The best ways to use complimentary Qantas Club lounge passes

Complimentary Qantas Club invitations are your ticket to some pre-flight time in the airport lounge, with Silver-level frequent flyers offered one invitation each year and selected credit cardholders given two annual visits – but what are the best ways to use these great gratis passes?

Sure, you could pay a visit to the Qantas Club or a Qantas Regional Lounge for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat before your next domestic flight, but arguably, these passes are better-spent when flying overseas: particularly in Qantas’ excellent business class lounges in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Read: These credit cards get you Qantas Club airport lounge access

That’s because you’ll likely have more time to enjoy these lounges and all they have to offer – especially so before overnight flights home, taking advantage of shower facilities, bartender-mixed cocktails and then a pre-flight meal to maximise your sleep in the air.

You might also use a pass for access to Qantas’ new international business class lounge in Brisbane for a barista-made cuppa and breakfast ‘plate of the day’ when jetting abroad in the mornings, or a relaxing place to unwind with a beverage in-hand before a flight later in the day.

Other places where you can use these lounge invitations internationally include Tokyo (Narita only), Honolulu, Auckland and Wellington – in all cases, when travelling onward on a Qantas or Jetstar flight number – but with the notable exclusion of Los Angeles, Dubai and London.

Alternatively, they can also be used for entry into the Qantas international business class lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth: but these lounges are all relatively dated – so consider saving them for the international ports with the better lounges.

If your wallet wields a top-level American Express card like the AMEX Qantas Ultimate, Westpac Altitude Black, AMEX Explorer, AMEX Platinum Charge and more, you could instead use this card for complimentary access to Sydney Airport’s AMEX Lounge (rather than the Qantas lounge): saving your Qantas pass for another day.

And, if you’re already a Qantas Gold or Platinum frequent flyer and don’t need the lounge invitations for yourself, you can always use them to bring an extra guest into a lounge when travelling together, or can gift the invitations to a friend or family member to enjoy the lounge in your absence.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.