They say you can’t put a price on having access to an airport lounge? Well it turns out that you can. Which for the Qantas business class lounge at Sydney international airport is $69 Australian dollars, or 9900 Qantas frequent flyer miles.

So how do you get this you ask?

Well for those of us who don’t have the bank balance to sort out a business class fare, but are Qantas frequent flyer members Qantas will send you an E Mail offer about a week before you fly if there is availability in the lounge for the day/time of your travel. We have taken advantage of this offer on the last two occasions we have found ourselves travelling through Sydney on our way to Johannesburg. As I find the new departure area in Sydney airport to be one large duty-free area and one huge pain in the arse I am more than happy to fork out a few shekels to escape the chaos.

After catching the “why are we up so early flight” out of Christchurch departing at 6am, then having 4 hours to kill before the connecting flight, having access to the lounge is perfect. You can enjoy a relaxing breakfast from the buffet and a barista coffee. Followed by a shower, a few snacks and then maybe a cheeky pre-flight glass of red from the bar.

Top tip for the female traveller, or the male traveller who likes to smell like a female traveller.

After your shower, you can venture downstairs and brave the chaos to take advantage of the free, duty-free samplers and coat yourself with all the lotions and potions they have on offer.

Me I prefer the pre-flight glass of red.