use at which airport.

The Priority Pass version you are given with the Citibank Visa Signature Card allows only two free visits per year for yourself, then every visit thereafter you pay US$27 for. Your guest will pay US$27 for every visit. The fees will automatically be deducted from your Citibank Card. So obtaining Priority Pass membership via this credit card will save you US$153. I think there is still the option to apply for this card fee-free for life (usually $400 per year), but you'll need a $15,000 minimum credit limit on the card and of course meet their credit application requirements. You can get a supplementary card for your partner but they do not get their own Priority Pass membership or free visits.


The other option you may wish to consider is the American Airlines Admirals Club 30 Day membership.
Admirals Club - Membership Fees And Privileges
This will be US$99 each and give you unlimited access to AA's Admirals Club lounges and their patricipating partners at various airports. The pool of lounges available is much smaller, with only 50 worldwide, but they appear to have lounges in each of the cities you mention.