Qantas Club: 770AUD for what?

[TheScotsman]

Hi,
I'm new to the Australian flying scene so please excue my ignorance.

What on earth would I pay 770 AUD to join the Qantas Club for?
From my initial research and Qantas marketing (sorry, link removed by FrequentFlyer!) I can't find any reasons at all.

I now fly MEL-PER, PER-MEL each week, mostly with Qantas and always in economy.
I do not check in any baggage and I arrive at the airport with minimum time to spare (so need neither extra baggage allowances nor lounge access).
I never take friends to the airport on these trips, if I go on holiday I can afford to take my girlfriend to a bar or restaurant and she can eat and drink as much as she wants (up to a value of 770 AUD per year!)

Can anyone tell me why I (or indeed anyone) would pay 770 AUD to join?
Wouldn't the people who might join this club get lounge access from their frequent flying anyway?

 

[Dave Noble]

Since the Qantas Club is a lounge access programme, if you do not want lounge access, then indeed there is no reason to join.

As far as the price goes, the annual fees are a lot less than that at around $360 a year ( the rest it taken up with a one off joining fee ) and there are a lot of corporate schemes around that may bring the cost down to as low as $200 for some corporations.

A discounted rate can even be had by taking gold membership of this site to reduce the fee by $200

Overall, QC is a lounge access programme and is aimed at those who want it; if you do not want that then indeed it would be a waste

Do be aware that if your travel is business related , it can be tax deductable so the effective cost can drop by approx 40% using the AFF discount, $555 with a 40% tax rebate can bring the effective cost to around $330 . The 1st year's fee includes a $230 joining fee, so renewal cost would be 555-230 = $325 ... again after tax that could drop to $195... for eligability to do this, best speak to an accountant

Also, if you are currently not an Australian resident for tax purposes, you can avoid the 10% GST on joining which would bring a normal 1st year membership to $700 and the corporate down to $510

One other benefit; if you are travelling domestically in economy and want to upgrade to business, Qantas Club members can use points to upgrade on the day of departure if there are seats available


Dave

 

[Mal]

Not everyone pays that price (see for example the "Gold Subscriber" offer here at AFF for discounted Qantas Club membership).

It's true that if you fly enough, you'll earn complimentary membership once you earn Gold or Platinum FF membership.

Why do people join? The Qantas Club is a place where you should be able to relax, use computers/fax/printers, have a bite to eat and a drink or two, a shower if required and there are staff inside who can help when you issues with your booking.

In practice though, they are overcrowded at times, the food quality has been reduced and the lounges are potentially to be devalued when Qantas opens up their "domestic Business lounges" in the near future (moving Platinum FF'ers and Business class customers into these lounges and leaving Qantas Club/Gold FF'ers in the Qantas Club).

If you can't justify the purchase (many people salary sacrifice - or did (some recent tax law changes may have affected that), have their employers purchase the membership, or get membership through their flying), then the concourse may be more than comfy.

 

[TheScotsman]

Thanks for the info guys, sounds like there are some cheaper deals to join up and get tax benefits too. But as you said I don't need/want the lounges, espeially as they are hardly what someone on the outside might imagine - the last I was in was Emirates in Dubai and it was an overcrowded mess of people.

 

[Reggie]

I now fly MEL-PER, PER-MEL each week, mostly with Qantas and always in economy.
I do not check in any baggage and I arrive at the airport with minimum time to spare (so need neither extra baggage allowances nor lounge access).

Wait til you get caught in Perth for the regular delays on services to the east. My bets in the ast 4 weeks 2&1/4 hours, worst 13&1/2 hours, thats in the past 4 weeks. Believe me, I would rather sit in the QF, than downstairs. Granted my memebrship is complimentary, but I did pay for it to start with. The $770.00 you quote includes the 1 off joining fee I think.

 

[Travel Guru]

Obviously with no check in luggage its not an issue for you, but back when I did have to pay, I gladly handed over the money if only so I didn't have to line up with the plebs to check my bags in....the lounge, it's okay, often in BNE these days I sit outside if the suits over run the place, but just knowing I get priority check in and luggage was worth it for me.

TG

 

[TheScotsman]

Wait til you get caught in Perth for the regular delays on services to the east. My bets in the ast 4 weeks 2&1/4 hours, worst 13&1/2 hours, thats in the past 4 weeks. Believe me, I would rather sit in the QF, than downstairs. Granted my memebrship is complimentary, but I did pay for it to start with. The $770.00 you quote includes the 1 off joining fee I think.

Correct, my first flight back to Melbourne a few weeks ago was scheduled for 1300 on Friday and departed after 0130 on Saturday - so you're telling me this is going to be a regular occurrence?!
coughulative delays after 3 single flights = 17.5 hours
if the blighters had actually called us to let us know (like the did to my partner when she was only an hour delayed coming the other way) then I wouldn't have gone to the airport. As it was I just jumped in a taxi back to work (and claimed some taxi vouchers from Qantas later) on the way I submitted my online complaint via laptop/USB modem - no response yet. Annoyingly when I returned to the airport the flight had been delayed further, so I ended up taking a further return journey to Perth, this time to join my colleagues in the bar.

 

[Optics]

Hi,
I'm new to the Australian flying scene so please excue my ignorance.

What on earth would I pay 770 AUD to join the Qantas Club for?
From my initial research and Qantas marketing (sorry, link removed by FrequentFlyer!) I can't find any reasons at all.

I now fly MEL-PER, PER-MEL each week, mostly with Qantas and always in economy.
I do not check in any baggage and I arrive at the airport with minimum time to spare (so need neither extra baggage allowances nor lounge access).
I never take friends to the airport on these trips, if I go on holiday I can afford to take my girlfriend to a bar or restaurant and she can eat and drink as much as she wants (up to a value of 770 AUD per year!)

Can anyone tell me why I (or indeed anyone) would pay 770 AUD to join?
Wouldn't the people who might join this club get lounge access from their frequent flying anyway?

Welcome to AFF .
If you are flying MEL-PER-MEL each week, then if I was you I would just join the QF Frequent Flyer program and then wait until you achieve Gold status, which provides complimentary access to the lounges anyway. You need 700 SC to qualify for Gold, and even in discount economy (on QF) you earn 40SC for each return flight. Not to mention that you will be earning FF points as well.

 

[coco50]

Welcome to the forum, scotsman. It doesn't sound like you need lounge membership. I used to be QFF Gold with free lounge membership and access to OW lounges around the world when flying with those carriers, but since dropping to PS, I have taken a 4 year QC membership for $1370 (dont know where your $770 came from) and a priority pass membership for $US 249 as I will be travelling extensively in Europe soon. I consider them good value as I do spend some time in lounges and it is far more peaceful there than out with the mob. Each to his (or for PC her) own.

 

[Dave Noble]

(dont know where your $770 came from)

$775 is the price of a new 1 year membership including the joining fee and GST

Dave

 

[reg]

Save your money, as with that level of flying you will be Gold FF in no time which has free lounge access plus 1. You will probably achieve enough status credits for platinum and even partner gold. BTW once the new business/Plat FF lounges open expect the Q Club for others to be more like an Admirals club. Only way to fly domestic in Australia is carry on only, online check in, and arrive at airport no more than 15 mintues before boarding time.

 

[Harpoon]

I'll explain why I paid for it:

- I don't quite fly enough to earn Gold or Plat (currently silver).

- I pay for QC membership, out of my own pocket on a corporate rate, which I also salary sacrifice! After those reductions it ended up costing me around $250 for my first year and after that it should be around $125 each year after that.

- Some of the airports I fly to in the pacific (fiji, new caledonia, papua new guinea) have abismal facilities in the airports. The QC or partner lounge at the very least provides cleaner toilets, and free drinks and a nice seat than a hard plastic seat in 30 degree heat and 90% humidty in those places. You'd be surprised how much of a difference a clean toilet can make to your journey in some countries

- Also recently traveled to Europe in economy on holidays. The ability to stop in Hong Kong, roll in to the QC and have a 20 minute shower is absolutely priceless for Y pax. J or F pax not so much I would imagine due to the more comfy flight. Also had shower at LHR and again in HKG on the way home. Superb value when you feel like **** after 14 hours of sleepless uncomfortable flight in Y.

- When I travel I almost always have check-in baggage, which means getting to the airport at least an hour before departure as I'm a 'responsible traveler' for domestic and 2 hours for international. Killing time in airports grows old very quickly so being able to websurf in the QC or watch TV is a big plus, as well as the comfy lounge seats as opposed to a hard plastic chair in the terminal.

- Priority check in with baggage is also a big bonus, especially as I'm often a Y pax which means I'd hav to use the Y check-in if i wasn't QC member. Love being able to check-in very quickly, especially when travelling on the 744 where the Y queue might be 300 ppl long at 10am in Melbourne on any given day

- Free internet access in QC on the laptop is a big plus too, especially when traveling for work.

Add all those factors up, $250 in the first year seems like a bargain in my mind and that's why I'll continue to pay for it unless I stop traveling for work, or obviously if I hit GoldFF.

Hoep that answers your question. And as others have pointed out, that $700 fee is easily reduced if you do your research

 

[beardoc]

Like others have mentioned, I would not bother with paying for QANTAS Club initially - if you are flying standard economy it would be less than nine weeks until you had QF Gold and would get the benefits of QANTAS Club completely free. Then you can pick and choose what you might use out of the membership, but it won't cost you any extra.

I'm a paid life member of the QANTAS Club - I contemplated it for a long time as to whether I should - but over time you'll find that some of the benefits are very handy, and you will appreciate them. Having priority checkin, especially if you arrive at the airport with limited time, would be very handy. Somewhere to wait with delays in flights, where you can get a coffee or a drink, read a paper or check your email (free Wi-Fi) - these things would be why I'd get it.

But if it was in terms of paying for it, or waiting nine weeks and getting it free, I'd go with the latter.

 

[Evan]

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

 

[Warks]

Good topic! I've had QC membership for about 7 years intially through getting to Gold but in the last couple of years my (international) flying dropped off so I'm back at Silver and lost my complimentary membership. However in my new job (same company) they gave me membership. In a couple of months I'll be leaving my current employer and going out on my own (yes madness!) but I'll still be travelling a bit. My question is: after my employer cancels my membership when I leave can I join without paying the one-off fee? Even though I'll be a private member can I join at a corporate rate?
Also interested in the special discount you have!

For me, as a frequent City Flyer (SYD-MEL or SYD-BNE) the value is in the check-in queue and having somewhere to hang out before flights. I live a fair way from the airport so my travel time can vary greatly. I have to allow a lot of time but often it takes me half as long as I allow so I have time up my sleeve. I stress about missing planes too much to be a "last minuter" so the Club is great for me. Also with inevitable delays at least you can get a drink for nix. Agree it is getting way too crowded but still better than the gate!
If Priority baggage worked then it would also be a great incentive but we all know about that!!:-|

[edited to fix typos]

 

[markis10]

I'll explain why I paid for it:

- Some of the airports I fly to in the pacific (fiji, new caledonia, papua new guinea) have abismal facilities in the airports. The QC or partner lounge at the very least provides cleaner toilets, and free drinks and a nice seat than a hard plastic seat in 30 degree heat and 90% humidty in those places. You'd be surprised how much of a difference a clean toilet can make to your journey in some countries

Unfortunately as discussed in another thread, you now have the pleasure of sitting in that plastic seat in 30 degree heat and 90% humidity when you are flying through Nadi, no more access for QC members to the lounge :shock:

 

[serfty]

warks, I don't believe you would need to pay a joining fee.

 

[tuapekastar]

Good topic! I've had QC membership for about 7 years intially throuigh gettign to Gold but in the last couple of years my (international) flying dropped off so I'm back at Silver and lost my complimentary membership. However in my new job (same company) they gave me membership. In a couple of months I'll be leaving my current employer and going out on my own (yes madness!) but I'll still be travelling a bit. My question is: after my employer cancels my membership when I leave can I join without paying the one-off fee? Even though I'll be a private member can I join at a corporate rate?
Also interested in the special discount you have!

:-|

In a reasonably similar situation I have transferred from one corporate scheme to another (AFF's) this year without paying a joining fee, so yep, can do. In effect, you never leave the scheme. If you wish to join via AFF just contact AFF as per the advice in the appropriate thread on here, and work through the process, preferably prior (but not too prior) to leaving the work scheme though IIRC you have a month or more grace period in which to 'change over'.

Will your employer definitely cancel your membership, or will it just run it's course till renewal time? You wouldn't want to fork out twice!

With my employer's scheme, I was 'self-managed', and paid for it myself(very heavy discount) and 'managed' the account, so when I left them, while in theory I was no longer entitled to it, it lasted another couple of years until renewal time.

 

[skonig]

Re: Qantas Club: HELP PLEASE!

I joined as a frequent flyer gold member however in order to join qantas club i need the corporate number for frequent flyer, can anyone help please?
many thanks
Ziggy

 

[NM]

Re: Qantas Club: HELP PLEASE!

I joined as a frequent flyer gold member however in order to join qantas club i need the corporate number for frequent flyer, can anyone help please?
many thanks
Ziggy

Skonig, follow the instructions in the thread on this topic in the Gold Membership Privileges.

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...es/save-200-qantas-club-membership-10788.html