Rex is no longer offering lounge access to passengers who successfully upgrade from Economy to Business Class using the BidUp platform.

Rex launched its Business Class upgrade auctions last year. Originally, a successful upgrade bid would entitle Rex customers to all of the usual benefits of Business Class except the additional baggage allowance. In fact, until last week, one of the specific benefits of upgrading that Rex had listed on its BidUp page was “complimentary Lounge access, in cities where lounge available”.

This changed on 11 December 2023, as flagged by nonrev-jez on the AFF forum. The Rex website now says that “Lounge access and extra baggage allowance is not included in your upgrade”.

Rex operates airport lounges at three Australian airports – Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. It has plans to open a fourth lounge in Brisbane, using the space where Virgin Australia’s overflow lounge used to be.

With the exception of Qatar Airways, most airlines allow passengers upgrading to Business Class to use their lounges. However, Rex may be making this change to address overcrowding as its lounges are not particularly large.

How to access Rex Lounges

Rex Lounge members and passengers who’ve bought a Business Class ticket can still use the airline’s lounges, where available. Rex also offers paid lounge access to Economy Class passengers on a Saver ticket for $33, or for $17.50 with an Economy Flex fare.

If you have a Priority Pass membership, you can also use the Rex lounges – even if you aren’t flying Rex.

Priority Pass sells individual memberships for an annual fee. Several Australian credit cards also offer Priority Pass lounge benefits.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.