[durham70]

Hi

I'm flying (economy) to China in September on points.

Flying Sydney - Tokyo on Qantas then Tokyo - Shanghai on ANA
(mixture of QF and United points - didn't have enough to go all the way on one airline!).


On the way up i have a 3 hour wait in Tokyo but on the way back i have 9 hours (downside of free flights i guess).

Three questions

1. If I join Qantas Club can i access a lounge in Toyko?
2. An alternative is i have a diners card - has anyone been to the diners lounge in Toyko? Any thoughts?
3. Another alternative is a trip into Tokyo - i've never been but understand the airport is a long long way from the city?

Thanks for helping!!

David

Qantas club membership will get you access to the lounge in tokyo.

So you can use it on the way back, but not on the way over..

[wleong]

If I had to pay $$$$ just to go to the lounge for the odd trip, not worth it. If you are an existing Diners Club cardholder, then this is the way to go however I would not join Diners just for this privlage.

[redrat]

Citibank PLAT just offered me a free Diners Club Card - no fees. I may have to explore the Diners Club lounges situation. I'll check FT - they've got heaps on everything

[arun]

I will look forward to my Diners offer from Citibank Plat!

[Alan in CBR]

I am a big supporter of the Qantas Club, but for a one-off or infrequent use it is much too expensive to consider. Only you can make that decision though - divide the membership fee by the estimated number of times you will use it and think whether it makes sense.

In my case I joined the Qantas Club when I wasn't doing much flying. Clearly this sounds like madness, but I knew I would be doing more and more in coming years and I had some spare cash. My decision was to take out life membership - best two and a half grand I have ever spent. I must stress though that it only worked for me because of the particular circumstances I was in. (Note that for the first two years of membership each visit effectively cost about $100! It's much better now!)

According to the Diners Club web site, the Tokyo club has "Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, shower facilities" - doesn't sound too flash to me. Note that there is no mention of food, for example.

Without knowing your personal circumstances, I would probably recommend going to a decent eatery/restaurant at the airport, having a few drinks at the airport bar, then go to the DC lounge for a quiet place to read a book. Before departure have a shower in the DC lounge. Probably cost less than $100 all up - much cheaper than Qantas Club membership, and you get a good meal.

I can't help you with a city visit since I have never been to Tokyo, but sometimes tour companies have short city tours specifically for those with long airport layovers - worth checking out.