I direct deposit them into my airpoints account all the time. Yes it is best to deposit 20K, reiceive a 5K bonus. This adds up to $385 airdollars. As an upgrade on United costs 60K per return flight, using Air new Zealand those same points translate into approx 1150 air dollars..... not far short of a roundtrip business premier upgrade. BUT, in answer to your question!! They take anything from 48 hours to a couple of weeks to post..... usually under a week in my experience.