DragonPass is a major player in the lounge membership space, competing fiercely with Priority Pass.
These days, DragonPass focuses on annual lounge memberships which are almost identical to Priority Pass. However, DragonPass offers the ability to buy single passes for certain lounges without needing to be a member.
Also, DragonPass retains access to Plaza Premium lounges globally, which were removed from the Priority Pass lounge portfolio from mid-2021. If you want to continue visiting Plaza Premium lounges in Australia and across the world, then DragonPass could be an option to consider.
What is a DragonPass membership?
If you’re after a traditional lounge membership post-COVID, then DragonPass has three options:
- Classic: US$99/year, includes 1 visit, then US$31pp (A$42) thereafter
- Preferential: US$219/year, includes 8 visits, then US$31pp thereafter
- Prestige: US$399/year, includes unlimited visits with guests charged at US$31pp
If you only visit about four participating lounges a year, Classic might be your choice. Otherwise, Preferential is better for those who visit 8-13 lounges a year. The unlimited Prestige membership makes sense for lounge lizards who clock up 14 or more lounge visits every 12 months.
With these memberships, you get free entry to 1, 8 or unlimited lounges, depending on the tier. Guests are not included, so anyone entering with you will be charged US$31 per person. The same goes for if you run out of free visits on the Classic or Preferential plans, and continue to access lounges yourself.
All DragonPass memberships also include up to 25% off dining discounts with selected airport outlets, including across Australia. Search for participating airport lounges and eateries here →
Can I buy single DragonPass lounge entry?
1. Buying entry directly through DragonPass
Yes – DragonPass also sells lounge entry direct without the need for a membership. Pricing and eligibility depends on the lounge operator. Some lounges cost more than the standard US$31 visit fee for members (especially in Australia and New Zealand), while others actually cost less (such as in Europe).
Imagine that sometime in 2022, the stars have aligned and you’re flying back from Singapore in a travel bubble. You could browse the lounges participating in DragonPass, sign up for a free account, and buy access to one.
Passes purchased in this way are non-transferable and not changeable. However, DragonPass permits you to cancel and refund an unused single-entry lounge pass if you’re not able to access the lounge due to travel restrictions or other reasons.
2. Buying entry through third-party offers
DragonPass also teams up with various third-parties to offer discount single-entry lounge access. Fancy a bit of a ‘hack’ for lounge access? One such way we’ve used before, is going through the Gourmet Society x DragonPass portal. On this page, you can first browse which airport lounges are available through this partnership.
Then, if you enter the offer code GOURMET17 at the time of purchase, you’ll be able to buy single-entry passes for £20 (A$37) a visit. This could work out to be cheaper than going through DragonPass or through buying access at the lounge directly, depending on the operator and its policies.
Though the page’s T&Cs haven’t been updated for COVID-19, the FAQs do state that you can contact DragonPass for a refund of an unused pass if you are unable to enter the lounge. Your e-Certificate is also valid for entry to other DragonPass participating lounges within a year form purchase.
ANZ Rewards Velocity Platinum
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 80,000 bonus Velocity Points
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- Earn 1.5 ANZ Reward Points per $1 spent on eligible purchases up to $2,000 per statement period, then 0.5 Reward Points per $1 you spend on eligible purchases above $2,000 per statement period. Keep on your auto redemption to transfer your ANZ Reward Points to Velocity Points. 2 Rewards Points for 1 Velocity Point.
- Annual Fee:
- $149 p.a.
- Get up to 80,000 bonus Velocity Points + $50 back with the ANZ Rewards Platinum Credit Card. Earn 60,000 bonus Velocity Points and $50 back when you spend $3,500 on eligible purchases the first 3 months from approval, plus 20,000 bonus Velocity Points when you keep the card for over 15 months from activation.
IMPORTANT: The Gourmet Society x DragonPass page appears to be working as of 26 July 2021. While we have successfully purchased and used a lounge access pass via this method back in 2019, we cannot guarantee that your selected lounge will still be open or accepting DragonPass passes in 2021 or beyond due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Summing up: is DragonPass worth it?
For most Australian readers, we’d hazard a guess that DragonPass will not be very useful for you right now. There are only a few participating lounges in Australia, and many are closed temporarily. However, the Plaza Premium Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will be accessible via DragonPass when those spaces open its doors once more.
We also expect DragonPass members will be able to access the new Aspire Lounges located in Perth, as well as later in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Aspire Lounges is taking over from ‘The House’ and ‘My Lounge’ spaces in those latter three international airports.
If you are able to travel in the near future, we’d also recommend you look at buying single-entry lounge passes initially, rather than signing up for a membership.
Would you consider DragonPass for post-COVID travel?
This article was previously written by Matt Moffit.
The dragonpass offer from Regis is still valid. Go to https://www.myregus.com/home and register a free account. Click on ‘Quick Access’ at the top, then select ‘Partner Offers’ in the menu on the left. You should get an ‘Aircraft Lounges’ box which links to Dragonpass to create your free account. The passes are now UKP19 ea. Note that the membership expires after twelve months but if you contact Dragonpass they extend it for free as long as you still have a Regus account.
I am able to register on Regus but unable to proceed to Partner Offers without adding a company. How did you work around that?
You can join DragonPass without paying for a membership plan and then buy passes before you fly for individual lounges when you need them. The prices for lounges vary, starting from $14 USD in many Chinese cities to $35 USD in Singapore and Seoul, $40 USD in Dubai and LA, right up to a ridiculous $85 USD in Doha.
I can see those individual prices, but can you expand on how you would join DragonPass for free? Is it through the same avenue as mentioned in this guide?
Hi, is anyone aware if this is still valid and if any issues occurred?
I assume kids over 2 still have a full entry fee?
It seems the discounted GBP payment option is no longer available – payment is now US27. Does anyone know how to get the GBP payment back?
How do you update your credit card details? Is calling them the only way to do this or is there a way to do it online or via the app?
Hi there
Have just joined Regus and Dragonpass..Thank you.
However I was asked for CC details in both processes.Is there a charge for MyRegus? No mention made in your article.So far no charge on CC . Can you advise pls?
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the heads up on this. I have now joined acquire and Regus. However I am looking at the Regus membership and it appears the annual fee is waived for the first year, after that there is an annual fee to pay to Regus is this correct? If so I might cancel my Regus ASAP as to not forget.
Thanks,
Hi Andrew, at least on my Regus account I am not required to have card details entered. Perhaps you can try removing your card details in the Account > Payment Methods section to avoid getting charged after a year (if that fee does indeed exist).
myRegus asks for Credit Card as well as DragonPass in Payment Details. I entered card for both.
For my wife, I skipped the Payment Details in myRegus and only entered it when registering for DragonPass.
Are both correct?
I believe both are correct. You need to enter CC details for Dragonpass, but not necessarily MyRegus.
Is that price point per person? If travelling as a couple do we need 2 memberships?
That price is per person per visit, but it seems like a guest does not actually have a membership themselves: https://regus.dragonpassuk.com/FAQs
Also worth noting that they do seem to have made a purchase authorisation on my card (29.03 at current exchange rates) via Stripe. Hopefully they’re just verifying the card (although that’s a large amount) and not actually trying to bill me.
Just happened to me when I signed up. Did yours get refunded?
Same here. I wonder if it’s to verify the card or if they are pre-charging me for the first lounge entry
ah, found it in the FAQ:
I have received a GBP£14.75 charge after registration.
We hold a pre-authorisation charge of GBP£14.75 on all new registrations. This is held for seven days only as a fraud-prevention measure. This will returned to you after seven days unless you visit a lounge and we are unable to charge your registered payment card, e.g. due to insufficient funds.
It shows 16 British Pounds per top-up for me. Not sure if I can change the currency in the app.
Hi Zidan, 16 GBP is the regular Dragonpass price if not registering through MyRegus.
You fuzzed-out the membership number, but not the QR code (Which can be read to get the complete number).