Originally Posted by
Thai-Kiwi
If AKL based I’d have dumped AirNZ ages ago! Indeed I only effectively starting pursuing Airpoints in 2021, and went from ‘Member to Gold Elite in 9 months over 2022. I’d been living/working overseas on and off, and other programs presented much better value (for me). I’ve been flying THAI reasonably often for over 30 years, and appreciated *G status lasting for 2 years - which suited the ebbs and flows of work and leisure travel.
These days almost all travel is personally funded, and now permanently living in NZ. As a a GE I’ll stay with the program for now, but suspect I’ll strictly be a value traveller in a few years’ time - by then I’ll be very price sensitive.
Regarding JQ, yes you can earn Status Credits with certain fares. And QF is acceptable TT from ZQN/CHC/WLG.
Interesting perspective, thanks.
I must admit that I find value in the Elite program, if only because I have a lot of expensed work expenditure that goes through an AMEX card that earns decent APD rate. What this means is when I book international travel I usually have a healthy pool of APD to go for the EAPD upgrades (I've booked about 6 of those so far this year). Basically it means I've been able to become a premium economy, occasional business traveler when flying long haul for economy cost in terms of actual cash spent.
If I didn't have that benefit, I'd just limit my approach to trying to get Gold for the Star Alliance benefits, and then spend elsewhere for international travel based on best deal.
That just about makes it all worthwhile, considering the general "averageness" of the rest of the program e.g. crowded lounges (was actually a treat to go to the Fiji lounge recently with next to nobody in it) small number of "free" upgrades/RUs, and decreasing earn rates when adjusting for airfare costs.