Emirates has opened the doors of its business and first class lounges at Dubai International Airport (DXB) for Skywards Blue members, albeit at a price.

Entry-level members will be charged $100 (AED360) for four-hour access to its business class lounge and $200 (AED720) for the first class lounge, the airline said on its website.

The Gold and Silver members, who have complimentary access to the business class lounge at DXB, can upgrade to first class for a fee of $100 (AED360). The lounge access benefit is only available when travelling onwards on an Emirates flight.

The airline said all payments have to be made using a credit/debit card only and “no cash payments or miles redemption will be accepted”.

It also clarified that the lounge entry fee does not include any tax such as GST or VAT and reserves the right to increase the fee when the taxes become applicable.

The Gulf countries are set to implement 5 percent VAT from early next year.

In October last year, Emirates completed an $11 million (AED40.37 million) renovation of its lounge at Concourse B of DXB.