Originally Posted by Conan Wang

Long-time lurker and first-time poster.

I am based in Auckland, currently with Airpoints and usually hit Gold every year but not really close to Elite.

My flight pattern every year is similar
6-8 Domestic flights, economy class
4-5 Trans Tasman flights, a mix of prem economy and economy
2-3 long haul, to USA (mainly LA) /Europe, mixed Business / Prem Economy

I also have a credit card that gives me a bit of status point top-up, around 100-200 points per year.

I am finding it quite easy to get to Gold but hard to get to Elite at this point. At the same time, I do find the Airpoints programme quite unrewarding. There are a few things I like about airpoints, such as the recognition upgrades, vouchers, and the fact Air NZ offers more direct flights to my preferred destinations, but Air NZ tickets are usually near the top in terms of price, and the service level in Air NZ business and Prem economy is always declining. I also always hated the Air NZ business class product.

I still do intend to book Air NZ from time to time because they are the best choice for domestic flights, and often competitive for trans Tasman.

So fellow NZ based frequent flyers, if you had a mixed short haul/long haul flight pattern like me, which frequent flyer programme do you prefer?

I have been looking at KrisFlyer and do not mind transiting Changi with my long haul international flights, is the Krisflyer programme better, or easier to earn points, and practical for NZ based passengers?

Or any other alternatives?

Originally Posted by sbiddle

To be brutally honest with that little amount of travel you shouldn't be able to get anywhere near Elite.

There is no "best" FF program, it depends who you really want to fly with and what aspects your see value in.