The one-off fee to sign up to the Qantas Club program plummets from $399 to $99.
The renewals have become costlier though.
Qantas Club joining fee: was $399, now $99 (75% drop) or 16000 Qantas points.
One-year membership fee: was $540, now $600 (11% increase)
Two-year membership fee: was $980, now $1,100 (12% increase)
Four-year membership fee: was $1,850, now $2,000 (8% increase).
One-year membership renewal: $540
Two-year membership renewal: $980
Four-year membership renewal: $1,850.
Guess benefits people that flight for work.
Which isn't many these days or in the new future…
If you can't drink $33 worth of booze before a flight then gtfo and leave room in the lounge for someone who can.
No mate, it's $99 as a joining fee but that doesn't include the first year. They still need to pay for the first year which is $600.
So it's more like "if you can't drink $233 of booze…".
For three flights a year i'd pass. Honestly the qantas club is not that great. Just before covid, I saw Sydney domestic QC absolutely packed. So many gold FF and QC members now.
If you have to buy it, you're probably not flying enough to justify it.
Besides with Qantas Club you can just as easily get the membership if you earn 350k in a calendar year. If you time it right, it can definitely last more than 1 year.
Wow. You are correct.
What a stinger!!!
So they reduce the joining fee but increase the yearly subscription fee.
Sneaky!!
Anyone who needs to pay for Qantas Club really isn't flying enough to justify the cost of it. You get access with gold if you fly a lot anyhow.
Just buy the single use passes from the forums IMO
I fly overseas once a year and worth it especially if you have kids.
For domestic, ehhh not so much. I don't think I would renew if it was domestic a few times a year.
I fly overseas once a year and worth it especially if you have kids.
Definitely not worth it for you. Almost every port ex aus has a pay to visit lounge cheaper than 699, as with a lot of major international destinations. Priority pass is probably better value.
It only benefits really heavy alcohol drinkers otherwise you need to eat a lot of boiled eggs and ham and cheese sandwiches to get back your $699.
This is tax deductible if your employer supports that. So max 47% discount - BARGAIN!
Tbh food is not that bad but would say only $20-$30 value each visit if I have to measure it.
How would it be tax deductible?
Your employer need to support that as a FBT exempted item. Often 3rd party salary packaging service provides that along with mobile phone and tablet.
It’s not tax deductible for personal income tax at all.
It’s a deductible expense for a business for its employees. Corporate tax rate is not 47pc either.
If you’ve been claiming it on your tax return I’d get audit ready!
It usually provided as a salary packaging item that's deducted from your pre tax payroll. Which I've clearly stated above. 🤷♂️
Thanks don't need it right now, but will give it a try when I start flying again.
Then the price go back normal
Does qantas club give you access to only normal qantas lounges? Or business and first class? ie. akin to an unlimited lounge pass
Only Qantas lounge.
Base level only (ie not business on domestic or first class on international).
Normally Qantas Club gives you:
Domestic: Access to the Qantas Club (vs the Business Lounge which you access by actually having a business class ticket or platinum frequent flyer status)
International: Qantas International Business Lounge (vs Qantas First Lounge)
Currently things are a bit different due to there being limited volume of passengers etc - eg. at Sydney International they opened the First lounge and kept the Business one closed, so everyone had access to First.
Qantas club domestic in Sydney was serving choice of either pasta or vegetable soup with bread roll as the main. A yoghurt biscuit for dessert. Definitely not worth it.
Aim for qantad points club by taking ~ 4 credit cards put a year.
I feel the joining fee is dying a slow death like their frequent flyer membership fees
Been a gold flyer for 2 years.
The lounge isn’t as good in covid times and if you’re not a drinker it isn’t worth it right now IMO.
The lounge paradox is that it’s basically only worth splurging for lounge access when you’re flying so much that you’re a gold anyway.
People are flogging their lounge passes for $30 here all the time anyway right?
More like $10-15 I see them at
Not long ago $4k got life membership
Where’s the link to buy that?
100% not worth it.
Went to the Sydney Domestic QC last Saturday.
Limited options available, Carrot cake was ok?
The only thing going for it on a Saturday night was it was the only thing open!
Shower is handy and prob only thing I use the lounges for. I normally buy maccas and bring in to the lounge.
Yeah it's pretty average. I wouldn't pay to join if I didn't fly enough to get the status to get in.
It's worse now where you have to scan your boarding pass so you can't even sneak people in by watching your card
Haven't been able to do that in many years ime.
Agree from an individual perspective that if you fly often enough you will get Gold pretty easily.
But it's not bad if you fly as a family every now and again and based on size of family - as you get entry for you + 1 guest (partner) + up to 2 kids. Access to better toilets, and food for kids makes waiting for flights (and in transit) a more pleasant experience.
I have used the complementary Qantas passes at least 6 times over the pass 3 years… If I didn't get it for free I wouldn't pay for it as it isn't worth it…
Last week I used some passes in Brisbane and cause the club was closed. We were allowed in the business lounge, Which seems a lot nicer…
I don't travel for business,. So using the passes for domestic leasure travel is all I would need…
Agree from an individual perspective that if you fly often enough you will get Gold pretty easily.
Not necessarily easily, but indeed as a generalisation if you're not flying often enough to make Gold (with or without supplementary status running) then the value proposition for purchasing QC is very questionable.
There would be a very narrow sliver of the market for whom purchasing QC makes sense in terms of cost:benefit. And I suspect the vast majority of people who do pay for QC are outside of that sliver, but it's their money. (Or in some cases it may be paid for or subsidised by their employer.)
As you noted, it could be decent value for families.
QC is really only worth it if you fly short haul economy a lot, and you also happen to fly at the time when you would eat a meal and/or load up on booze. These days, I need to fly with my family roughly once every 2 months, and I still fail to see the value adding up.
Looking forward to my crypto visa card instead thanks.
Get free airport lounge access world wide and I'm HODLing crypto coins at the same time and getting 12% on them on a 3 month term deposit with them.
(Along with a couple of other sweet perks)
It is worth getting this, I only flight around 3 time a year so I doubt this is a good deal for me. Guess benefits people that flight for work.