Qantas club changes?

[bussyboy]

Centurion is smaller but FAR fewer people than the QF Dungeon. Also some nice seating options too:
View attachment 353216

My first thought was how nice to have throw pillows...
then I thought harder.

 

[luckypierre]

Yes It has changed. (as paid QF club member and QF lifetime silver) Maybe ~6 months ago??
QF club benefits do seem to be on a descent

QF club benefits have been on a gradual descent for many years .
The good old days as a whY traveler you gained access to lounges like BA executive, Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Admirals Club etc. and invariably received priority checkin.
My life QF club membership card is now residing in an old shoebox somewhere.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Marhaba? I may try it out on Thursday morning if The House is not open...

Correct, Marhaba. PointsHack has a recent review on the lounge. The Etihad lounge was fairly ho hum IMHO, and the fact it had tinted blue windows does it no favours. The two lounges I have yet to visit at MEL are: Plaza Premium, QF Flounge, Singapore Lounge, nor the Emirates lounge.

-RooFlyer88

 

[kangarooflyer88]

QF club benefits have been on a gradual descent for many years .
The good old days as a whY traveler you gained access to lounges like BA executive, Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Admirals Club etc. and invariably received priority checkin.

You can still access some of those lounges like BA and JAL (I think). The priority benefit going away is good because the purpose of the membership should be for lounges. If you throw the kitchen sink in with it, then why on god's green earth would anyone bother attaining status with Qantas? If anything Qantas is being generous when it comes to baggage allowances too!

-RooFlyer88

 

[Catweazle]

Just to clarify, QF Club members do actually have to fly on QF or JQ metal in order to access the QF Club, right?

 

[henrus]

Just to clarify, QF Club members do actually have to fly on QF or JQ metal in order to access the QF Club, right?

No it's not metal it's flight number. Provided you have a QF or JQ flight number then access is granted. Flight can be operated by a partner airline like Emirates/Fiji Airways/American Airlines etc but just needs the QF flight number.

Qantas Lounge Access Eligibility | Qantas

Find out more on Qantas Lounge access eligibility whether your traveling in First, Business; are a Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qantas Club or oneworld member.

www.qantas.com

 

[mviy]

But classic reward seats are marketed by the operating airline.

Also for revenue seats, where they are available, booking with the QF flight number may cost more than booking directly with the operating airline.

 

[henrus]

But classic reward seats are marketed by the operating airline.

Correct, if a Qantas Club member traveling in Economy was travelling from Brisbane to Nadi and redeemed points for FJ920 they would not get lounge access however if they booked a cash fare via the Qantas website on QF3873 they would.

Some partner awards like Air Calin and Air Tahiti Nui book on to the QF flight number which can be a benefit for Qantas club members.

The one exception which seems to be a recent change is that Emirates flights (EK flight number) departing from Australia only, QF Club members get access to the Qantas lounge (but not the Emirates lounge) where applicable (ADL, BNE, SYD, MEL) - not Perth due to different terminal.

Also for revenue seats, where they are available, booking with the QF flight number may cost more than booking directly with the operating airline.

Correct however that is the benefit one gets for booking on the QF flight number. For the record that doesn't just apply to Qantas Club members but also those with Gold/Platinum status (when travelling on Qantas partners who aren't apart of the oneworld).

There are quite a few of these that exist:

Air France - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the SIN or HKG Qantas lounges prior to QF codeshare flights to Paris. Gold/Plat also get access to AF lounge departing from Paris (but not for QF Club).
Air New Zealand - QF Gold/Plat get access to Air NZ domestic lounge when booked on a QF flight number NZ operated flight (not for QF Club).
Air Tahiti Nui - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the AKL and LAX lounge prior to QF codeshare flights to Papeete.
Air Vanuatu - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD/MEL lounge prior to QF codeshare flights to Vanuatu.
Air Calin - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD/MEL and the Air Calin Noumea lounge prior to QF codeshare flights operated by SB.
Air North - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to QF domestic lounges prior to Air North operated QF marketed flights.
Bangkok Airways - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the SIN QF lounges on QF codeshare flights to Koh Samui.
China Airlines - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD/MEL lounge prior to QF codeshare flights to Taiwan.
China Eastern - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD/MEL lounge prior to QF codeshare flights to China. Gold/Plat also get some other lounges/perks.
China Soutern - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD/MEL lounge prior to QF codeshare flights to China.
Emirates - Emirates as mentioned above is an odd one out, QF Club gets access to AU Qantas lounge regardless of QF or EK flight number and in Dubai the Emirates Business lounge but only on a QF flight number. Gold/Plat get access everywhere.
Fiji Airways - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the QF lounges in BNE/SYD/MEL/ADL/LAX/CBR/AKL/CHC/HKG/HNL/SIN/WLG and the Nadi lounge prior to QF codeshare flights operated by FJ.
KLM - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the SIN or HKG Qantas lounges prior to QF codeshare flights to Amsterdam. Gold/Plat also get access to KL lounge departing from Amsterdam (but not for QF Club).
LATAM - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the AKL/SYD/MEL lounge prior to QF codeshare flights. Gold/Plat also get some other lounges/perks.
Solomon Airlines - QF Club/Gold/Plat get access to the BNE/SYD lounge prior to QF codeshare flights.

 

[TheDefenestrator]

Emirates - Emirates as mentioned above is an odd one out, QF Club gets access to AU Qantas lounge regardless of QF or EK flight number and in Dubai the Emirates Business lounge but only on a QF flight number. Gold/Plat get access everywhere.

Emirates is definitely an interesting one, as summarised by Point Hacks.
Aside from QF Club members getting access to the EK DXB business lounges only on a QF flight number, my understanding of the common access rules for Emirates lounges via QFF are:

• Must have ticket for a plane operated by QF or EK, with a QF or EK flight number
• Can access lounges in Australia, Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East if traveling between these regions.
  • No access to lounges in the above locations if traveling to the Americas or South Africa.
  • No access to lounges outside of the above regions.
• Must be on a "codeshare route".

The last one was something that I learnt about the hard way when I tried to access the Emirates lounge in Sydney with a ticket for QF25 SYD-HND and was refused entry.
If I were flying instead flying SYD to CHC, for example on EK412 (QF8766) or QF137 (EK5017), I assume there would be no issues with access as QFF Gold (Yes I realise these aren't the best examples seeing as these flights are outside of the Emirates lounge operating hours in SYD: 00:25 to 05:45 then 18:30 to 22:00).

 

[henrus]

• Must be on a "codeshare route".

Interesting as I've never heard that one before. Granted I've only ever used Emirates lounges in Australia prior to flying QF to NZ and the Singapore lounge when flying QF to Australia which are both codeshare routes.