Redkiwi

Hi all
I wonder, has anyone else noticed a delay in delivery of Elite and Elite Partner packs in the last few months? Ours took 6 weeks to come through and have a friend who said his partner has been waiting 2 months for their Elite Partner pack.

Air NZ said 10-15 days is the norm. I wonder if this has been the experience of others on here?

SamB2356

Mine arrived about three weeks after my requalification date, which more or less coincided with my benefits renewal date. However last year, my Elite pack took over a month, and the Elite Partner pack nearly two months to arrive.

nsnflyer

My recent requal pack took about 6 weeks to arrive. I rang Air NZ and they said they were aware of some delays (did not elaborate) and to call them back in 2 weeks if I had still not received anything....

Lo and behold it was in the mailbox the following day with the elite partner pack as well.

Fast6

Mine just took a month after the ~week that it took for the tier to become effective. Partner pack arrived same day as my pack.

Maybe a big uptick in qualifications due to credit card promotions etc?

sbiddle

Judging by the number of people I know who got free Elite upgrades who weren't entitled to it (ie weren't BNZ customers) due to incredibly poor data matching it wouldn't surprise me if this was a contributing factor.

NZbutterfly

Can't remember how long mine took, but if you guys need it for flying soon maybe you could ask air nz to send you an email with your status?

Don't worry about the bag tags they're going to break unless you double them up. Then you'll be getting the koru tags from the lounge for replacement. Even stole one of the partners tags and that was gone after just two legs! So I gave up. I'm not paying $30 for replacement elite tags.

sbiddle

I still don't understand why Air NZ don't just make proper bag tags like the QF ones. Yes they cost more, but they don't break!

Miles Down Under

Since when did they start charging $30 for replacement luggage tags?

Kamadan

One would assume that in order to reach Elite, you'd have been Gold previously so you can just use your existing Gold FF cards/tags in the meantime.

There are no difference between Gold and Elite in terms of entitlements with *A partners anyways, both are *G so whether you flash your Gold or Elite card at check-in or at the lounge, you'll get the same benefits (or lack there-of).

And if you are flying with NZ, your status would/should be correctly displayed on your boarding pass and on the system (assuming Elite is showing on your NZ account when checking online), so again they will apply the extra benefits without you ever needing to flash that card.

And if you are on-board an NZ flight/metal, your Elite status will be printed on the manifest thus those extra benefits will apply. Flashing your card won't do anything (and why would one do that anyway?)... unless you're going for the DYKWIM award of the year. :P

pbl22

I don't understand why people worry about elite luggage tags anyway, particularly for carry on. They convey no benefits and are not useful for anything other than showing off. The QF ones supposedly are useful (contain flight/FF information), but you don't need them. Surely having these things is a bit of a DYKWIA attitude?

Kamadan

The only reason why you'd want to have tags showing on your carry on is for the benefit of the (outsourced) airport staff manning the queue to immigration (International) or security check (Domestic). Seeing as they blast "you are only allowed 1 piece of carry-on weighing 7kg, and this is STRICTLY enforced" non-stop, and tags identify those with elevated allowances (2 pieces 14kg combined for *G).

The QF tags are RFID/NFC enabled and stores useful information like you said.

SamB2356

The blue plastic straps given out with the premium baggage tags are also supposedly required for Fast Bag, which is great on regional flights.

Redkiwi

The tag quality does seem quite random, I've had an old gold one that has done 200+ flights whereas the other one somehow snapped after one flight.

The tags are really handy for using fastbag on regional routes.

Did hear from someone today (who'd been speaking to Air NZ last week) that there is a significant delay in getting their cards chipped currently as they are using a new provider in Australia for this.

Nz79

My anniversary was the 21st July.
Elite pack arrived today, so about 3.5 weeks.
No partner pack yet.

NZbutterfly

As you say it's probably cost related. They obviously know it's an issue given the stash of koru tags at the lounge desk and the lack of surprise on the face of the lady helping me. Maybe they figure people get more tags on requalification or another koru yr anyway.

I agree the Q tags look sturdier but I'm a bit hesitant to use them after reading a thread on QF regarding missing luggage or looking on other carousels for your bag. I think the theory of using them sounds good.

I needed a replacement card and doing a search the kits were $30 which included tags. I couldn't find this info again on a quick search (so I'm starting to doubt my recall), I only found the koru kit was $25 or card only $10 (weird given they're in the lounge) and that they may charge a service fee for other requests eg card replacements.

True you could use your gold tags but they appear to be made the same as the elite tags and will break given time. Much better doubling them or the koru tags up.

Having tags for me is more about getting my bags off the carousel faster. It doesn't matter if I'm in economy on a 777 as (well I hope) my bags come out ahead of others so I can beat at least part of the crowd to customs. Getting your bag is a major rate limiting step to getting through the airport faster. I noticed if you use a check in desk they seem to put the orange tag on your bag tag which makes it more identifiable I guess for people sorting them into priority or not. Using kiosk check in it's a plain white bag tag with a bit of bolding saying priority so I figured the nz tags made it more identifiable for priority. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes but it's just a guess. I flit between the kiosks and desks depending on which lines look smaller.

I thought I needed to show my card for non air nz lounges so have it out at VA domestic and was asked for the card in Oz when I didn't show it. When I was crediting APD from the VA flights to NZ I thought I had more chance of them showing up in the account if I showed my card at the desk as chasing missing APD is a pain in the backside but I've learned even then sometimes they don't show up. NZ uses QF lounge in Perth international and I figured that was one world so I needed it. I'll be on aircalin later and have no idea what my BP will show but I'm planning on showing the card to access the lounge on the way home. On the VA forum the advice for some elite members which probably extends to koru and gold is if you're building up status on VA with a VA ticket and wanting NZ lounge access then show your NZ card at the NZ lounge for access which may appear as an elite person being flashy but there's more to the story. SIN silverkris seems a lounge where it's handy having your card also.

I don't want any conversations with lounge staff about eligibility for access. I just want their wifi or food or showers. Takes less than a minute to get your card out vs searching terms and conditions or asking on FT or wondering if you're in the PE cabin can you not show your card at QF in Perth. Although on reflection they'd be more than used to the NZ flight but I'd never thought about that before.

My carry on for oz will transition between fast bag, carry on and check through luggage during a return trip. It's just easier leaving a tag on it. Any tag will do but I need a tag for the fast bag. Otherwise I had to show my BP when my tag came off. Fast bag is fantastic. No squeezing luggage into overhead bins or moving things around for space, and it gives others more room for their luggage.

I find the card and bag tags make my journey through airports much smoother which is really what a frequent flyer is after.