Air New Zealand Air Points - Nonrefundable ticket, price went down, any options?

I booked a flight in July for the family from Chicago to Christchurch a few weeks back. Now the price is substantially lower - $2650 total vs $3350 paid. But naturally, it's "nonrefundable". Is there anything I can do? I tried calling, but the one woman I got wasn't helpful at all.

Unlike US based airlines NZ gives no refund if the fares went down. Airlines in this part of the word are a bit more careful with there money hence why most of them are still profitable.

The practise of allowing passengers to benefit from fare drops after purchase is an exclusively American phenomenon.

If the fare is non-refundable you're unlucky. Some fares allow cancellation with a penalty fee (usually $250) but it seems this isn't one of the fares you chose.

On the bright side, it was a deal good enough on the day for you to choose to purchase it. The South Island is beautiful in winter, so forget and enjoy!!

And remember, it could have just as easily gone up instead of down!!

I wasn't aware that the US does this kind of thing, but over here we know we just have to take our best guess as to how good the fare is and live with it whatever happens!

Being (Deep) South Island born and bred, I know you'll love it, especially if you're intending to ski. But bring some warm clothes!! July daytime in NZ-SI will typically be around 50F, but can often be 35F or maybe even 65F if you're lucky.... Being from Chicago you probably have warm clothes, but some of the NZ merino wool clothing products are truly excellent for keeping warm....

And of course, I hope you've got Queenstown and/or Wanaka on the agenda.... ^ Enjoy!!

Cheers
TiggerK

And remember, it could have just as easily gone up instead of down!!

Some Aeroflot fares used to include a fare condition stating they had the right to collect additional $ from the pax if the fare went up *after* purchase.

I wasn't aware that the US does this kind of thing, but over here we know we just have to take our best guess as to how good the fare is and live with it whatever happens!

It's not "the US" that does such things, it's various businesses in the US and elsewhere that operate that way, including some airlines. Many different US and Canadian (and some EU) businesses offer "price protection" of some sort to consumers. Some of the policies are very good, some are so limited to be of no real consumer benefit.

[Post purchase price protection guarantees found in NZ/AU typically are so limited to be basically worthless to the consumer]

You could always eat the change fee and rebook (if conditions allow).

Even UA have effectively removed the ability to refare domestically in the states.