How to get airport lounge access for Kiwis: Alternatives to Koru Membership

Starting a trip with a visit to an airport lounge sets you up for a more relaxing journey - whether you’re on a long haul vacation or a short local business trip. Using the Air New Zealand Koru Programme¹ is a popular option for Kiwis to get into a lounge and start their journey in style - but there are also many other ways for New Zealand travellers to access airport lounges.

This guide looks at how to get airport lounge access without Koru membership, including pay per use, airline lounge and credit card airport lounge access. You can also learn more about the Wise card, an easy way to stretch your dollars when paying in foreign currencies.

How to get airport lounge access in New Zealand without a Koru membership

Koru membership offers lots of perks and gets you into the Air New Zealand lounges domestically, and also some international lounges through Air NZ partners. However, it can set you back a cool 800 dollars a year, which means it's not right for everyone.

The good news is that there are alternatives. You could pay per use in a lounge like the Manaia lounge, get a credit card with access to airport lounges or join a specific lounge membership scheme.

The lounges you can access through these methods may not be dedicated airline lounges like those you get from Koru. That can mean that the quality varies a little - so checking the online reviews for any lounge is a smart plan before you part with any money.

Let’s look at how to get airport lounge access without a Koru membership.

Pay-as-you-go lounge passes

Depending on where you’re departing from, you may be able to purchase single-entry passes into airport lounges, for the time and duration you require.

From Auckland Airport you could choose the Strata Lounge², at a cost of 69 NZD upward. Or there are Manaia Lounges in Christchurch Airport³ and Queenstown Airport⁴ which offer bookings from a cost of 43 USD - about 70 NZD. You can choose different lengths of time for your lounge access, depending on how long you’ll need to wait at the airport.

Both of these options offer comfortable seating, high speed wifi and entertainment, food and drinks, and a relaxing environment for the start of your travels, or a longer layover. There are also often showers available if you need to freshen up.

You can book in advance, which tends to get you the best discounts on fees. Walk-ins are also available - but this is subject to availability and so at peak times you might find you’re turned away. Opening hours vary depending on flight schedules, so do check in advance of your journey.

Credit cards with airport lounge access

Another option is to get a premium credit card which offers complimentary lounge access, such as the Amex Airpoints Card⁵ or the Westpac World Mastercard⁶.

With the Amex Airpoints Card you get 2 annual entry passes to lounges including the Strata lounge, while the Westpac World Mastercard offers membership of Priority Pass - a lounge entry scheme which we'll look at in just a moment.

Naturally you’ll have to weigh up the costs of using your card to decide if this benefit is worthwhile for you. The Amex Airpoints Card has an annual cost of 195 NZD, while the Westpac World Mastercard has an annual fee of 310 NZD in addition to any other fees incurred when you transact. These can include foreign transaction fees, interest and penalties if you don’t clear your bill on time, every time.

Some other cards issued by Mastercard also offer lounge access through Lounge Key⁷. This benefit is only available to card holders - check your card terms and conditions to see if it’s an option for you.

Lounge membership programs

If you’re thinking of lounge membership programs you’ve probably heard of the Air New Zealand Koru Programme which is a popular option - but not the only one.

There are also lounge access plans from providers like Priority Pass⁸ and DragonPass⁹, which give access to lounges all over the world for an annual fee. In some cases, passes like these are offered as an added benefit to credit cards - but they can also be bought separately if you prefer.

To give an example, Priority Pass operates 1,700+ airport lounges globally and has membership costs which start from 99 USD annually - about 170 NZD. This gives you a discounted rate of entry into lounges, of 35 USD - about 70 NZD. Or you can trade up to a plan with unlimited free lounge access for about 800 NZD annually.

Dragon Pass is a relatively similar scheme, and there’s some overlap in the lounges which are available on each. There are 1,400 available worldwide lounges, and the entry level package has the same fee as Priority Pass, while offering one complimentary lounge access annually. The top tier plan is slightly cheaper than Priority Pass at 429 USD - about 725 NZD a year¹⁰.

Specific airline lounge access

While all of the lounges you can access through the above schemes are open to people flying on any airline, there are also lounges which only offer access for people with specific ticket classes and flights. For example, there are Air New Zealand airports throughout the country, including domestic, regional and international lounges. These lounges typically have a broader range of amenities compared to shared access lounges, although getting in can be much harder.

You can enter an Air New Zealand lounge if you have a Business Premier¹¹ or a Business Luxe class travel ticket on an eligible flight. This ticket will cost you significantly more than an Economy - but for long haul travel it can mean you get a more relaxing end to end experience by far.

The other option commonly used to get into airline specific lounges is to qualify through the airline’s frequent flyer plans. For example, under Air NZ Airpoints tier benefits¹² you might be able to get into the same Air New Zealand lounges with a lower class of flight ticket, if you have Silver, Gold or Elite membership status. Silver members can go into the lounges twice annually, and both Gold and Elite members have unlimited access when flying on an eligible ticket.

Summary

While there are quite a few ways to get airport lounge access in New Zealand without a Koru membership, different solutions can suit different travellers. Ultimately the best fit for you will depend on your travel frequency, budget, and style.

If you’ve got a high tier frequent flyer membership or are flying Business the chances are that you may be able to get into an airline lounge as part of your ticket cost.

If not, the most common options are buying a pay per use lounge access if you’re an occasional traveler, or signing up to a lounge membership plan if you’re happy to invest more for global access to over 1,000 lounges. In this case the costs can be fairly high, but the pay off can also be pretty good if you travel a lot, and want lounge access before journeys or during transit.

Use this guide to the different ways to get New Zealand lounge access without Koru, to see if any quit your needs, and get ready for a great trip.

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