Toyko lounge access / city visit?

[durham70]

Hi

I'm flying (economy) to China in September on points.

Flying Sydney - Tokyo on Qantas then Tokyo - Shanghai on ANA
(mixture of QF and United points - didn't have enough to go all the way on one airline!).


On the way up i have a 3 hour wait in Tokyo but on the way back i have 9 hours (downside of free flights i guess).

Three questions

1. If I join Qantas Club can i access a lounge in Toyko?
2. An alternative is i have a diners card - has anyone been to the diners lounge in Toyko? Any thoughts?
3. Another alternative is a trip into Tokyo - i've never been but understand the airport is a long long way from the city?

Thanks for helping!!

David

 

[Guest]

Qantas club membership will get you access to the lounge in tokyo.

So you can use it on the way back, but not on the way over..

 

[wleong]

If I had to pay $$$$ just to go to the lounge for the odd trip, not worth it. If you are an existing Diners Club cardholder, then this is the way to go however I would not join Diners just for this privlage.

 

[redrat]

Citibank PLAT just offered me a free Diners Club Card - no fees. I may have to explore the Diners Club lounges situation. I'll check FT - they've got heaps on everything

 

[arun]

I will look forward to my Diners offer from Citibank Plat!

 

[Alan in CBR]

I am a big supporter of the Qantas Club, but for a one-off or infrequent use it is much too expensive to consider. Only you can make that decision though - divide the membership fee by the estimated number of times you will use it and think whether it makes sense.

In my case I joined the Qantas Club when I wasn't doing much flying. Clearly this sounds like madness, but I knew I would be doing more and more in coming years and I had some spare cash. My decision was to take out life membership - best two and a half grand I have ever spent. I must stress though that it only worked for me because of the particular circumstances I was in. (Note that for the first two years of membership each visit effectively cost about $100! It's much better now!)

According to the Diners Club web site, the Tokyo club has "Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, shower facilities" - doesn't sound too flash to me. Note that there is no mention of food, for example.

Without knowing your personal circumstances, I would probably recommend going to a decent eatery/restaurant at the airport, having a few drinks at the airport bar, then go to the DC lounge for a quiet place to read a book. Before departure have a shower in the DC lounge. Probably cost less than $100 all up - much cheaper than Qantas Club membership, and you get a good meal.

I can't help you with a city visit since I have never been to Tokyo, but sometimes tour companies have short city tours specifically for those with long airport layovers - worth checking out.