How to access the lounges at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport?

Montreal-Trudeau International Airport has 4 distinct sections:

1. Domestic flights (Canada)
2. International (all international flights EXCEPT USA)
3. Cross-border (to the United States)
4. Public (before security)

You can see these 4 zones on the diagram below.

The separation is at the border of the green and orange zones. This has an impact on access to the Montreal-Trudeau airport lounges, as travelers cannot walk from one area to another.

Thus, access to the Montreal-Trudeau Airport lounges is divided according to your destination. For example, it is not possible to use the lounges in the International area when flying domestically.

Montreal-Trudeau Airport Domestic and Transborder Sections

In the domestic section of Montreal-Trudeau Airport, there is onlyone lounge: the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, located between gates 1 & 3.

Same thing for the transborder section (flights to the United States): there is only the Maple Leaf Lounge, located at gate 73.

To access Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges with a credit card, you have several options:

• The American Express, CIBC Aeroplan and TD Aeroplan cards below offer unlimited access to all Montreal-Trudeau Airport Maple Leaf Lounges. The airline ticket can be an Aeroplan reward or a paid ticket on Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners. In fact, the primary or secondary cardholder may bring a guest to the salon at no charge. For all other details, please consult our article“How to access the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges“.

Card		Condition of access	Number of annual annual pass
	American Express®* Aeroplan® Reserve Card	Your credit card + Airline ticket Air Canada Air Canada Rouge Air Canada Express or partners	Unlimited access for the primary or secondary cardholder
	American Express® Aeroplan®* Business Reserve Card	Your credit card + Airline ticket Air Canada Air Canada Rouge Air Canada Express or partners	Unlimited access for the cardholder or secondary cardholder
	TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card	Your credit card + Airline ticket Air Canada Air Canada Rouge Air Canada Express or partners	Unlimited access for the cardholder or secondary cardholder
	CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card	Your credit card + Airline ticket Air Canada Air Canada Rouge Air Canada Express or partners	Unlimited access for the cardholder or secondary cardholder

Note for children: For Maple Leaf Club members, admission for children 12 and under is free. For Aeroplan Elite 50K status, up to 5 children under the age of 24 of the member may enter for free. For the rest, children under 2 years old have free access. For 2 years and more, they are considered as a guest, therefore paying.

Access to the lounges of the International Section of the Montreal-Trudeau Airport

In the international section of Montreal-Trudeau Airport, there are 4 lounges:

• Air France-KLM
• Air Canada Maple Leaf
• National Bank
• Odyssey Desjardins

Access to the Air France-KLM Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport

Visit this article on the Air France-KLM lounge to find out how to get there. With a credit card, it is accessible with :

• Platinum Card^® from American Express
• or the American Express Corporate Platinum^® Card.

Cardholders can enter for free, with one guest and up to 2 children under 2 years of age free of charge (from 2 years and up, they must pay a reduced fee). These cards offer access to the Plaza Premium lounges, of which the Air France-KLM lounge is a member.

Also, holders of:

• Visa Infinite Preferred credit cards
• and certain Visa Infinite credit cards(such as the Scotiabank Visa Infinite Passport card)

can access the Plaza Premium Lounges (and starting July 1, 2022, through DragonPass and Visa Airport Companion). They benefit from 6 free visits to these shows per year of membership.

In addition, the DragonPass network will provide access to the show with a World or World Elite Mastercard. Please check your eligibility on the Mastercard Travel Pass website before you go, but you may be required to pay for your admission. The only card in Canada that offers both a DragonPass membership AND 4 free accesses is the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard.

Please note: In this Air France – KLM lounge, priority entry is given to holders of Air France Business class tickets. Therefore, you may be denied entry if you only want to enter with DragonPass, Priority Pass or Plaza Premium access, even if the lounge is not full.

Access the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport

For the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in the International section, the conditions of access with a credit card are identical to those stated above.

Access to the Odyssey Desjardins Lounge at Montréal-Trudeau Airport

The Salon Odyssée Desjardins is located at the end of the international section, at door 63.

It is available ONLY to holders of certain Desjardins credit cards. Children under 3 years old are admitted free of charge. Beyond that age, they count as access/entry.

Card		Condition of access	Number of annual annual pass
	The Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege card	Flights international	12 accesses per year
	The Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard card	Flights international	8 accesses per year
	The Odyssey Gold Visa card The Prestige Platinum Card The Platinum Visa card	Flights international	50% discount on the entrance fee ($40)

*Visa Desjardins Platinum Prestige and Platinum cards are no longer available for new applications, but some former cardholders may still hold them.

You can find some pictures of the Odyssée Desjardins show in this report.

Access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport

The National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport can be accessed in many ways with :

• The National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^®
• certain American Express payment cards
• a Priority Pass membership
• a subscription to DragonPass

Simply present one of these cards to gain direct access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport:

Card		Condition of access	Number of annual annual pass
	The World Elite Mastercard of the National Bank	Flights international	Unlimited access for the cardholder & one guest & 2 children 12 years old and under
	The Platinum Card from American Express	Flights international	Unlimited access for the cardholder & a guest & 2 children under 2 years old
	The Business Platinum Card from American Express	Flights international	Unlimited access for the cardholder & a guest & 2 children under 2 years old

The National Bank lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport is a member of the Priority Pass program. Some credit cards in Canada offer free Priority Pass membership and annual access.

Here are the credit cards that offer Priority Pass membership and free access:

Card		Condition of access	Number of annual annual pass
	The Platinum Card from American Express	Flights international	Unlimited access for the Priority Pass cardholder & a guest
	The Business Platinum Card from American Express	Flights international	Unlimited access for the Priority Pass cardholder & a guest
	Aventura CIBC Visa Infinite	Flights international	4 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)
	CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card	Flights international	4 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)
	The American Express Platinum Card Scotiabank	Flights international	10 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)
	The Visa Infinite Passport card Scotiabank	Flights international	6 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)
	BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card	Flights international	6 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)
	Visa Infinite Preferred level cards (CIBC, Desjardins, RBC, TD…)	Flights international	6 annual accesses with Priority Pass (until June 30, 2022*)

So, you may very well have a card that gives you DIRECT access to the National Bank lounge (e.g., the Carte de Platine^MD from American Express for the cardholder, 1 guest and 2 children under 2) but ALSO a Priority Pass membership (in the case of the Carte de Platine^MD from American Express, the Priority Pass account holder and 1 guest have access).

This is a great way to get a “double” card if you are a large family or a group of friends!

* Note that as of July 1, 2022, Priority Pass access on Visa cards will be replaced by access with the Visa Airport Companion program (powered by DragonPass). So, starting July 1, sign up on the Visa Airport Companion site to get your new free access.

Access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport is also available through the Mastercard Travel Pass program provided by DragonPass. Most World Elite Mastercard level cards offer free subscription to DragonPass (but do not provide free access). Only one has free annual access, offered by BMO:

Card		Condition of access	Number of annual annual pass
	BMO Mastercard Ascend World Elite	Flights international	4 annual accesses

To access the National Bank lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, you will need to present your Mastercard credit card. The cost of access to the salon will be deducted and refunded to your card account a few days later. Children under 2 years old are admitted free of charge. At 2 years and older, they count as one access/entry.

Bottom line

To ensure that you have access to a lounge, no matter where you are going, the Carte Prestige Aéroplan^MD* American Express^MD and the Carte Prestige Aéroplan^MD* Entreprise American Express^MD will be your best allies. They offer access to the Maple Leaf Lounges, located in all 3 sections of the airport (provided you are traveling with Air Canada or one of its Star Alliance partners).