Credit cards with airport lounge access

Compare credit cards that give cardholders complimentary entry passes into airport airline lounges in Australia and overseas.

Yvonne Taylor avatar
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Updated 2 Dec 2024   |   Rates updated regularly

Comparing of 5 credit cards with airport lounge access

Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card (Altitude)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

20.99% p.a. ongoing

Interest-free days

45 days

Annual fee

$200.00 for 1st year

Highlights

  • Earn up to 150,000 bonus Altitude Points. Receive 100,000 Altitude bonus points by spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within 120 days of card approval. Additionally, get 50,000 points after your first eligible purchase in year 2. Exclusions apply.
  • Initial $200 p.a. annual fee ($295 p.a. thereafter), applicable to new cardholders only.
  • Earn 6 Altitude points per $1 on Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates flights bought in Australia, subject to eligibility criteria.

Pros

  • Earn up to 150,000 bonus Altitude Points when you meet the criteria.
  • Additional savings with the $200 first-year annual fee ($295 p.a. thereafter).
  • Earn 1.25 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases
  • Get 2 complimentary lounge passes each year with Priority Pass.

Cons

  • The high annual fee of $295 p.a. after the initial year.
Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)

Apply by 30 April 2025

Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

20.99% p.a. ongoing

Interest-free days

55 days

Annual fee

$199.00 for 1st year

Highlights

  • Receive up to 150,000 bonus Amplify Points when you apply by 30 November 2024, get approved, and spend $12,000 on eligible purchases within the first 12 months of card approval. Terms and Conditions apply.
  • Discounted first-year annual fee of $199.
  • Includes complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months

Pros

  • The 150,000 bonus Amplify Rewards Points.
  • Enjoy 2 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year when you enroll in Priority Pass.
  • Discounted first-year annual fee of $199.
  • Includes complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months

Cons

  • There is no promotional balance transfer offer at the moment.
  • After the initial year, the annual fee reverts to $295 p.a.
St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)

Apply by 30 April 2025

St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

20.99% p.a. ongoing

Interest-free days

55 days

Annual fee

$199.00 for 1st year

Highlights

  • Up to 150,000 Bonus Amplify Rewards Points earned upon spending $12,000 on eligible purchases within the first 12 months from card approval.
  • Initial card fee of $199 for the first year ($295 p.a. thereafter).
  • Comes with complimentary overseas travel insurance coverage for up to 6 months.

Pros

  • The 150,000 bonus Amplify Rewards Points.
  • Save $96 with the $199 card fee for the first year.
  • Enjoy 2 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year when you enroll in Priority Pass.
  • Comes with concierge services.

Cons

  • After the initial year, the annual fee is $295 p.a.
  • There is no promotional balance transfer offer at the moment.
Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature Credit Card (Qantas)

Apply by 30 April 2025

Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature Credit Card (Qantas)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

20.99% p.a. ongoing

Interest-free days

55 days

Annual fee

$295.00 p.a. ongoing

Highlights

  • Receive up to 80,000 bonus Qantas Points upon spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days from card approval. Exclusions apply.
  • Earn 0.75 Qantas points per $1 spent on eligible transactions.
  • Benefit from complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months.

Pros

  • The 80,000 bonus Qantas Points.
  • Enjoy 2 Qantas lounge passes every year.
  • Includes complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months

Cons

  • The annual fee of $295 p.a.
BankSA Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

20.99% p.a. ongoing

Interest-free days

55 days

Annual fee

$199.00 for 1st year

Highlights

  • Earn up to 150,000 Bonus Amplify Rewards Points over 2 years when you spend $12,000 on eligible purchases within the first 12 months from card approval.
  • $199 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($295 p.a. annual fee thereafter).
  • Includes complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months

Pros

  • Enjoy 2 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year when you enroll in Priority Pass.
  • The 150,000 bonus Amplify Rewards Points.
  • $199 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($295 p.a. annual fee thereafter).
  • Includes complimentary overseas travel insurance for up to 6 months

Cons

  • After the initial year, the annual fee is $295 p.a.
  • There is no promotional balance transfer offer at the moment.

Airport lounge access is a travel perk available with many premium credit cards, giving you the ability to escape from the crowds in the main terminal area and relax before your flight.

Keep reading to find out more about how they work.

What type of facilities can I expect in an airport lounge?

Restricted-entry airport lounges range from basic to luxuriously opulent. At the lowest end of the scale, your ‘lounge’ may actually be a bar or café on the ordinary passenger concourse, offering a discount on food and beverages to members (or single-entry pass holders) of specific lounge programs. The most opulent lounges may offer luxuries such as spa treatments, five-star dining, and personal transport between the airline’s check-in desk, the lounge, and the boarding gate.

In most lounges you will find many of the following facilities:

  • Comfortable seating
  • TV and movies
  • Complimentary newspapers and magazines
  • Complimentary food and beverages
  • A dedicated working area, with desks, device charging points, free Wi-Fi, and access to a computer if you don’t have your own
  • A ‘quiet area’
  • Showers, with towels provided
  • A screen with flight boarding information

Can I take guests into the lounge with me?

If your credit card lounge access comes in the form of two single-visit passes annually, you can normally use the second pass for someone travelling with you. Or you may be able to pay a fee (usually between $35 and $65) for your guest’s entry.

If your card gives you full membership of a specific lounge program, you may be able to admit a guest free of charge, but this is not always the case. Check the terms and conditions found either in the small print at the foot of the credit card’s web page, or in the link to a file with full terms and conditions.

How much is complimentary airport lounge access worth?

It depends on the level of access your card gives you, the quality of the lounge, and how often you travel.

Qantas lounges are mainly designed for Qantas Club members ($399 to join plus $450 per year), passengers travelling in Qantas business or first class seats, and high-tier frequent flyers. All of these lounge access methods require high expenditure, and Qantas lounges are very well-appointed, so even two single-entry passes are quite valuable.

Virgin Australia, Priority Pass and Delta SkyClub have similar programs, with joining and annual membership fees granting unlimited access.

Access to Véloce World, American Express and Diners Club lounges is limited to holders of specific credit cards, but it’s possible to argue that the value obtained is similar to that of programs with a joining and annual membership fee. For frequent travellers, membership of any program with unlimited lounge access is probably worth at least $500 per year.

Based on lounge programs which sell single-visit passes for guests or for travellers on their own linked airline, two single-visit passes are probably worth a total of between $75 and $130 per year.

Will I find a lounge affiliated with my program at every airport?

Most lounge programs belong to a network of affiliated lounges, so you will probably gain access to at least one lounge (and sometimes more) at the world’s major airports. You may not be so lucky at lesser airports.

Qantas and Virgin lounge members will have lots of choice in Australia, and also find affiliated lounges overseas. In Australia, very few airports outside the state capitals have lounges.

Single-entry passes may have restrictions, such as being only available for domestic lounges, or only for international lounges, so be sure to read the small print.

Can I rollover my unused lounge passes into the following year?

No. Single-entry passes must be used within 12 months. In a year where you aren’t travelling, and can’t use the passes, you will forfeit the benefit.

Is it worth paying a higher annual fee for a credit card with lounge access?

Frequent air travellers are very likely to find it worthwhile to pay for a card granting unlimited lounge access in one or more programs, since it saves them the cost of joining a lounge program and paying an annual fee. It is also likely that the kind of premium card which confers full lounge membership will also have other valuable complimentary benefits, such as rewards points, travel insurance and free flights or travel credits, all of which also help to justify the high annual fee.

Infrequent travellers would probably struggle to justify the cost for this kind of premium card. Even a less expensive card – one giving two single-visit passes annually – may still not justify its cost in any year where you don’t use the lounge passes and travel insurance.

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