Is the Air New Zealand Koru Membership worth it? A complete guide to lounge access, perks, and cost

If you’re currently planning a trip, or flying frequently with Air New Zealand for work or leisure, you might be wondering if Koru membership is worthwhile, in addition to the Air New Zealand frequent flyer programme.

Air NZ Koru membership¹ can get you access to lounges in select domestic and international airports in New Zealand and abroad, plus extra baggage, priority seating and more. However, the Koru membership cost is pretty high - so you’ll need to weigh up the benefits against the price to decide if it’s worthwhile for you. You can also learn more about the Wise card, an easy way to stretch your dollars when paying in foreign currencies.

What is an Air New Zealand Koru membership?

Air New Zealand Koru membership is an optional upgrade or addition if you’re already an Airpoints member. Once you sign up for Koru you can get extra benefits when you fly with Air New Zealand and partner airlines like Air China, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Koru benefits - which we’ll examine later - include Koru lounge membership, extra baggage allowance, ways you can pick your own seats on your flight, exclusive member promotions and offers, as well as priority booking and waitlisting services.

To get Koru membership you need to pay a joining fee, plus an annual charge of around 600 to 800 NZD, depending on the membership type you choose. Usewhich can be covered in full using your Airpoints to cover this feeif you prefer if you prefer. Some credit cards offer discounts on Koru membership fees, but even so it’s worth carefully considering if Air NZ Koru lounge membership is worth the costs based on your particular travel habits. This guide is here to help

Key Benefits of a Koru Membership

Let’s dive into why you might choose Koru membership based on the benefits² which are offered.

Lounge access and guest privileges

You can get Koru lounge membership for domestic, regional and international Air New Zealand lounges, as well as some key partner lounges elsewhere in the world.

Here are the lounges you’re able to access with Koru membership in New Zealand, to give a flavour:

Additional lounges are available through Air New Zealand partners in a selection of major airports in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka and multiple locations in the US and Canada³.

Koru members can access Air New Zealand and partner lounges as long as they’re travelling on an Air New Zealand operated flight with:

• An Air New Zealand flight number starting with NZ
• An Air New Zealand ticket number starting with 086

Assuming you’re eligible you can enter the lounge with an additional guest, as well as any children travelling with you aged under two, and up to three children aged between 3 and 17 years.

Beyond this you can also bring in one additional extra guest if you buy an additional lounge access card. Here are the prices by validity period:

• 3 months - 120 NZD
• 6 months - 230 NZD
• 9 months - 345 NZD
• 12 months - 450 NZD

Ultimately how many guests you can take into Koru lounge does depend on availability. In peak times, you might find that guests and children can not be accommodated.

Baggage and seating privileges

Aside from Koru lounge access, you can also get extras like complimentary frequent flyer seating, extra baggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding benefits.

Koru membership gives you complimentary access to frequent flyer seating within 48 hours of your flight. This means that if any frequent flyer seating remains unoccupied you can book a seat there with no extra fee. The frequent flyer seating is usually in the front of the economy cabin and can be more spacious than some other seats.

Where priority check in counters are available Koru members can use them - this isn’t an option in all airports, but you’ll find this service at key airports like Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. All Koru members are also able to get priority boarding when their flight is called.

Other perks include priority baggage where the service is available, to get your bags off the aircraft as soon as possible. If your ticket offers cabin baggage as part of the cost, you can also get additional baggage allowance - up to 3 extra 23kg pieces in some cases. Exact baggage rules do depend on the ticket you hold and the specific route, so do check the details before you travel.

Other Koru perks

Koru members can also use some benefits offered though partner airlines, including limited lounge access, or refreshment vouchers where no lounge is available. If you’re flying certain routes with Cathay Pacific you may be entitled to all your normal Koru perks, too.

Aside from this you can get regular updates from Koru including prize giveaways, offers and promotional deals. Members can also get priority waitlisting and reservations where needed.

How much does Koru membership cost?

Here’s a rundown of the standard costs for Koru membership.

You can pay for your membership either with Airpoints Dollars or with your credit or debit card. You pay the joining fee on first sign up. If you let your membership lapse for over 1 month you need to pay the joining fee again if you choose to rejoin.

Additional extras include buying 2 Koru luggage tags, for 15 NZD, or an additional guest pass for Koru lounge access. Additional lounge access lets you take one more guest into a lounge as long as they’re also flying on an eligible flight, and subject to availability. Fees are as follows, based on the additional guest pass validity:

*Details correct at time of research - 15th August 2025

It’s helpful to know that some credit cards, such as the Amex Airpoints Card⁴, can help you bring down the costs of Koru membership. With this card you don't need to pay the joining fee, and you can also get an annual fee discount of 145 NZD.

Summary - Is the Koru membership worth it?

Whether or not Koru membership is worth it for you depends on how often you fly, the airports you use, and your personal preferences.

It’s worth checking through the lists of lounge options to ensure your most used airports are well served. It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you’re already a high tier Air NZ Airpoints member⁵, you may be entitled to some of these Koru perks already. Again, this may mean that buying membership isn’t worthwhile for your specific needs.

Weigh up the perks and the costs to decide if Koru membership is right for you. To give a quick example, if lounge access is the only thing you’re really interested in, you can buy pay per use lounge access in Auckland Airport from around 69 NZD per session⁶. This would mean you’d need to depart from here 10 times or more annually, to make the Koru membership fee add up.

Do the maths for both lounge access and things like extra baggage, based on your typical travel needs, to see whether it’s a good deal for you or not.

Travelling soon? Save on overseas spending with the Wise Card

Your journey should be more than just comfortable—it should be financially effortless, too. Find a convenient way to pay abroad so you can focus on your trip and not on hidden fees and high costs. The Wise card is a simple way to save up to 8x when you're spending internationally. You can spend in 150+ countries at mid-market rate — basically the rate you see on Google. With no foreign transaction fees and low, transparent pricing, Wise usually gives you the best value for your money.

Simply create a Wise account for free, order a card and top-up NZD to get started. Having a physical Wise card allows you to make chip and pin payments, as well as make some free ATM withdrawals each month for when you're abroad. You can get digital cards and add to your Google or Apple Pay wallet for instant use. Spend directly with the Wise account in NZD and let auto-conversion do the trick or convert in advance to your desired currency. You can hold and exchange 40+ currencies in your Wise account and spend the currencies you hold for free.

Wherever your travel takes you, the Wise card makes spending money abroad cheaper and easier.

🚀 Get your Wise card

FAQ:

Can I purchase a single entry lounge membership?

Koru membership does not allow you to purchase a single entry lounge membership. This service is for Airpoints Silver tier members and above only.

What’s the expiry on my lounge vouchers?

If you have purchased Air NZ lounge vouchers, you can find the expiry information by logging into Airpoints on the Air NZ app.