Qantas Club - Looking at lounge

[bnroz]

i have just started a new job and my company uses Qantas and they have corporate Qantas club membership available, i have never used Qantas Club and i am flying Qantas this week for work, would Qantas Club staff allow me to have a look and checkout the lounge before i signed up for membership?

 

[markis10]

i have just started a new job and my company uses Qantas and they have corporate Qantas club membership available, i have never used Qantas Club and i am flying Qantas this week for work, would Qantas Club staff allow me to have a look and checkout the lounge before i signed up for membership?

Considering that its generally tax deductable and often is salary sacrificed the actual cost of joining is very low, to be frank a quick inspection will be somewhat useless as you wont get to see the lounge in its various flavours, that is when its busy, when its empty, when you are taking your family on a break or when you need a shower after an overnight flight!

 

[harvyk]

I personally would just go for it. A lounges true value come into play after a long flight especially when you have to get onto another long flight (or at the end of a day just before a long flight). The lounges themselves look like a big room with couches, a buffet at one end and a bar at the other.

It's the things such as the ability to have a shower, sit in piece and quiet with a beer (or G and T ) and wait away from the thousands of people in the terminal after a long day which make the lounges, the actual physical appearance of the lounges (whilst it's important) is not as important. Besides, whilst each lounge is built to a formula, they all have a slightly different look and feel to them.

 

[simongr]

How often do you plan to fly in this new job? If more than about 8-10 return flights a year then I would just go for it.

 

[bnroz]

How often do you plan to fly in this new job? If more than about 8-10 return flights a year then I would just go for it.

yeah hopefully about 6-7 plus any holidays i take with family, usually one overseas and one domestic.

id still like to have a look inside the club, would the staff allow me to suss it out before signing up you reckon?

 

[harvyk]

id still like to have a look inside the club, would the staff allow me to suss it out before signing up you reckon?

I'd guess no, I've never seen anyone be given a tour of the lounges. About the only way you'd get a try before you buy experience is by either QF stuffing something up and they place to into the lounge as an appology (which is how my first QP visit happened, I'd joined shortly afterwards) or by getting someone (maybe from here) to guest you into the lounge.

The way they figure is that if someone whats to join the lounge they will join regardless, and they don't want to subject the airlines better customers to round after round of visitors who are "just looking".

 

[bnroz]

I'd guess no, I've never seen anyone be given a tour of the lounges. About the only way you'd get a try before you buy experience is by either QF stuffing something up and they place to into the lounge as an appology (which is how my first QP visit happened, I'd joined shortly afterwards) or by getting someone (maybe from here) to guest you into the lounge.

The way they figure is that if someone whats to join the lounge they will join regardless, and they don't want to subject the airlines better customers to round after round of visitors who are "just looking".

oh ok, fair point. How does someone guest me into the lounge from here?

thanks for all the info too

 

[harvyk]

Meetings and Social Events - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community

post up when you are flying, from and to, as well as the times. If you see someone else posted up times which you'll be at the same airport ask them if they mind. Quite a few business travellers travel alone (myself included) so many would be happy for you to go as guest.

 

[medhead]

The other benefit is the priority check in desk. Really the appearance of the lounge is a fairly minor consideration. As others have mentioned the benefits are really the add ons, shower, quiet sit down etc.

One big benefit for me (and family) was in SIN on a 6 hours delay, club membership got us in the lounge as usual. After a couple of hours everyone else off the flight was allowed in, but by this time we had already settled in with plenty of sleeping room for the whole family. Whereas the other passengers had to take whatever was left over.

 

[kezsco]

For me it's the extra 10kgs baggage. Mrs and I travel to France every year. She always has about 30+kgs packed. If it weren't for the extra 10kgs each, we'd be slugged the amount of the club membership in extra baggage. Easy.

Also nice to go to business counter instead of economy for long haul QF1 to London or QF5 to Frankfurt. And the showers to freshen up in London's BA lounge before the connecting flight to Basel makes a world of difference.

 

[harvyk]

For me it's the extra 10kgs baggage. Mrs and I travel to France every year. She always has about 30+kgs packed. If it weren't for the extra 10kgs each, we'd be slugged the amount of the club membership in extra baggage. Easy.

Also nice to go to business counter instead of economy for long haul QF1 to London or QF5 to Frankfurt. And the showers to freshen up in London's BA lounge before the connecting flight to Basel makes a world of difference.

I'm the same, last year I did a set of flights, had I not had QP I would have paid way more than the QP membership fee in excess baggage costs. Infact the excess baggage fee would have ended up costing the same as membership for 3 people.

 

[samh004]

If you’re also really curious about what lounges look like and what facilities they each have in different cities, Qantas has a lot of information on their website.

You could also try searching google images, flickr, or any other image site on the web.

I’d join if I was you, but if you’re flying this week it might not be processed in time.

 

[kezsco]

Having read the replies (mine included), I realise that you aren't getting a balanced argument. Most people on this forum fly alot and are QP members.
It's like taking a survey of people's fitness at the entrance of a gym and concluding that everyone in this nation must be fit.
The truth it, if you don't travel much on Qantas, then the Qantas club membership isn't worth it. You can buy alternative lounge access (priority pass), check in queues aren't long for domestic travel (big city routes) and if you know where to go, you can find free newspapers in some airports.
You have to assess your own situation as it can be alot of money if you have to pay for it yourself and aren't able to tax deduct it.

 

[markis10]

The truth it, if you don't travel much on Qantas, then the Qantas club membership isn't worth it. You can buy alternative lounge access (priority pass), check in queues aren't long for domestic travel (big city routes) and if you know where to go, you can find free newspapers in some airports.
You have to assess your own situation as it can be alot of money if you have to pay for it yourself and aren't able to tax deduct it.

OP said that their new employer flies QF, so an alternate lounge is not really an option, besides for domestic routes the priority pass is no different to the virign offering, just a lot more expensive than the $220 I paid in Feb. It would be a pain to be flying ex Canberra and using PP, as you would have to go through security again to get to the QF section for instance.

As for check in queues, I can only speak from expereince but there have been some shockers in Brisbane this year, and I have spent up to an hour in a queue for some VB and JQ flights, thats usually an hour I could be sitting in th elounge catching up on work.

Everybody gets free newspapers in the QF terminals each morning, so thats no big deal, and yes we are biased as most of us are frequent flyers, so it does really come down to what the $550 means to you value wise, after year one you dont pay a joining fee so it drops to $325 a year pre tax dollars! If you are doing five return flights in that year thats $30 each visit, I would spend $30 to get out of an hour long queue any day!

 

[harvyk]

kezsco, it's not quite the same thing. Yes we all do a lot of flying, and thus QP represents excellent value for money (for those of us who actually pay for it)...

The OP has asked a group of people, whom he may be joining as a FF, if the club is good value.

A more accurate way of describing it in terms of a gym is going to a bunch of gym junkies and asking if they think it's worth while joining a certain gym. The answer may be no as the gym in question may not have the best trainers etc...

Either way to the OP, just join... Whilst you will probably like the club when everything goes right (the icing on the cake type stuff), it's true value will come out when something goes wrong (at 8 to 9 trips a year inc at least one int, something will at sometime not go overly smoothly, and you'll wonder how you could have survived without it)

 

[medhead]

As for check in queues, I can only speak from expereince but there have been some shockers in Brisbane this year, and I have spent up to an hour in a queue for some VB and JQ flights, thats usually an hour I could be sitting in th elounge catching up on work.

Yes, like my only virgin blue flight where I did online checkin, turned up to CBR expecting to bag drop only and got put into the line with everyone else checking in. :!:

 

[ejb]

When I first joined QC I asked for a look around and was escorted through the Sydney lounge on a tour and was even given a drink. Tour lasted maybe 10 minutes and then I joined at the desk.

I see no reason why they still wouldn't let you have a quick look, but I see no reason why not to join at corp prices.

ejb