What's the lounge access policy on an op-up, if one doesn't have eligibility through status?

Also, as a Gold op-uped to J, can one guest a non status pax in, or is that limited to revenue J Gold customers only?

I have only ever received op-ups when already in the lounge, at the gate or on board.

I imagine theres a reason for that

Op-up / comp-up does not get lounge access (I found this out when op-upped Y to J on my very first EK flight at LHR many years ago). The chauffeur service is also not available for op-ups / comp-ups.

I would assume the same logic applied to your second question too, although the chances of an oversight / sympathetic eye of the lounge dragons may be improved in the circumstance you describe.

I had the exact incident last week.

Was travelling with a mate, both in Y, tried my luck to guest him into the J lounge but was turned down. I was then op-up'd to J and all clear for lounge entry.

No chauffeur service allowed.

You mean that you were turned down guest lounge entry before the op-up, but allowed after being upgraded? Was your traveling companion also op-uped? What was their status?

Just under 2 years ago, op'ed up from J to F @ the J lounge and was cleared to go into the F lounge.

Yes correct. Now it was a different lounge dragon so can't confirm 100% that this is policy.

They are blue and no they were not op-uped, different PNRs.

Are you sure about this? If you show up at the lounge with a J boarding pass, do they even have the capability to (and would they be inclined to) deny you entry because you didn't earn the J?

Only once have I been op-uped before the gate -- from C->F in Paris, but unfortunately there is no F lounge there to test the theory.

AFAIK policy is that op-ups do not get lounge access. Why would they? The upgrade is the result inventory management optimising capacity on the aircraft; there is no reason why they would offer the other J perks unnecessarily, particularly at outstations with a contract lounge where there maybe a direct cost implication. Same can be said of the chauffeur service which cannot be availed at DXB if op-upped, regardless of status.

However, as you stated, the reality on the ground may be different. When this happened to me without status at LHR some years ago, the lounge dragon was able to infer an op-up from the boarding pass (maybe no lounge invite printed on the BP?) and sent me on my way. On another day, with a different dragon or wearing a more expensive suit , maybe the outcome would have been different!

At outstations, (e.g. not DXB), you should get lucky if you get the op-up already at the check-in, e.g. DUS. In these cases, and where the BP does not indicate that you got op-uped, the lounge dragon will let you in.

And yes, no chauffeur drive for op-ups.

If upgraded at check in, the boarding pass does not have the lounge invite unless you are Gold (ie invite based on ticketed class only).

Which is different from my experience on QR where I was op-upped from J to F, but the boarding pass was printed on J stock. They let me into the F lounge, no questions asked, and I could even book a cabana.

If you upgrade at check in you will get a J boarding pass which will have lounge invite due to class and not status in this case.

In DXB if you get op-uped at any stage they will re-print the boarding pass. I got 3 boarding passes that day as they kept moving the seating arrangements until we physically boarded the plane.

I meant that if you are op-upped at check in, your boarding pass will not have a lounge invite if you are not otherwise entitled to one. This seems to have been the case for a friend travelling recently.

Sadly, the only time I had a bp reprinted was because the barcode wasn't working. There should be a rule against giving people false hope

Years ago, when I was not gold, I get an upgrade, but lounge acces only with big discussions, but it works :-)

no lounge access for op-ups at check in! i am positive! have had this situation quite a few times....

unless you get lucky or you're wearing an expensive suit ... now that's a completely different story

no harm in trying