New Ability to Purchase Single-Visit Lounge Passes

Well first of all, this option will make paying for QC irrelevant for a lot of people (depending on the single visit cost)..

But also, while this doesn’t seem to be fully active yet, when you try to buy a lounge pass on an international route, it brings up options for the first lounges as well as the business lounges. I wonder if it will go beyond just club lounges then?

Edit - They’ve possibly just consolidated the portals so you can link invitations or buy passes on the same page.
 
"At Qantas we understand de value customers are to our business, that's why we're always offering new ways to de value even more for our customers."

This is a bad move in my opinion. Lounge access is one of the perks of status, and if QF want to make it irrelevant, guess who wont be chasing status any more!
 
This is not new at all, it's been on again - off again for ages. This just seems like the most widespread implementation to date (though there is still a caveat to exclude during peak periods)

Qantas offering paid lounge access on invitation basis?

Hi Folks, I saw this on another forum: Qantas offered access to their lounge for 60 bucks both on this layover at SYD and the return layover (from MEL) at AKL. [ Itinerary is SCL-SYD-MEL and MEL-AKL-SCL.] So I sprung for it. So… this trip is coming up this week and the return is on Easter...
www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au
 
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justinbrett said:
This is not new at all, it's been on again - off again for ages. This just seems like the most widespread implementation to date
Click to expand...
This post underemphasises the importance of switching from a system where some people are sometimes offered the option to buy passes to a system where all people are always offered the option to buy passes (with blackout periods).

Qantas moving to a system where it wants lounges to be as full as possible as often as possible. Sweat those assets.
 
levelnine said:
This post underemphasises the importance of switching from a system where some people are sometimes offered the option to buy passes to a system where all people are always offered the option to buy passes (with blackout periods).

Qantas moving to a system where it wants lounges to be as full as possible as often as possible. Sweat those assets.
Click to expand...

The terms and conditions (updated Dec 23) don't indicate this will be offered carte blanche. In the blurb it says subject to availability. The peak travel period is for complimentary invitations.

Eligible customers may be offered a Lounge Access Offer with a discount(s) offer to purchase Lounge Access. Prices shown in the offer will be the final amount with any applicable discount applied. If the Eligible Flight(s) is/are changed or cancelled, previously provided discount offer(s) may not become available to future flight(s). Discounts are provided solely at the discretion of Qantas, cannot be requested, are not negotiable and may be withdrawn at any time without notice.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. Even still, how many people are going to pay $60 to go to the Brisbane QP? If they do, they'll be subsidising the rest of us.
 
Also:

5.2 Eligible Customers can access the Eligible Lounge on the day of the Eligible Flight, before departure. Lounge Access is subject to space availability and Eligible Customers may be refused entry if the lounge is full. A refund is permitted in this situation.

5.3 Offers are sent at Qantas' absolute and sole discretion. Offers are subject to availability and Qantas can choose to withdraw an offer at any time.

Now convinced this is just an IT consolidation of two separate portals, as @logicallysynced suggested. Probably nothing to see here.
 
justinbrett said:
The terms and conditions (updated Dec 23) don't indicate this will be offered carte blanche. In the blurb it says subject to availability.
Click to expand...
As you would expect. The T&Cs would never say otherwise.

The important point — missed by this post — is that the requirement to be invited to purchase a lounge access pass has been removed (see this now out of date FAQ).

Instead, you now go to this page and purchase away (subject to black out periods).

As for whether anyone will use it, clearly they will. There was a huge black market of people purchasing lounge passes before Qantas switched to electronic passes. The market rate several years ago was $50-60 (equivalent to $65-80 in today's dollars). No one ever had trouble selling them — they'd go in hours.

I also envisage plenty of people will take advantage of the ability to purchase lounge access with points because many people undervalue their points — they see them as free monopoly money they got from flights or credit card spend.
 
levelnine said:
As you would expect. The T&Cs would never say otherwise.

The important point — missed by this post — is that the requirement to be invited to purchase a lounge access pass has been removed (see this now out of date FAQ).

Instead, you now go to this page and purchase away (subject to black out periods).
Click to expand...

With status I can't check as it says I already have access. But I would have thought it would just say "not available" for flights they don't want to sell passes to. Just like you can't request an upgrade on every flight if you don't meet the right conditions, yet the upgrade flight button always appears.

Not a bad time to launch it as we enter the annual travel slump, but it will be interesting to see how it goes when things get busier around Easter.

The T&C still firmly references an offer to purchase, it is not carte blanche.
 
justinbrett said:
Now convinced this is just an IT consolidation of two separate portals, as @logicallysynced suggested. Probably nothing to see here.
Click to expand...
Actually they were already consolidated - when offered previously the payment was processed through the complimentary lounge invite portal.

I agree with the consensus here that this definitely isn’t new (as highlighted in the other thread linked from here) - other than it seemingly being “always on” excluding peak periods where previously it was more selective.
 
Question for anyone SG or below with an upcoming international flight departing from SYD/MEL - do you see the first lounge as an option?
 
dylarr said:
Question for anyone SG or below with an upcoming international flight departing from SYD/MEL - do you see the first lounge as an option?
Click to expand...
Yes, but as mentioned before they’ve likely consolidated the portals so the option exists for P1 Invitations.

That said all options, including club for domestic flights, have no option to buy a pass currently, so it’s hard to know for sure.
 
logicallysynced said:
Yes, but as mentioned before they’ve likely consolidated the portals so the option exists for P1 Invitations.

That said all options, including club for domestic flights, have no option to buy a pass currently, so it’s hard to know for sure.
Click to expand...
So you can see an option to purchase access to the first lounge?
 
levelnine said:
View attachment 364715

Complimentary Lounge Invitations | Qantas

Frequent Flyer members can login to manage any complimentary lounge invitations, a single-entry pass for one person to access a Qantas Lounge.
www.qantas.com www.qantas.com

Qantas is now allowing anyone to buy lounge access on a per visit basis. Should help ensure the Qantas Club is heaving at all times.
Click to expand...
I just tried this out logged into a Bronze family member’s account.

They have a QF flight departing SYD T3 next week.
When I select that flight for buying a lounge pass it gives me the option “NONE” under both QF Club and J lounge.

So it doesn’t seem that anyone can now buy a pass for every flight.
 

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