I have about 2K flight credit with NZ from a ticket I purchased last year but had to cancel at the last minute. I want to use the flight credit on Air NZ to go to Australia from the US, but I found out that I am required to obtain a NZ transit visa even if I do not intend to enter NZ. Under the NZ immigration website, for my outbound trip, I do not need a NZ transit visa because my next legal destination is Australia. However, for my return trip to the US, I assume I need a transit visa because my next legal destination is the US, not Australia. Do I interpret the rules correctly and how do NZ immigration enforce this rule? If the connection in AKL for my flight SYD-AKL-LAX is only 1.5 hours, will I have time to go through document check?
Is it possible that I use my flight credit for other star alliance carriers through Air NZ so I don't have to go through NZ at all.
Thanks.