Your guide to Virgin Australia lounge access
Your guide to Virgin Australia lounge access
Virgin Australia lounges aren’t limited only to business class passengers and its own elite frequent flyers.
Offering lounges in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and on the Gold Coast, Virgin Australia rolls out the welcome mat for many travellers – not only those flying business class or with Velocity status.
On its extended door list are eligible credit card and charge card holders, frequent flyers of partner airlines like Etihad and Singapore Airlines, single-visit passholders, paying visitors, and guests of other eligible travellers.
Here’s a complete list of who qualifies for Virgin Australia lounge access, along with how anybody flying Virgin can get into the lounge.
Virgin Australia lounge access by travel class
A business class ticket on Virgin Australia grants pre-flight access to Virgin Australia’s lounges. As access is included in the fare, you don’t need to be an elite Velocity member or a paid-up lounge subscriber for access, when presenting a business class boarding pass.
At Adelaide Airport only, a Singapore Airlines business class boarding pass also unlocks Virgin Australia lounge access.
Here, travellers first check-in with Singapore Airlines, clear domestic security to visit the Virgin Australia Lounge, and then proceed through the international departure checkpoint to board their flight.
Children aged 4-17
Children aged 0-3
Virgin Australia business class
Only if also flying business class
Only if also flying business class
Singapore Airlines business class (Adelaide lounge only)
Only if also flying business class
Only if also flying business class
While Virgin doesn’t normally permit additional guests for business class passengers, an exception is made where the business class traveller is an Unaccompanied Minor – in which case, an adult (who isn’t flying) can enter the lounge and wait with the child until departure.
Access for business class includes those who booked business class outright, along with travellers who upgraded to business class using Velocity Points, an upgrade bid, or a Platinum or VIP upgrade credit. As long as you’re flying business class, you’re good to go.
Virgin Australia lounge access by Velocity Frequent Flyer status
The most common path to Virgin Australia lounge access is by holding elite status in Velocity Frequent Flyer.
Here’s who makes the cut, along with how many adult and child guests each member can bring along.
Children aged 4-17
Children aged 0-3
Self, plus three adult guests
Three, in addition to any adult guests
No limit with accompanying adults
Velocity Platinum
Self, plus three adult guests
Three, in addition to any adult guests
No limit with accompanying adults
Velocity Gold
Self, plus one adult guest
Three, in addition to any adult guests
No limit with accompanying adults
Velocity Silver
Lounge pass required for each visit
N/A, unless using a lounge pass
N/A, unless using a lounge pass
Unlike higher-tiered travellers, Velocity Silver members receive two complimentary lounge visits per year rather than unlimited access.
These are credited to the Silver member as electronic lounge passes, which can be redeemed upon entry to the lounge – either by the member on two separate visits, or on a single visit when travelling with a guest (using one pass per person).
Velocity Silver members using these single-visit passes can’t bring a complimentary guest, however, and aren’t formally entitled to bring children into the lounge when only one adult pass is used.
(The discretion of lounge staff may allow this to occur, but it’s something the traveller can merely ‘request’, not ‘expect’.)
Virgin Australia lounge access by partner airline status
Eligible members of selected Virgin Australia partner airline programs can enjoy access to Virgin Australia’s domestic lounges, as below.
Loyalty program
Eligible tiers
Air Canada Aeroplan
Etihad Guest
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Elite Gold
PPS Club
Solitaire PPS Club
Solitaire PPS Life
South African Airways Voyager
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
At Virgin Australia’s Adelaide Airport lounge only, the eligible Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer members listed above can also access Virgin Australia’s domestic lounge prior to an international Singapore Airlines flight – the same privilege extended to Singapore Airlines’ business class passengers.
With both domestic and international flights in the same terminal, Virgin Australia’s Adelaide lounge serves overseas flights, too.
Top-tier frequent flyers of Virgin Australia’s other partner airlines – a roster that currently includes Air Canada, ANA and Hawaiian Airlines – also have no access to Virgin Australia’s domestic lounges at present.
Virgin Australia lounge access by credit card
Does your Australian credit card offer Velocity Points? If so, you may also qualify for Virgin Australia Lounge access.
Cardholders with the following products can unlock two single-visit Virgin Australia Lounge passes every year:
- American Express Velocity Business Card
- American Express Velocity Platinum Card
- Virgin Money’s Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Card
- Westpac Altitude Velocity Black Mastercard
Contact your financial institution to confirm how and when your lounge passes can be activated – which may first require you to book a Virgin Australia flight using that same card.
These passes can be used by the traveller on two separate visits, or on one visit with a guest in-tow: using one lounge pass per person, in the same way as Velocity Silver lounge passes are redeemed.
Virgin Australia domestic passengers with the following cards are instead entitled to unlimited Virgin Australia lounge access, on presentation of a departing Virgin Australia boarding pass and their AMEX card:
- American Express Platinum Charge Card
- American Express Platinum Business Card
- American Express Centurion Card
Each cardholder is entitled to bring one complimentary guest into the lounge – who must be travelling with the AMEX Platinum or Centurion member on the same flight – and note, you’ll require your physical AMEX card for access: cards in apps and mobile wallets don’t make the cut.
Paid access to Virgin Australia lounges
Travellers who can’t access the lounge based on their frequent flyer status or travel class can instead pay for access – either through a yearly or lifetime lounge membership, or by purchasing a single-entry pass at the door.
Children aged 4-17
Children aged 0-3
Lounge members
Self, plus one adult guest
Three, in addition to any adult guests
No limit with accompanying adults
Lifetime Lounge members
Self, plus one adult guest
Three, in addition to any adult guests
No limit with accompanying adults
Single-entry pass ($65 p.p.)
For those travellers paying for access at the door, note that the $65 fee applies per person, so doesn’t include any complimentary guests.
While lounge staff may use discretion where children are involved, expect to pay $65 per person, and consider it a happy bonus if charges are waived for a little one.
Who can use Virgin Australia Premium Entry?
Last but not least, Virgin Australia Premium Entry facilities in Sydney and Brisbane provide a direct path from kerb to lounge – and the door list for Premium Entry is tighter than for the lounge itself. Although Sydney remains shuttered for now, the Brisbane path is open for business.
Here’s who can use Premium Entry, when it’s available:
- Virgin Australia business class passengers
- Velocity Gold, Platinum and VIP frequent flyers
- Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge members
- Frequent flyers of United Airlines, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways and Virgin Atlantic who qualify for lounge access, as above
- Travellers entering as a guest of the above flyers, where permitted
This means Premium Entry is not available to Virgin Australia Lounge members with an annual membership, those paying $65 at the door, Velocity Silver and eligible credit card holders using a single-entry pass, or to AMEX Platinum, Platinum Business and Centurion cardholders.
Passengers who qualify for Virgin Australia lounge access yet don’t make the cut for Premium Entry can access the lounge by proceeding through the public passenger screening points in Sydney and Brisbane, and entering the lounge via the departures concourse.
In Sydney, you’ll find the lounge by veering right straight after the main security checkpoint, while in Brisbane, the lounge sits opposite gate 41, again after security.
Can I access the Virgin Australia lounges after my flight?
Yes – Virgin Australia has confirmed that on-arrival access to lounges is once again available.