Virgin Australia Lounge Guide

Virgin Australia operates a network of seven Australian domestic airport lounges. These stylish lounges offer complimentary food and drinks, free Wi-Fi, showers and a comfortable environment to wait for your flight.

Velocity Frequent Flyer Gold and Platinum members enjoy unlimited lounge access when flying on the same day with Virgin Australia. Entry is also available to Business Class passengers, paid-up lounge members and even certain credit card holders departing on a same-day Virgin flight.

This guide contains everything you need to know about Virgin Australia lounge access and membership!

The Virgin Australia Lounge network

Virgin has lounges at seven Australian domestic airports. These are located in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

Prior to COVID-19, the airline also used to operate lounges in Darwin, Cairns, Mackay, Alice Springs and Wellington (New Zealand). Unfortunately, these locations have closed permanently.

What can you expect in the lounge?

The layout of each lounge is slightly different. But you can expect a variety of seating areas, clean toilets, showers, a bar and a buffet food station with hot and cold options. All Virgin Australia Lounges offer free Wi-Fi internet.

Barista coffee and premium tea is available throughout the day. Alcoholic beverages, including bottled beer and a selection of red, white and sparkling wine, are available during the afternoon and evening.

The food selection is rotated and there are different options for breakfast and lunch/dinner. Breakfast options typically include toast, fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurt, and sometimes there are hot options like bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, potato cakes or frittatas.

From around 10.30 am, lunch meal options typically include things like fresh salads, wraps, sandwiches and soup with bread rolls. There’s also a range of snacks including things like cheese and crackers, corn chips and fruit.

A hot meal option such as pasta or curry is also often available during lunch and dinner times. Plus, Virgin serves Betty’s Burgers products in its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane lounges on Thursday and Friday evenings.

How to access Virgin Australia lounges

Virgin Australia offers complimentary lounge access to Gold and Platinum Velocity members when flying on the same day with Virgin or an eligible partner airline. Virgin Australia Business Class passengers also enjoy access, and Velocity Silver members receive two annual single-use passes.

In addition, Link Airways and FlyPelican customers on flexible tickets can get lounge access as a benefit of their ticket.

Paid-up lounge members and Velocity Gold members can also bring in one guest with them. Platinum Velocity members are entitled to three additional guests. Up to three children aged 2-17 are also allowed in as guests, in addition to the regular guest allowance.

Unlike Qantas, Virgin Australia does not provide a guest allowance to Business Class passengers.

Access via partner airline status

Frequent flyers with the following Virgin Australia partner airlines, holding the equivalent of Gold status or higher, can also access the lounge with up to one guest when flying Virgin Australia:

• Air Canada
• Etihad Airways (until 30 May 2025)
• Qatar Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic

Lounge access on arrival

Lounge members as well as Velocity Gold, Velocity Platinum, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold and Business Class passengers, can also use the lounge on arrival at their destination.

This benefit is “subject to space availability” and offered for up to 60 minutes after passengers have arrived at their destination. The usual guest allowance also applies when accessing lounges on arrival.

Paid Virgin Australia Lounge membership

If you don’t quite fly enough to earn Velocity Gold status, the airline offers annual lounge memberships for a fee. You can purchase a lounge membership on the Virgin Australia website.

The airline increased the cost of annual lounge membership in July 2024 to $450 per year. There is also a one-off joining fee for new lounge members of $99.

Virgin Australia Business Flyer members pay only $379 per year for discounted Virgin lounge memberships. Discounts may also be available to members of various professional organisations.

The airline sells lifetime lounge membership for $9,750 (or $6,750 for people aged over 60 years old). This is unlikely to be worthwhile for most people.

Lounge access with credit cards

Several Australian credit cards come with two annual Virgin Australia lounge passes. These include:

• Virgin Money Velocity High Flyer
• Westpac Altitude Velocity Black
• American Express Velocity Business

Plus, there are now two Australian credit cards that offer unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access…

American Express Velocity Platinum

Since November 2024, the American Express Velocity Platinum credit card provides unlimited complimentary Virgin Australia Lounge access whenever you fly with the airline!

This has an annual fee of $440, making it cheaper than buying a Virgin Australia Lounge membership. The card also comes with a free annual return domestic Virgin Australia flight and travel insurance, among other benefits.

To get in, you just need to show your Amex Velocity Platinum card along with your departing flight boarding pass at the entrance to the lounge. This card does not include complimentary guest access, but it does come with two annual guest passes that you can use to bring travel companions with you into the lounge.

American Express Platinum

The American Express Platinum charge card goes a step further, giving unlimited complimentary Virgin Australia Lounge access to both the primary cardholder and up to one guest when flying with the airline.

The Amex Platinum card also comes with unlimited Delta SkyClub, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, Lufthansa Lounge and American Express Centurion Lounge access!

Single-entry passes

If none of the above methods will get you in, Virgin Australia sells one-time lounge entry passes at the door. These can be purchased for $65 – the same as the price charged for additional lounge guests above a member’s normal entitlement. But lounge access with a single-entry pass is only available within two hours of the flight’s departure time. You’d need to eat or drink a lot to get your money’s worth!

On 1 July 2024, Virgin reduced the single entry pass fee for children aged 2-17 years old to $45. Note that minors need to be accompanied by an adult because the lounges are licensed venues.

If you’re considering purchasing one-time access, you may find it more cost-effective to upgrade to Virgin Australia Business Class instead. This gives you complimentary lounge access with your ticket. You can do this by redeeming Velocity points or bidding for an upgrade.

Virgin Australia Lounge vs Qantas Club membership

Even at $450 per year, paid Virgin Australia Lounge membership is cheaper than an equivalent Qantas Club membership. Qantas Club membership costs $699/year, in addition to a one-off $129 joining fee. (Although, AFF Gold & Platinum members can access discounted Qantas Club membership.)

The trade-off is that Australia’s second-largest airline has a much smaller lounge network than Qantas. Virgin Australia operates only seven airport lounges, while Qantas has lounges at 24 Australian airports. Qantas Club members also get access to a sizeable overseas lounge network, including American Airlines Admirals Club lounges and airport lounges at the vast majority of Qantas international destinations.

Virgin Australia Lounge membership is best suited to flyers who mostly travel between major cities in Australia, and fly enough to earn Velocity Silver status (but not quite enough to reach Velocity Gold). That said, if you’re considering purchasing a lounge membership, it could be well worth looking into the Amex Velocity Platinum credit card instead.