Best Credit Cards for Airport Lounge Access in 2024

The Australian credit card market is a competitive space. So, many banks offer additional benefits to cardholders as an enticement to sign up for their cards. These include things like complimentary travel insurance, bonus credit card sign-up points and even sometimes free flights.

Another benefit offered by some credit cards is airport lounge access.

Around a dozen Australian credit cards offer two complimentary Qantas Club or Virgin Australia Lounge passes each year. Other credit cards come with Standard Priority Pass membership, including two complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year.

Plus, many American Express cardholders are entitled to two annual visits to the international Amex Centurion airport lounges in Sydney or Melbourne.

A few Australian credit cards even go a step further, offering unlimited access to a global network of airport lounges for as long as you keep the card! Most of these cards have relatively high annual fees, but it can still work out to be a very good deal compared to the cost of buying an equivalent airport lounge membership outright.

When comparing products, beware of credit cards that advertise “lounge access” that is not free!

Looking for a credit card with some great lounge access benefits? Here are some of the best Australian cards for lounge access in 2024…

American Express Platinum

With a $1,450 annual fee, the American Express Platinum charge card is not exactly a cheap option. But its lounge access coverage is seriously impressive.

In addition to many other benefits, this card comes with unlimited access to the following lounges in the American Express Global Lounge Collection for the cardholder and a guest:

• Priority Pass lounges (excluding airport restaurant locations)
• Plaza Premium lounges
• Virgin Australia lounges (when flying Virgin Australia domestically)
• Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta, within three hours of departure or arrival)
• Lufthansa Business Lounges (when flying Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian Airlines in Economy or Premium Economy)
• Lufthansa Senator Lounges (when flying Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian Airlines in Business Class)
• Amex Centurion lounges
• American Express international lounges
• Escape Lounges
• Airspace Lounges

You can see a full list here of the airport lounges available in Australia to Amex Platinum cardholders.

Citi Prestige

As something a bit more affordable, the $700/year Citi Prestige credit card offers unlimited Priority Pass lounge access for the cardholder and one guest.

Although this is not quite as impressive as the benefits afforded to Amex Platinum users, Priority Pass lounge coverage is still fairly comprehensive. There are more than 1,500 Priority Pass lounges around the world, including over a dozen in Australia.

Unlike American Express Platinum members, Citi Prestige cardholders also continue to receive complimentary food and beverage credits at participating airport restaurants. You could get a complimentary $36 meal voucher for yourself and a guest each time you depart from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Townsville, Perth or Gold Coast airports.

Considering the annual fee, the Citi Prestige card doesn’t have a great deal of earning power as a points-earning credit card. If you opt-in to earning Qantas Frequent Flyer points, you’ll pay $749 per year and earn just 0.5 Qantas points per dollar. If you opt-in to earning Citi Rewards points, the annual fee is $700 and you’ll earn the equivalent of 0.5 Velocity points or 0.4 KrisFlyer miles per dollar spent on the card. That said, you’ll earn 2-3x more points when spending with airlines, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and petrol stations.

If you’re considering purchasing a Priority Pass Prestige membership anyway, the annual fee on the Citi Prestige card is a similar price. A Priority Pass prestige membership costs USD469 annually, or around ~AU$708 at the current exchange rate.

You’ll also get an included guest allowance with the Citi Prestige card that doesn’t normally come with paid Priority Pass Prestige membership!

The Citi Prestige card also offers various other travel benefits including international travel insurance, hotel discounts and a cash back on Uber rides.

American Express Centurion

For those lucky enough to be invited to apply, the unadvertised Amex Centurion card offers some serious airport lounge benefits. However, with a $5,000 initiation fee and $6,500 annual fee, the Amex Centurion card is certainly not for everyone.

In addition to many of the same lounges available to Amex Platinum cardholders, Amex Centurion members in Australia can access Qantas Club lounges and receive Emirates Skywards Gold status, granting access to Emirates Lounges when flying with the Dubai-based airline.

HSBC Star Alliance

The HSBC Star Alliance credit card is unique in that it offers an easy shortcut to Star Alliance Gold status. This gets you lounge access whenever you fly with Star Alliance airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines or Air Canada.

Credit cards offering complimentary Qantas Club invitations

There are also a range of credit cards that offer single-entry lounge invitations.

The following credit cards offer 2x annual Qantas Club lounge invitations:

• Qantas American Express Premium
• Westpac Altitude Qantas Black
• St.George Amplify Qantas Signature
• Qantas Premier Platinum
• ANZ Frequent Flyer Black
• Qantas American Express Ultimate
• American Express Qantas Business Rewards
• Qantas Premier Titanium (this card also provides 2x annual Qantas First Lounge invitations)

Credit cards offering complimentary Virgin Australia Lounge passes

These credit cards come with 2x free annual Virgin Australia Lounge passes:

• American Express Velocity Business
• Virgin Money Velocity High Flyer
• Westpac Altitude Velocity Black
• American Express Velocity Platinum

Credit cards offering complimentary Amex Centurion Lounge visits

A selection of Australian-issued American Express cards also offer two complimentary visits each calendar year to the Amex Centurion Lounges in Sydney or Melbourne.

These cards include:

• American Express Business Explorer
• American Express Velocity Platinum
• American Express Explorer
• American Express Platinum Reserve
• Qantas American Express Ultimate
• American Express Corporate Platinum
• American Express Qantas Corporate Platinum

Credit cards offering two complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year

The following credit cards provide the cardholder with complimentary Standard Priority Pass membership, with two included annual lounge visits. Further visits and guests are charged at the normal rate of USD35 each.

• Westpac Altitude Black (with Altitude Rewards)
• St.George Amplify Signature
• Citi Premier
• Citi Premier Qantas

The BOQ Specialist Signature card offers four free annual Priority Pass lounge visits, with a free guest included on each visit.

In addition, the CommBank Ultimate Awards card includes two annual DragonPass lounge entries. And the HSBC Platinum card comes with two annual LoungeKey airport lounge visits.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended as financial advice. Consider your personal circumstances before applying for any type of credit.

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.