American Express operate two airport lounges in Australia, one in Sydney, and the other in Melbourne. In both cases, they are located in the International terminal, with access available to eligible American Express cardholders.
The big advantage of having access to these lounges is that it does not matter which airline you are flying. As such, it provides a good fall back option, when you may not otherwise have lounge access. For example, you may be flying out on an airline that you have not status or lounge membership with.
Australian American Express Lounges
Sydney
The Sydney American Express Lounge is located near gate 24 in Terminal 1. It is located next to the Plaza Premium lounge, and both lounges are operated by the same company.
The lounge is open from 6a.m. to 11p.m
Melbourne
The Melbourne American Express Lounge is located in Terminal 2, Satellite Level Departures. Again it is located next to a Plaza Premium lounge, and is co-managed in a similar way to Sydney Airport.
The lounge is open from 6a.m. to 11p.m.
Access Requirements
As the American Express lounges are located in international terminals, you do need to flying on an international flight in order to gain access. Unfortunately, there are no options in the domestic terminals.
American Express cards offer a range of cards that allow access to the lounges. In most cases, the cards will allow 2 entries per year, although there are cards offering an unlimited number of entries.
As noted, most eligible cards offer cardholders will be eligible for 2 complimentary entries available each year. This is across both lounges, it is not per lounge. The cards that offer this benefit include:
- American Express Explorer
- David Jones American Express Platinum
- Qantas American Express Ultimate
- American Express Velocity Platinum
- CommBank Diamond Awards American Express
- American Express Corporate Platinum
- American Express Qantas Corporate Platinum
- American Express Platinum Reserve
- (New Zealand) American Express Airpoints Platinum Card
Additional visits and guests are possible for a fee of $55 per person. You can take two children under the age of 18 as your guest, at no extra charge.
These cards also only grant access to the lounges in Australia, you cannot access lounges overseas with these cards.
Cards offering unlimited entries are the Platinum Charge card, and the invitation only Centurion Card. The Platinum Charge and Centurion cards also have access to lounges at international airports in other countries.
Final Words
Access to the American Express lounges is a solid benefit of a range of American Express cards. The latest details on locations and access can be found here.