Let me tell you about a very bad investment I have made. It is called the Qantas Club. I joined the club before starting my travels thinking it would make my time in the airports more comfortable. It cost just under $600. In all my travels around the world I have been able to use my membership twice and both those times were in Australia. That works out at about $300 per meal so far and I’m half way through my membership. Granted, many of the places I have travelled are not Qantas destinations but it does have affiliations with other clubs. I arrive at Heathrow Airport in London thinking I would be right. There is no Qantas club but it is affiliated with British Airways. I find that affiliation only works in Terminal 3. I flew from Terminal 5. I didn’t expect anything at the Dubai Airport but my luck will change at Hong Kong. I have a 9-hour wait there and could really use the facilities. There is a Qantas Club, great. But no. Because I am flying Cathay Pacific I don’t have access, despite Cathay Pacific being a One World partner of Qantas. I have to be flying Qantas or British Airways. So my investment remains at $300 per meal. It seems I have a few poisonous letters to write when I get home.
The beauty of the competitive airline industry is that I don’t ever have to use Qantas again. Flying these days is very much a choice and I choose to use anyone else but Qantarse!
angusmccoll 
Hi Angus, welcone to the “club”.
Qantas Club Lounge entry requires that you have a valid Qantas flight boarding-pass as well as the Club membership Card. When you are booking flights and they try to put you on a code-share with a partner airline it pays to remember that fact. You can gain access to partner airline lounges, if (and only if) you are higher than a Silver frequent flyer (Gold or Platinum preferred) or higher than a Ruby/Saphire One-World traveller. These are “loyalty”, mileage-based, criteria and are not obvious or available when you buy the membership initially.
It can make for a really annoying/frustrating series of encounters unless you or your travel agent are aware of the situation and plan accordingly. Any time I am going into Changi Airport I make sure I have a Qantas or Jetstar Boarding-pass for the onwards flight. (Yes, it must be for the next flight not the one you just got off). I swear by the Qantas Club lounges but I agree that there are frustrating traps for new players.
You are not alone!
Thanks Neil, I’m still not flying Qantas ever again!