Air New Zealand Air Points - Koru Club

I'm considering joining the Koru club and are trying to figure out if its worth the outlay. I am soon to be NZ*S which i guess gives me a single lounge pass. Anybody got some pros and cons of joing the Koru Club.

The main reason i guess why i want to join is because i live in the deep south and find i have a few hours always to kill in AKL and often in LAX.

Thanks in advance

I know there used to be a clause that if you reached NZ*G within so many months they would refund your KC fee.

The way i look at the value of the KC is devide it by the amount of times you are going to fly in the year. Then compared it to the cost of buy a Beer and Food at the airport.

So say 10return trips a year = 20 lounge visits which is $24.75 a visit. Now waiting 3 hours in the airport i could easily spend that waiting for the flight.

A number of reasons:

1. NZ Silver does not give access to Space+ seating on international and domestic flights, but KC membership does.

2. NZ Silver does not allow access to priority check-in queues or priority luggage tags, but KC membership does.

3. NZ Silver does not give you an additional luggage allowance, but KC membership does.

4. KC membership obviously gives lounge access whereas NZ Silver only gives 1 or 2 one-time KC passes.

5. KC membership gives the option to purchase discounted travel insurance, NZ Silver does not.

In February and March this year there was a promotion where Jade (and possibly Silver) FF's could join KC and have their joining fee waived. In hindsight I should have jumped at this offer, but unfortunately did not. I think that if you have the funds to pay for the KC membership then you should go for it, if you think the benefits are greater than the costs. If you have a GlobalPlus Plat card you can also get joining fee waived, same goes (plus cheaper membership fees) if your company has a corporate relationship with NZ and special KC deals.

Its starting to look like a good idea. When i have paid to use the lounges i have always though the entry was worth it. Not worth it for 30 minutes but when you have a few hours to burn. Food, drink, internet, shower and of course some plane spotting. Gotta love the view from lounge at LAX. I think i will use the airpoints for the membership...

NZ Flyer i'm regretting not doing the the membership then but then i wasn't planing on going away again. I do have the gobal plus gold card so maybe i should look at the platmium card. The only problem that i could see with doing that is that i am using the insurance on the gold card for this trip.

Good idea to find out about the corporate memebership

NZ Flyer i'm regretting not doing the the membership then but then i wasn't planing on going away again. I do have the gobal plus gold card so maybe i should look at the platmium card. The only problem that i could see with doing that is that i am using the insurance on the gold card for this trip.

Good idea to find out about the corporate memebership

The GP Platinum also comes with travel insurance which I'm pretty sure would still cover you if you upgraded from Gold.

I'll double check that out tomorrow at work. As i understand it you are meant to be a card holder at the time the tickets are purchased with the platmium card. Not sure what happens with the upgrade of the card.

I know there used to be a clause that if you reached NZ*G within so many months they would refund your KC fee.

The way i look at the value of the KC is devide it by the amount of times you are going to fly in the year. Then compared it to the cost of buy a Beer and Food at the airport.

So say 10return trips a year = 20 lounge visits which is $24.75 a visit. Now waiting 3 hours in the airport i could easily spend that waiting for the flight.

Don't forget multiple visits on multi-leg itineraries. E.g. IVC-CHC-AKL-LAX and return would allow some lounging in all of those locations - I've often found my happiest lounge visits have been the domestic ones, where I'm on a nice short itinerary (so not too worried about the lethal combination of jetlag and hangovers) and can indulge myself in the alcoholic lounge offerings at my leisure. Though by the sound of it, both quality and quantity of those options have been sadly diminished since my last visit to an NZ lounge :(

FWIW... there IS a (pro-rata) refund of membership fees if you hit Gold with at least x amount (3 months??) of time to run on said m'ship..

I hit Gold 4 months after signing up for KC... and so got a fairly decent % refund...but even with the joining fee it was worth it as I was taking dear ol' Mum on a trip...:D

...and of course if you drop from Gold you can renew/reactivate your KC without paying the joining fee again...

Pretty reasonable IMO.....

I know there used to be a clause that if you reached NZ*G within so many months they would refund your KC fee.

The way i look at the value of the KC is devide it by the amount of times you are going to fly in the year. Then compared it to the cost of buy a Beer and Food at the airport.

So say 10return trips a year = 20 lounge visits which is $24.75 a visit. Now waiting 3 hours in the airport i could easily spend that waiting for the flight.

I've done my maths - for me I would be at $12 per visit, which is less than I usually spend on coffee and something to eat before most flights.

However, although it is in the workplace contract that Koru club memberships can be purchased, the powers to be will not authorize it - as it will cause division in the ranks between the haves and have nots! Bloody academics - so precious.

You can also effectively double the value of a KC membership any time you travel with a friend / partner / colleague - because a guest can piggy-back on all the benefits too.

However, although it is in the workplace contract that Koru club memberships can be purchased, the powers to be will not authorize it - as it will cause division in the ranks between the haves and have nots! Bloody academics - so precious.

So you aren't even allowed to purchase one independent of the organisation?

kiwibigdave makes an excellent point... which I should have been right on top of!!:D

My travel buddy has always had status with UA.. so he got me into E+... and I've been getting him into the NZ lounges....^

"Unfortunately" he has decided that with our travel patterns he would be better off with NZ (and for the same reasons I chose/stay with Airpoints) ...

....the travel we commence next Wednesday (YAY!) will see him to NZ Gold himself...

So you aren't even allowed to purchase one independent of the organisation?

Yes I can of course. However, as work pays for my drinks/eats at the airport, I am not inclined to pay for my own Koru and subsidise them!

Yes I know this is a wee bit petulant.

My colleague who flys little more than me is newly gold status. He wants to invite me into the Koru club as a guest - we are traveling AirNZ the same day but on different flights - is this allowable.

I did check the rules and it seems so - but be great to have a confirmation.

Thanks


"Gold members have access to all Koru Lounges within New Zealand and all Air New Zealand operated International Lounges. They can also bring one guest into these lounges, subject to space, on the day of travel on Star Alliance ticketed and operated flights."

...

In order to access these lounges prior to your departure, you will need to present your Airpoints membership card, and you and your guests will need to present your same-day Air New Zealand or Star Alliance boarding passes at the lounge reception.

Yes it is fine as long as it is *A flight same day from the same airport.

How long does it take for the KC membership to show on your myairnz page??

So far as I can tell, your Koru Club status doesn't show in any obvious way at all - very disappointing.

The only thing I've noticed is an extra link in te bottom right of the MyAirNZ page which allows you to guy more KC Guest cards (not usually present).

what about access to say space plus etc

How long does it take for the KC membership to show on your myairnz page??

probably never knowing myairnz

what about access to say space plus etc

Well, if you are a KC member, then you have access to Space+ when you select seats AFTER making your booking.

My KC kicked in on MyAirNZ after 24 hours, and instantly on my FFer #. As for KC, for $495 and lounge access + space+ i think its very much worth it.

My first post on this forum, but have flown Air NZ for more years than I care to remember, plus have been a Koru Club member for nearly 10 years.

I highly recommend it. As others have said it gives you access to Space + even if you're only a Jade Airpoints Member. You have automatic access to premium check-in and to Koru lounges, even if you're only flying economy. And if your are flying cattle class it's nice to be able to eat and drink something before getting on a flight that offers almost nothing.

I've certainly found that Koru status helps if you're applying for an upgrade using airpoints dollars. The status is shown on your boarding pass.

I'll double check that out tomorrow at work. As i understand it you are meant to be a card holder at the time the tickets are purchased with the platmium card. Not sure what happens with the upgrade of the card.

From memory. The Gold card only covers you if the travel is booked on the card. However Platinum covers you regardless of the card you used to book the travel. Platinum gives you 90 days coverage while gold is only 35.

One downside is if you have a Gold Amex GP card the earn rate is $100 spend = AP$1.5 and the Platinum has a lower earn rate at $100 spend = AP$1.1 but if you have a gold Visa or MasterCard you get a higher earn rate with the Platinum Visa.
Hope that helps.