Air New Zealand Air Points - Starwood credit to Airpoints

Has any one chosen direct deposit option on Starwood Preferred Guest program and credited to Airpoints? Just wondering how long it usually takes for credit to appear in Airpoints account? Thanks in advance.

Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone would want to direct credit SPG points to an airline, at least if you plan to stay at Starwood hotels more than once in your lifetime.

The great thing about SPG points is that you can transfer them to (more or less) any airline you like, when you actually need them. Plus, you get a 25% bonus for transferring 20,000 points, so its much better to save up and transfer in multiples of 20,000.

(20,000 points is actually surprisingly easy to get if you can take advantage of Starwood's frequent multiple stay bonuses and such. Doable in 5 or 6 stays if you play your cards right!)

Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone would want to direct credit SPG points to an airline, at least if you plan to stay at Starwood hotels more than once in your lifetime.

I do. I so rarely stay at SPG hotels (once every couple of years or so) that any points credited would likely expire before I had any chance to use them. Better to get a token credit to a FFP (choosing the best one for my purposes of course), than to end up with nothing. With this approach I just need to remember that if my circumstances change I need to review and possibly change.

I direct deposit them into my airpoints account all the time. Yes it is best to deposit 20K, reiceive a 5K bonus. This adds up to $385 airdollars. As an upgrade on United costs 60K per return flight, using Air new Zealand those same points translate into approx 1150 air dollars..... not far short of a roundtrip business premier upgrade. BUT, in answer to your question!! They take anything from 48 hours to a couple of weeks to post..... usually under a week in my experience.

I am a little confused why anyone wouldn't direct credit to Airpoints. NZ's website still lists that Starwood properties earning is based on per $15 spent in Australia and New Zealand and per stay worldwide. My last stay in Singapore earned me 300 starpoints which translates to only 4.6 Airbucks whereas if I select direct deposit I would earn 20 airbucks per stay. Anyone shed some light on this?

Most of my Starwood points are generated via a credit card. There are many promos asociated with Starwood. Sometimes these are better than direct credit to Air NZ, sometimes (usually for a longer stay, outside of Aust/NZ) credit to NZ via Starwood is more beneificial. Especially if one has stautus with Starwood and earns at a greater rate than a general member.

My last stay in Singapore earned me 300 starpoints which translates to only 4.6 Airbucks whereas if I select direct deposit I would earn 20 airbucks per stay. Anyone shed some light on this?

For most other Airlines, you now earn the same number of Airline FF miles for a Starwood stay as you would get SPG points (assuming there is a 1:1 transfer rate of SPG points to that airline). I was not aware that Airpoints credit gets you a better rate - if this is still the case, then yes, obviously its generally better to credit directly to Airpoints.

An exception to this would be if you can take advantage of multiple stay bonuses: in the past I have gotten up to 10k bonus SPG points for 3 stays within a certain period. Possibly this would not apply if you credit directly to Airpoints.

An exception to this would be if you can take advantage of multiple stay bonuses: in the past I have gotten up to 10k bonus SPG points for 3 stays within a certain period. Possibly this would not apply if you credit directly to Airpoints.

Correct. SPG bonuses only apply if crediting to SPG. For someone like me with very rare stays it is moot, but may be a factor for others. Some hotel promos are very generous (well, compared with airline promos).

I direct deposit them into my airpoints account all the time. Yes it is best to deposit 20K, reiceive a 5K bonus. This adds up to $385 airdollars. As an upgrade on United costs 60K per return flight, using Air new Zealand those same points translate into approx 1150 air dollars..... not far short of a roundtrip business premier upgrade. BUT, in answer to your question!! They take anything from 48 hours to a couple of weeks to post..... usually under a week in my experience.

I thought this was each way on NZ.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LagunaKiwi
I direct deposit them into my airpoints account all the time. Yes it is best to deposit 20K, reiceive a 5K bonus. This adds up to $385 airdollars. As an upgrade on United costs 60K per return flight, using Air new Zealand those same points translate into approx 1150 air dollars..... not far short of a roundtrip business premier upgrade. BUT, in answer to your question!! They take anything from 48 hours to a couple of weeks to post..... usually under a week in my experience.

I thought this was each way on NZ.





Economy to Business Prenier is 660 each way. 1320 round trip. My point was that 60k Starwood points will give you $1155 Air NZ dollars, which is of course pretty close to a upgrade.

My last stay at Sheraton in Sydney finally got credited at 20 airbucks per stay. That took about 7 weeks. That'll be like 57 stays to get 1155 airbucks. Just wondering how many stays you need to get 60K if you are not helped by a credit card.

Since the base SPG points are based on your spend (2 or 3 points per US$ equivalent depending on whether you're Elite or not) it depends on a) the amount you spend on each stay, and b) whether you are taking advantage of promotional bonuses.

But in general, you could almost certainly get to 60k points with far less than 57 stays.

My current SPG balance is just over 66k, over approx. 20 stays. A few (maybe 15k) of those points were credit-card earned, but I've also redeemed 12k on a cash-and-points stay. I'd estimate probably 2/3 or more of the rest were earned through multiple-stay bonuses.

Interesting coz I find that Starwood properties in Australia and New Zealand earn you a flat rate of 40 Airpoints per stay if you follow the link below. I know it contradicts to what Air NZ website says so has anyone had any experience regarding this?

https://services.starwoodhotels.com/moremiles/terms.jsp

Well, that changes everything. 40 Airpoints per stay is a nice rate. Definitely the way to go if you typically do short stays in Australia (and the new Auckland Westin).

Thanks for the info roby. Indeed a nice rate. It's like we can get double points with SPG every time down under. Here is what they replied:

As we are unsure as to why you did not receive 40 Air New Zealand Air Points when we transferred the Starpoints earned from your stay at The Sheraton On The Park via the direct deposit on your account, we will add 1300 Starpoints to your Starwood Preferred Guest account. We will then transfer them at the 65:1 ratio to your Air New Zealand Air Points account so that you will receive the additional 20 Air Points to equal the 40 Air Points you should have received.

Please allow up to seven days for this transaction to show in your Starwood Preferred Guest account and then up to thirty days for the Air Points to show in your Air New Zealand Air Points account.

Although 7 days plus 30 days is too long.