Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Options for reward nights in Auckland and Queenstown?

Hey all,

I'm taking a vacation to New Zealand at the end of the month, and trying to figure out how to use my points for hotels. Sadly there seem to be zero Hyatt or SPG properties there...

I'll be doing 1 night in Auckland and then a few nights (3-4) around Queenstown area.

Currently sitting on tons of SPG, AMEX, Chase, United, AA, and Delta points. Would most want to use the AA or Delta, happy to use whatever flexible points though as long as I'm not getting screwed on transfers.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Given how cheap accommodation in New Zealand is I would question the value of trying to use points.

I'vw used AA miles in the past to book nights at Hilton and other hotels and been happy with the return on my miles. Just go to the AA site, plug in your location and dates and see what they have.

Another vote for paying cash if it's feasible within your budget. We're going to be in Auckland the end of March for about $143/night at the Mercure, other good options out there for similar or less, depending where you want to stay.

But to your question - when you say you have "Chase" points do you mean Ultimate Rewards? There is a Crown Plaza in downtown Auckland, you could transfer UR points to Priority Club Rewards.

Not familiar with Queenstown.

The Hilton Queenstown is fantastic ! I'm glad I chose it over the Crowne Plaza at the last minute.
Auckland has a nice Crowne Plaza. I think the Hilton there is a bit overpriced (both cash and award-wise).
Get a Hilton Amex and a Priority Club Visa and you will have enough points to stay at both at the cash and points rate.

So I decided to pay cash in Auckland as rates were low and I couldn't easily move points around for it. And then found pretty good redemption rates at the Hilton Queenstown using Avios, so moved MR points to Avios with new bonus and got ~2 cents a point value there or so.

Thanks for the help here. Very excited about the trip!