Originally Posted by
Fliar
Hello friends,
Haven't had status in OW for over a decade and don't know anything anymore about its various programmes> I hope you can advise.
I have requalified for my Air NZ Gold Elite and frankly am not impressed with their newly planned business seats, which will be out of date before they even launch so I've been booking other airlines for this coming year - including a bunch of flights on Etihad. I can see myself flying NZ less in the coming years and picking up more tickets starting from Asia (with 'stopovers' in NZ).
I find myself this year flying on CX in business from ICN-HKG-AKL return and BKK-HKG-AKL.
This probably won't get me status anywhere
ICN-HKG-AKL-HKG-ICN in Business would get you oneworld Ruby (lowest tier) status if credited to Iberia. Adding BKK-HKG-AKL one way in Business would not be enough to advance you from Ruby to Sapphire (middle tier), but BKK-HKG-AKL-HKG would. But then you'd have Avios to redeem, which might not be ideal for your future redemptions.
AA has some decent redemption rates between the South Pacific and Asia if you can find award availability on their partners, which include not only oneworld carriers, but also FJ which serves both HKG and NRT via NAN.
Suggest that you check availability on some dummy redemptions at aa.com before making any decisions; no log-in required.
If you regularly fly in Business Class, oneworld status benefits might be of limited value to you.