Originally Posted by
Xiaotung
You seem to have picked an extreme example which happens to favour NZ but here is the flaw in your model: You are earning from the most expensive fares (AKL-LHR in Business) to redeem on the cheapest fares (trans-Tasman). And your goal is a Gold card. Honestly those who can afford the above fares probably don't need a Gold card. Here is another thought, for US$2200 you can buy Star Gold from AV.
https://www.lifemiles.com/eng/tra/pr...ot.aspx?D=NTI4
I would be more interested if you had an Economy analysis.
I was merely comparing for argument's sake, as someone said that one can get a Business fare for 1/2 the price of AirNZ. Which I really doubt, even if there is a sale on.
AirNZ's marketing department isn't completely useless, and when there is a fare sale on to Europe, ALL of the major airlines offers more or less the same prices or within 15-20% of each other (from my limited observations).
In no way is this comparison a definitive statement of how each airline's respective fares and frequent flyer programme compares.
The redemption/burn again is only an example of what one can get with the miles/APD earned. I don't think anyone flying in (near) full fare Business is doing so just for an Economy Trans Tasman reward flight.
The new APD/Status earn rate is quite terrible, no question about it. However it seems to be the trend worldwide with most major airlines devaluing their frequent flyer programmes... as the saying goes, you can freely take your business and loyalty elsewhere if you don't like it, right?
And I'll leave it to someone else to take up on an Economy comparison.