Originally Posted by
juniorsu
Not much you can do - credit it to NZ's airpoints program and maybe you can use it in the future - they can be used for *A upgrades too
I suspect that this may not be worth your time and effort. You need a truck load of NZ Airpoints Dollars to get anywhere near a *A upgrade. 380 APD is the minimum for a *A upgrade and that is only for Y to J from NZ to East Coast Australia/the Pacific Islands on a carrier other than NZ - and I don't think that can actually be done at the moment. The next best is within a geographical zone (less than 2000km) Y to J at 460 APD.
A return US-AKL trip in discounted economy (L) is only going to yield 80 APD per ticket. You could pool all the APDs you earn under the Shairpoints option which may generate enough for a domestic NZ ticket next time you visit.