You May No Longer Have Access to Contract Lounges at Airports as a Star Alliance Gold Member

Airport lounges are always fun for a quick visit and I personally like to drop by for a drink (especially when Champagne is offered!) before my flight. For red-eye flights, having access to the lounge means being able to enjoy a decent meal (usually) before the flight which translates into longer resting hours on the plane. If you are not traveling in Business or First Class, having elite status with an alliance typically allows access to select airline lounges when traveling on a partner airline. In the event where a Star Alliance branded lounge is not offered, Star Alliance Gold members have access to contracted third party lounges (where available). Today, Star Alliance has updated its terms of entry and partner airlines are no longer required to to offer access to these contract lounges to Star Alliance Gold members.

Photo Credit: Star Alliance

If you are based in Singapore, KrisFlyer Elite Gold also gives you Star Alliance Gold and previously, you used to be able to access contracted third party contract lounges if a Star Alliance branded or partner airline lounge is not available. With this new change, airlines are no longer obliged to offer this benefit - you will still have access to the partner airline lounges as well as Star Alliance branded ones but you may or may not be able to access third-party lounges depending on the policy of the airline you are traveling on. In other words, if you are departing from Changi Airport as a KrisFlyer Elite Gold Member on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir, you will still have access to the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge (Economy Class) and SilverKris Lounges (Business/First). This change only applies to contracted third-party contract lounges in airports that do not offer a Star Alliance branded lounge or a Star Alliance member carrier lounge.

(H/T: Gary from View From the Wing)