How to access the new Qatar Singapore Lounge using miles or points

The big news at the end of January 2020 was the opening of what we’ve already dubbed, not unfairly, Changi’s finest Business Class lounge. Qatar Airways has reset the bar with its new facility in Terminal 1, which boasts á la carte dining, spacious relaxation pods, a tended martini bar and no fewer than five private shower suites.

The downside

Qatar Airways applies fairly strict access policies for its own lounges, with the Singapore one being no exception.

One of the easiest ways to get in to a oneworld Business Class lounge for many of our readers is through the alliance’s Sapphire or Emerald status, such as:

• British Airways Executive Club Silver or above
• Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Gold or above
• Malaysia Airlines Enrich Gold or above
• Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold or above
• JAL Mileage Bank Sapphire or above

Those are no good to you at the Qatar Airways Singapore Premium Lounge, which restricts access only to those flying on Qatar Airways or a oneworld carrier in First or Business Class.

Eligible frequent flyers in lower cabins are instead directed to the SATS Premier Lounge.

What are the options?

Let’s take a look at the redemption options in Business Class from the shortest 1-hour hops to Kuala Lumpur, up to approximately the 8-hour mark such as flights to Sydney and Doha.

We’ve also listed the specific flights you’ll need to redeem on to give yourself some quality time in this lounge, based on the northern summer 2020 schedules (applicable from approximately April to October 2020).

Also note the summer 2020 daily opening hours of the Qatar Singapore Premium Lounge, which shift slightly from the current schedule, as they are based on Qatar Airways’ flight departures.

Qatar Airways Singapore Premium Lounge Opening Hours
	Nov – Mar	Apr – Oct
Morning	07:55 – 10:55	07:45 – 10:45
Evening	17:25 – 02:00	18:25 – 02:15

More precisely the summer opening hours (Apr-Oct) kick in from 29th March 2020 and the timings revert to the winter hours (Nov-Mar) on 25th October 2020.

While for the morning opening there’s only a 10 minute difference between the two seasons, note that the lounge opens its doors 1 hour later in the evening between April and October, which does restrict a couple of options in the summer months.

‘Sensible’ trips

Where we’ve listed the flights you’ll need to book award tickets on to be able to experience the new Qatar lounge, we’ve included only what we’d call ‘sensible’ journeys.

With Early Check-in of up to 24 hours in some cases, serious lounge-hoppers could easily visit for both the morning and evening opening periods, for example:

• Book CX712 at 13:15 to BKK in Business Class departing on Wednesday for 16,500 Avios + S$77.
• Check-in at 2pm on Tuesday (23 hours before departure).
• Visit the Qantas and BA lounges 2.30pm-6pm.
• Visit Qatar lounge 6.25pm-2.15am.
• Stay in one of the transit hotels (if you wish), or decamp to one of the 24-hour Priority Pass lounges.
• Re-visit the Qatar lounge 7.45am-10.45am for breakfast.
• Head to T4 for some Cathay lounge dim sum for around an hour from 11.30am-12.30pm, then board your flight.

That’s a significant amount of time in some very nice airport lounges, including a lot of food and some fine wines and Champagnes along the way, but realistically most people don’t have the time or energy to do anything like that.

While those kind of trips are possible (and perfectly ‘legal’), we’re just focusing here on journeys that are more sensible for most travellers.

Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines flies up to 68 times per week on the busy Singapore – Kuala Lumpur route. The short 1-hour hop (35-45 minutes is a typical airborne time) even includes a daily Airbus A330 option, with 27 Business Class seats installed, which all goes to ensure:

• Good award availability (excellent in fact);
• A short transfer to/from Terminal 2; and
• Departure timings that suit both opening periods for the Qatar Premium Lounge.

There is also a daily Malaysia Airlines flight from Singapore to Kuching.

A Malaysia Airlines award flight in Business is exactly how we both reviewed this lounge; Andrew on a lunchtime flight to experience the lounge’s breakfast opening, and Eddie opting for the evening A330 flight to check out the cocktail and dinner options.

Award pricing

Malaysia Airlines Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – KUL / KCH
	12,500
	18,000
	20,000
	20,000
	20,000
	22,500
	24,000
	25,000

Avios is your cheapest redemption option here, with 12,500 points (+S$57.90) enough to secure you a seat in Business Class.

Availability is also generally very good on this route, especially on midweek days.

There’s also the ability to part pay with Avios and cash when flying Malaysia Airlines, if you’re short of points for example, with the following options available:

• 12,500 Avios + S$57.40 (full miles rate)
• 11,250 Avios + S$78.40 (buy Avios at 1.7 cents each)
• 10,000 Avios + S$102.40 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 9,050 Avios + S$118.40 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 7,800 Avios + S$142.40 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 6,950 Avios + S$167.40 (buy Avios at 2 cents each)

This effectively allows you to ‘buy’ Avios (either by keeping them in your account, rather than using them, or topping up because your balance is insufficient) for 1.7 to 2 cents each – a reasonable proposition.

Which terminal?

Malaysia Airlines flights depart from Terminal 2, and the airline does participate in the early check-in scheme, allowing you to drop your bags and print your boarding pass up to 12 hours before departure at the Jewel Early Check-in lounge, between 06:00 and 23:59 each day.

How easy is it?

Relatively simple, with a few options available to reach the Qatar lounge prior to departure:

• Check in early at Jewel (> 3 hours before departure), then clear immigration in T1.
• Check in at T2 then take the landside SkyTrain to T1 and clear immigration there.
• Check in at T2, clear immigration there, then take the SkyTrain to T1 and walk to the Qatar lounge.
• Check in at T2, clear immigration there, then take the SkyTrain to T3, cross the platform to the train directly opposite and board the SkyTrain to T1, which takes you almost directly to the escalator beneath the Qatar lounge.

We recommend leaving the Qatar lounge no later than 50 minutes before your Malaysia Airlines flight departure, to allow for the short transfer to T2.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	MH604 KUL	MH614 KUL
Departure Time	09:55	11:05
Check-in from	21:55*	23:05*
QR lounge usage	07:45-09:05 (1h 20m)	07:45-10:15 (2h 30m)

* Previous day

Flight	MH628 KUL	MH642 KCH
Departure Time	12:15	12:50
Check-in from	06:00	06:00
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	07:45-10:45 (3h)

* Previous day

Flight	MH606 KUL	MH624 KUL
Departure Time	13:40	15:35
Check-in from	06:00	06:00
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	07:45-10:45 (3h)

Flight	MH620 KUL	MH608 KUL
Departure Time	16:35	18:10
Check-in from	06:00	06:10
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	07:45-10:45 (3h)

Flight	MH616 KUL	MH610 KUL
Departure Time	19:15	21:15
Check-in from	07:15	09:15
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	18:25-20:25 (2h)

Which flights can’t you take?

MH602 departing at 06:40 is too early to make use of the new Qatar lounge, unless you check in the night before (from 18:40) and take advantage of the evening opening. That’s a lot of time to kill between 02:15 and 06:00 though!

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific operates several flights each day from Singapore to Hong Kong, plus a single service to Bangkok (which then continues to Hong Kong).

Award pricing

Cathay Pacific Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – BKK	SIN – HKG
	16,500	22,000
	22,500	22,500
	22,500	22,500
	24,000	30,000
	25,000	25,000
	30,000	40,000
	30,000	43,800
	55,000	55,000

Again Avios is your cheapest option on these shorter routes (transfer points within a day from Citi cards).

As with Malaysia Airlines redemptions, there’s also the ability to part pay with Avios and cash when flying Cathay Pacific, as follows on the Bangkok route:

• 16,500 Avios + S$77.20 (full miles rate)
• 14,850 Avios + S$107.20 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 13,750 Avios + S$126.20 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 12,100 Avios + S$156.20 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 11,000 Avios + S$175.20 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 8,800 Avios + S$195.20 (buy Avios at 1.5 cents each)

Here are the Avios part payment options on the Hong Kong route:

• 22,000 Avios + S$73.20 (full miles rate)
• 20,000 Avios + S$109.20 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 18,050 Avios + S$142.20 (buy Avios at 1.7 cents each)
• 16,050 Avios + S$172.20 (buy Avios at 1.7 cents each)
• 14,100 Avios + S$191.20 (buy Avios at 1.5 cents each)
• 12,100 Avios + S$221.20 (buy Avios at 1.5 cents each)

Notice how on both of these routes you can effectively ‘buy’ Avios for as little as 1.5 cents each – well worth considering. Avios is already the currency of choice for redeeming on these routes, and these options can make the deal even sweeter.

Which terminal?

Here’s the downside. Cathay Pacific flights depart from Terminal 4, which isn’t physically connected to the main T1/2/3 complex, but is instead linked by a transfer bus both in the landside and airside sections.

The airline does however participate the early check-in scheme, allowing you to drop your bags and print your boarding pass up to 24 hours before departure at their T4 check-in desks from 04:30 to 00:30, or at the Jewel Early Check-in lounge between 06:00 and 23:59 each day.

How easy is it?

If you’re using a Cathay Pacific redemption flight to access the Qatar lounge, our strong recommendation is to check in at the Jewel ECI facility, then clear immigration in T1 and follow the signs to the Qatar lounge.

Note: You will need a physical boarding card, or one printed from home and also stamped by the airline at the check-in desk, in order to access via the T1 transit area when flying Cathay Pacific.

The journey back to catch your flight from T4 is the arduous bit.

Our recommendation is to:

• Take the SkyTrain to T3, which is located almost directly beneath this lounge, near the bottom of the escalator.
• On arrival in T3, cross the ‘platform’ to the opposite SkyTrain which takes you straight to T2 (through the Jewel, for a nice rain vortex view). This is quicker in our experience than walking to the T1 > T2 SkyTrain, which is at the opposite side of the terminal from the Qatar lounge, near the D gates.
• Walk to gate F51, where the airside transit bus to T2 departs every 20 minutes or so.

We recommend leaving the Qatar lounge no later than 90 minutes before your Cathay Pacific flight departure, to allow for the (long) journey to T4. Allowing at least 2 hours before your flight should also give you some time in Cathay’s own lounge before boarding, if that’s of interest.

We have taken the airside transfer between T1/T3 and T4 (via T2) a few times now, and it has never taken us more than 40 minutes in total.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	CX652 HKG	CX712 BKK
Departure Time	12:55	13:25
Check-in from	12:55*	13:25*
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	07:45-10:45 (3h)

* Previous day

Flight	CX734 HKG	CX716 HKG
Departure Time	16:05	18:00
Check-in from	16:05*	18:00*
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:45 (3h)	07:45-10:45 (3h)

* Previous day

Flight	CX714 HKG
Departure Time	01:20
Check-in from	04:30*
QR lounge usage	18:25-23:50 (5h 25m)

* Previous day

Which flights can’t you take?

CX710 departing at 08:00 and CX658 at 09:50 are both too early to make use of the new Qatar lounge. The evening CX636 at 20:10 doesn’t give you sufficient time in the Qatar lounge before you would have to leave for your flight.

Note: At the time of writing, Cathay Pacific flights from Singapore are suffering short-term cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak. You may not see all the options above available to book during this period.

SriLankan Airlines

Oneworld carrier SriLankan Airlines operates three times daily out of Singapore Changi Airport to its Colombo hub, using a mixture of A320/1 and A330 aircraft (flat beds are on offer in Business Class on the A330, so try to pick one of those flights).

Award pricing

SriLankan Airlines Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – CMB
	22,000
	30,000
	30,000
	40,000
	43,800
	50,000
	55,000

It’s Avios again at the top of the list, though the more accessible Asia Miles scheme starts to come into play on this route.

Part pay with Avios and cash is an option when flying SriLankan, with some fairly attractive rates at which to ‘top up’ your balance:

• 22,000 Avios + S$168.80 (full miles rate)
• 20,000 Avios + S$204.80 (buy Avios at 1.8 cents each)
• 18,050 Avios + S$237.80 (buy Avios at 1.7 cents each)
• 16,050 Avios + S$267.80 (buy Avios at 1.7 cents each)
• 14,100 Avios + S$286.80 (buy Avios at 1.5 cents each)
• 12,100 Avios + S$316.80 (buy Avios at 1.5 cents each)

Which terminal?

SriLankan Airlines flights depart from Terminal 3, but the airline does not participate in any of the Early Check-in options at Changi. That means you’ll have to show up as normal at the T3 Row 2 check-in desks from a maximum of 3 hours prior to scheduled departure time.

How easy is it?

Thankfully the Qatar Premium Lounge sits right at the end of the T3 > T1 airside SkyTrain, so once you’ve cleared immigration in T3 it’s just a 10 minute transfer between the terminals.

We recommend leaving the Qatar lounge no later than 50 minutes before your SriLankan flight departure, to allow for the transfer to T3 including the short SkyTrain ride.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	UL307 CMB	UL309 CMB
Departure Time	09:45	20:10
Check-in from	06:45	17:10
QR lounge usage	07:45-08:55 (1h 10m)	18:25-19:30 (1h 5m)

While just over an hour in the lounge seems on the tight side for both of these flights, we were served both breakfast and dinner in the Brasserie within 20 minutes of ordering on our visits, so it’s actually ample time to sample some food from the á la carte menu and enjoy a drink or two.

Once the Qatar lounge reverts back to winter opening hours from November to March, opening at 17:25 in the evening, UL309 passengers will then have a much more comfortable 2 hours to enjoy this space before having to catch their flight.

Which flights can’t you take?

There’s no way to use the new Qatar lounge if you’re departing on UL303 at 15:15.

Japan Airlines

JAL has two late night departures to Tokyo Haneda each evening from Singapore, with generally good partner award availability especially on JL38 leaving in the early hours of the morning.

Award pricing

Japan Airlines Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – HND / NRT
	25,000
	30,000
	37,500
	40,000
	61,000
	61,200
	62,000
	70,000
	82,000

Alaska Mileage Plan is your ‘cheapest’ option here, though without any direct credit card transfer partners in Singapore you’ve probably had to ‘buy’ those miles in one of their regular bonus promotions, so you may wish to save them for something more valuable like a USA trip.

Emirates Skywards miles is a surprisingly cheap option on this route, though you’ll have to book over the phone, and reader experience suggests it’s best to check availability via the airline’s own Mileage Bank scheme first.

Note that the part pay with Avios + cash option is not available on JAL flights.

Which terminal?

Good news for JAL passengers, the airline uses Terminal 1 at Changi and participates in the early check-in scheme, allowing you to drop your bags and print your boarding pass up to 12 hours before departure at the T1 Early Check-in lounge or the Jewel Early Check-in lounge, between 06:00 and 23:59 each day.

How easy is it?

Since you’re already in Terminal 1 – simple! Just clear immigration then follow the signs to the Qatar lounge.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	JL36 HND	JL38 HND
Departure Time	21:50	01:50
Check-in from	09:50	13:50
QR lounge usage	18:25-21:10 (2h 45m)	18:25-01:10 (6h 45m)

Which flights can’t you take?

Since the new Qatar lounge opens at 07:45 each day in the summer season, there’s no reasonable way to use the it if you’re departing on JL712 to Tokyo Narita at 08:10, unless the flight is delayed, in which case you might be able to grab breakfast.

Qantas

There are a number of Qantas flights departing Changi each evening which allow you to experience the Qatar lounge prior to departure when flying in Business Class (or First Class for that matter).

In the latter case however you’ll probably want to be dedicating most of your lounge time to the excellent new Qantas Singapore First Lounge (see our review), which also welcomes Qantas Platinum and oneworld Emerald status holders.

Award pricing

Qantas Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – PER	SIN – BNE / MEL / SYD
	30,000	61,000
	38,750	62,000
	40,000	40,000
	42,000	42,000
	50,000	60,000
	57,000	68,400
	70,000	100,000
	82,000	82,000

We’ve included Perth award pricing because this is an option to use during the winter months (November to March), when the Qatar lounge opens in the evening one hour earlier (17:25 instead of 18:25), and Asia Miles offers a great Business redemption option for a 5+ hour flight.

Part pay with Avios on Australia routes with Qantas represents poor value in comparison to the examples above on some shorter routes, as it involves ‘buying’ miles at 3.3 to 4.1 cents each – clearly not worth it, so don’t bother.

Which terminal?

Like JAL, Qantas uses Terminal 1 at Changi and participates in the early check-in scheme, allowing you to drop your bags and print your boarding pass up to 12 hours before departure at the T1 Early Check-in lounge or the Jewel Early Check-in lounge, between 06:00 and 23:59 each day.

How easy is it?

Since you’re already in Terminal 1, simple. Just clear immigration then follow the signs to the Qatar lounge.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	QF36 MEL	QF52 BNE
Departure Time	20:15	20:30
Check-in from	08:15	08:30
QR lounge usage	18:25-19:35 (1h 5m)	18:25-19:50 (1h 25m)

Flight	QF82 SYD	QF38 MEL
Departure Time	21:10	23:30
Check-in from	09:10	11:30
QR lounge usage	18:25-20:30 (2h 5m)	18:25-22:50 (4h 25m)

Flight	QF1 LHR
Departure Time	23:45
Check-in from	11:45
QR lounge usage	18:25-23:05 (4h 40m)

Which flights can’t you take?

With an 18:40 departure, QF72 passengers heading to Perth miss out on the new Qatar lounge, which doesn’t open its doors to the evening crowds until 18:25 in the summer season. A delay is all you can hope for here.

Additionally, if you’re a QF2 passenger heading to Sydney at 19:30 you won’t achieve any useful time here, though if you head to the gate at 18:25 when the lounge first opens you might sneak in a Champagne or two. That’s a nice plan for a C gate departure, since you’ll be passing the Qatar lounge anyway on your way, but there’s no time for dinner unless your flight is delayed.

Qatar Airways

Last but not least are Qatar’s own three daily departures from Changi, all boasting the fantastic Qsuite in Business Class (see our review).

Award pricing

Qatar Airways Business Class Awards from Singapore
FFP	SIN – DOH
	40,000
	42,000
	61,000
	62,000
	67,500
	75,000
	82,000

Qatar levies some pretty eye-watering fuel surcharges to its redemption tickets, and none of these options represent great value in the first place, so this might be one to look at as part of a longer itinerary.

For example Singapore – Doha – London using Asia Miles is 70,000 miles in Business Class, only 9,000 miles more than the first Singapore – Doha leg.

Which terminal?

Qatar Airways uses Terminal 1 at Changi and participates in the early check-in scheme, allowing you to drop your bags and print your boarding pass up to 12 hours before departure at the Jewel Early Check-in lounge, between 06:00 and 23:59 each day.

How easy is it?

Another simple one here – you’re already in Terminal 1 so just clear immigration then follow the signs to the Qatar lounge.

Which flights can you take?

Flight	QR943 DOH	QR947 DOH
Departure Time	10:45	21:25
Check-in from	22:45*	09:25
QR lounge usage	07:45-10:05 (2h 20m)	18:25-20:45 (2h 20m)

* Previous day

Flight	QR945 DOH
Departure Time	02:15
Check-in from	14:15
QR lounge usage	18:25-01:35 (7h 10m)

Which flights can’t you take

As you would expect, the new Qatar lounge is designed to accommodate the airline’s own passengers, and so all three of their flights departing Changi give you close to three hours in this lounge, even more for QR945 passengers checking in early.

Additional November – March options

As we mentioned at the start of this article, we’ve looked at options coinciding with the Qatar lounge’s summer opening hours.

The opening one hour earlier in the winter (November – March) season, in combination with some flight timing changes for oneworld departures, presents another three options for flights of up to 9 hours.

Flight	QF72 PER	QF2 SYD
Departure Time	19:15	19:15
Check-in from	07:15	08:10
QR lounge usage	17:25-18:35 (1h 10m)	17:25-18:35 (1h 10m)

With the Qatar lounge opening at 17:25 and the QF72 Perth departure time shifting to 19:15, there’s a good 1 hour 10 minutes time in the Qatar lounge available to you.

Additionally, QF2 passengers heading to Sydney at 19:15 will get the same benefit – enough time for dinner and a cocktail.

Flight	BA15 SYD
Departure Time	20:10
Check-in from	08:10
QR lounge usage	17:25-19:30 (2h 5m)

Finally while the BA15 to Sydney at 19:25 in the summer season means no useful access for passengers flying on this service between April and October, once the winter timings take effect (20:10 departure), with lounge opening an hour earlier, there’s a solid 2 hours to spend in the Qatar facility if you choose.

Other long-haul options

None of these ‘cheaper’ options (we’ve included flights up to about 8 hours) prevent you from flying on a much longer itinerary using your miles, which can sometimes work out better value on a per hour / per mile basis than a shorter trip.

Using Asia Miles for example to fly Qatar Airways’ Qsuite all the way from Singapore to London via Doha comes in at 70,000 miles, a competitive rate for the amount of flying and quality of product offered.

Both the Qantas and British Airways direct London services, plus Finnair’s daily Helsinki flight, also give you a significant amount of time in this new lounge, though you’ll be shelling out a much more significant volume of miles in those cases.

Alaska miles rates all the way to the USA are very good value, starting at 50,000 miles in Business Class. Pick the right Cathay or JAL flight from the list above to also include the new Qatar Singapore lounge at the start of your trip.

Our pick

Though you can access this fantastic new lounge for 12,000 Avios on Malaysia Airlines to KL (or 6,950 Avios if you’re willing to part pay with cash and miles), that’s not where the best value lies in our opinion.

Look no further than Cathay Pacific to Bangkok in their excellent Business Class for 16,500 Avios (or from 8,800 Avios + cash). Not only is that much better value for the length of flight and quality of product on offer, you can visit the Qatar lounge for all three hours of its morning opening if you wish.

Even better, you’ll still have plenty time to hit the noodle bar at the Cathay lounge in T4 (see our review) before boarding.

If like many of our readers you don’t have any Avios but you do have a balance in the more popular Asia Miles scheme, we’d look at Singapore to Perth in Qantas Business Class for 30,000 miles (winter season only for Qatar lounge access) or Singapore to Hong Kong in Cathay Business Class for 25,000 miles as the best value options.

Which credit card points convert?

We outlined a few of the more popular miles currencies in the examples above for redeeming oneworld flights.

While Asia Miles is the one you can most widely transfer into from credit card loyalty points in Singapore (only OCBC and Standard Chartered don’t include this option), the others can be credited as follows:

• British Airways Avios: American Express, Citi
• Qatar Privilege Club: Citi, Standard Chartered
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: Citi, DBS, Standard Chartered
• Malaysia Enrich: American Express, Citi, Standard Chartered
• Emirates Skywards: American Express, Standard Chartered

Unfortunately if you’re looking to use Alaska, American AAdvantage or JAL Mileage Bank, you’ll have to accrue miles by other means.

Options include buying miles in promotional sales (Alaska and American), Rocketmiles bookings (Alaska and American) or Kaligo bookings (Alaska and JAL Mileage Bank).

Summary

Qatar Airways doesn’t make it easy to access its lounges, with high-grade frequent flyers in Economy and Premium Economy Class ineligible. Even the airline’s own Platinum members don’t get a look in here, slightly ridiculous when you consider they can visit the nearby Qantas First Lounge instead.

If you’re looking to experience this new ’boutique’ lounge, with capacity for only 85 guests and excellent facilities, you’ll simply have to be flying Business Class or First Class with a oneworld airline.

Still wondering what all the fuss is about? Don’t forget to check out our full review of this exciting new oneworld lounge at Changi Airport.

Hopefully the options we’ve outlined above give you some good ideas about how to achieve a useful visit and experience Changi’s new best Business Class lounge for yourself.

(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)