QANTAS: Qantas Club membership price rise

Price rises for membership of the Qantas Club are to rise between 41% and 80% depending on the length of membership you purchase. Fee increases are applicable from 18 April 2024.

The increases will be implemented before the rumoured introduction of a more pay-as-you-go monthly subscription model.

The price rise

At the moment, Qantas Club members pay a one-off joining fee of AU$99 (16,000 QFF points). This is rising to AU$129 (21,500 QFF points).

Yearly rates are also increasing by about 20%:

• One year – from AU$600 to AU$699
• Two years – from AU$1,100 to AU$1,299
• Four years – from AU$2,000 to AU$2,399

Partner membership is also rising from about half of the main membership to just a slight discount from full membership. We are talking 70% to 80%. So that is a whack! And on top, you pay the same increase in joining fees.

• One year – from AU$360 to AU$620
• Two years – from AU$660 to AU$1,169
• Four years – from AU$1,200 to AU$2,159

If you don’t want to pay for a partner membership, then you could opt for a Guest Pass, and these are also going up from AU$350 to AU$449.

Why the increases?

Qantas is citing increased costs. That’s certainly true, even if we just consider inflation over the last seven years since the last price rise.

But suspicion is that Qantas is making a move from yearly pre-payed fees to monthly ongoing fees with its new subscription system rumoured to be introduced in the next few months.

Qantas is nothing if not financially astute, so you can bet that they predict that the new subscription system will earn them more money rather than provide punters with more service.

Qantas Club is for …

Membership of the Qantas Club gives a set of selected perks, from the benefits available to Silver and Gold Frequent Flyers. The scheme is, therefore, perfect for customers who do not fly frequently enough to earn significant Frequent Flyer status but still want the benefits of access to lounges, priority boarding, additional boarding, and on-departure upgrades. This little perk allows you to request an upgrade to business using points at the club lounge desk.

Other perks include access to Qantas’ international business lounges and some partner airlines, priority check-in, and discounts on meeting room hire.

2PAXfly Takeout

Qantas looks like it is doing a bit of restructuring of Qantas Club’s yearly membership to both earn more income and also to make its rumoured introduction of monthly subscription membership more attractive.

The price increase was inevitable, although the percentage, especially for partners is a bit surprising.

Before I attained God and Platinum status with Qantas, I used to find Club membership very appealing. In fact, I think I notionally have a year or two’s credit on my membership since I attained Gold. That’s close to a decade ago, so I don’t fancy my chances it trying to claim those dollars back!

My advice if you want to join or maintain your Qantas Club membership is to get in before the price change on 18 April 2024.