How to get a lifetime of Virgin Australia lounge access

Unlike Qantas, Virgin Australia doesn’t offer Lifetime Gold frequent flyer status to its most-travelled passengers – but does allow anybody to purchase a lifetime of lounge access.

The privilege doesn’t come cheap: you’ll need to fork out a whopping $9,750 for a standard Virgin Australia ‘Lifetime Lounge’ membership if you’re under 60 years old, while a ‘Senior Lifetime Lounge’ card can be purchased for a reduced $6,750 for those aged 60 and above.

Both provide the same level of airport lounge access – but for the rest of your life, rather than the rest of the year as with a regular annual membership.

Here’s where you can use that Lifetime Lounge membership, and how to decide whether it’s worth the investment.

Lounge access for Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge cardholders

When travelling onwards with Virgin Australia the same day, domestic lounges are available at seven key airports.

This roster includes Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, and on the Gold Coast – being Australia's busiest airport not located in a capital city.

At each location, Lifetime Lounge members can access the lounge with one additional adult guest, three children aged 4-17, and any kids aged 3 and under.

However, as part of its emergence from administration last year, Virgin has permanently closed almost half its lounges: a move that also follows the removal of Air New Zealand lounges in Australia and NZ from the program.

In response to these changes, there's been no reduction in the asking price for a Lifetime Lounge card.

This means new members pay the same price today for access to Virgin Australia's remaining network of seven lounges, as they did in years past, when the card had merit for trans-Tasman travellers, too.

Additional perks for Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge members

Although Virgin Australia lounge membership is normally just that – your ticket to the lounge – Lifetime Lounge members get something extra.

That's access to the airline's Premium Entry facilities in Sydney and Brisbane: a perk normally reserved for Gold and Platinum frequent flyers, and business class travellers.

When open, Premium Entry is your private path from kerb to lounge.

That's where you'll find a dedicated security screening point, meaning you don't set foot in the public terminal until it's time to board.

However, Virgin Australia's Premium Entry facilities have remained closed for almost 18 months and counting – first locked-up when the lounges themselves were shut in March 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions kicked in, but now remaining off-limits to travellers.

"We’re reassessing the re-opening of the Premium Lounge Entry in Sydney and Brisbane and will provide an update shortly," reads the Virgin Australia website.

That statement has been listed since November 2020, giving travellers – including Lifetime Lounge members – no indication as to when the benefit will come back, even as the lounges themselves reopen after local lockdowns end. 

Is Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge membership worth the cost?

With annual Virgin Australia lounge membership retailing for $399, a price tag of $9,750 for a Lifetime Lounge card makes that cost on-par with around 24 years of paid lounge membership at the current prices.

For those 60+ who qualify for Senior Lifetime Lounge at $6,750, the asking price is instead comparable to 17 consecutive years of annual membership at today's rates.

So, consider your age now, and then add 24 or 17 years to that number, as applicable.

That's the point at which a Lifetime Lounge investment breaks even, versus the cost of paying year-on-year.

Do you still expect to be travelling as much by the time you reach that age, and through the Virgin Australia ports covered by this membership?

If yes, then a Lifetime Lounge card could make sense – especially if you’re able to tax-deduct that membership or expense it against your business following advice from your accountant – but if not, an annual membership in the years you plan to travel could sit better on the 'cost vs benefit' scale.

To use another yardstick: Virgin also sells access to its own lounges for $65 per person per visit, which you can pay on the day you fly.

This makes the standard lifetime price equal to 150 one-off visits for an individual, or 75 one-off visits for a pair always travelling together – as Lifetime Lounge members can be joined by a guest with each visit.

For Senior Lifetime Lounge, the discounted asking price sits on-par with 104 one-off visits, or 52 visits with a guest in-tow.

Certainly, the one-off and yearly lounge costs may change over the years – the advantage of a lifelong membership being that you never need to pay another cent, with the obvious downside of the large lump sum required upfront. 

Buying a Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge membership

Crunched the numbers, spoken to your accountant and decided that a Virgin Australia Lifetime Lounge membership is right for you?

You can purchase your membership over the phone by calling 1300 287 202 during business hours (Monday to Friday), or can email [email protected] to get the ball rolling.

These memberships can’t be purchased online – but given how much you’ll spending, be sure to use a points-earning credit card to get the most bang for your buck.

Also read: Best Virgin Australia Velocity credit card sign-up offers

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.