Points earned after re-qualify for elite?
 

So I'm currently elite. My tier date was 19 Feb 2017, and just ticked over enough points to re qualify.

So my balances now say I have enough points to be elite until 31 Mar 2018 and I need 1038 points to get a banked year before 19 Feb 2017.

Looking at my plans I will likely only earn ~800 SP before Feb. Will these 800 points count towards anything?

They count towards a rollover year. All the details are on the NZ Elite benefits page.

Possibly, possibly not.

If next year you get enough points to re-qualify then they are wasted. However if you're short of points to re-qualify then they are added to your total which could be enough to re-qualify you.

I'm in a status point rollover year currently. Had 935 SP rollover from last year. I've tried to under fly NZ or if flying NZ credit to VA. Made platinum with VA then started crediting flights to SQ but Gold with SQ isn't really of any benefit to me although the points will come in handy one day. Despite that still ended up with 1037 SP with 2.5 months to go. Meaning those 935 will predominantly go to waste if I hit 1350 (they don't roll over again they just disappear into thin air).

Pretty sure it says rollover SP don't count towards a banked year of elite which I think is silly. They should. It's still flying and buying.

I'm in 2 minds as to whether I should go for the banked year next year or add another program. There's lots of nothing between elite and the banked year.

I haven't enjoyed the rollover year. And if I'm accruing to another program it also buggars up chances of op-ups. (Hasn't affected elite APD upgrades). Although surprisingly my flights haven't been full as expected whereas last year from October to March it just seemed like op-ups most NZ flights TT. It's also a bit of an inconvenience asking agents to swap FF #'s and checking if they've done it right or not.

I think you should consider adding in another program if it suits. It means starting again or asking for a status match.

Obviously if you are all getting banked / rollover years you are all taking large numbers of flights and likely spending big $$$ on them. Is there anything better to do with these points than to credit them to yet another FFP? Is it worth having *G on 3 different airlines? Curious here, I've never flown that much to be in this scenario. I suppose it gives some flexibility if the status is between alliances.

For me
- Lifetime Gold Status (OW QF) - I like to think that one day when I retire and don't fly that much I could still get lounge access.
- OW Emerald (QF Plat) opens doors to First Lounges with cuisine and beverage options not found in NZ lounge nor that little space reserved for EP1.
- as you pointed out. Flexibility.

I wouldn't suggest having *G on multiple airlines, unless you fly a lot with a couple of airlines, and could use any extra benefits that airlines provide to their own top tier elite.

That said, most other *A programmes provide better benefits than airpoints, assuming you aren't just flying Air NZ on the cheapest fares (which earn zero or little on other programmes).

I'm keen on hearing what others do in this situation. Last year I got enough to get up to Elite and then got a banked year. And then I accumulated about 700 airpoints dollars after that, which I belatedly realised were entirely wasted. I'm wondering how to distribute my flights this year, because as @NZbutterfly and @codyc1515 suggest, it's not worth it wasting those status points on AirNZ or perhaps not even on *A. I'm really surprised that Air NZ hasn't cottoned onto this issue, as they could easily lose premium passengers who have banked a year and have nothing else to gain by flying Air NZ or *A for the next few months.

For flights outside NZ I credit another FFP with better benefits. For domestic NZ flights I switch from paid to redemption once I have accumulated enough status points.

I started booking to OW because I know I will bank the year. Not bothered chasing elite gifts which are frankly mediocre. QF have lifetime status so it makes sense to chase that

I think that this issue loses Air NZ quite a bit of revenue each year. I certainly get into "wasted points" territory every year. I've had the 3000 level gifts and they are not worth any extra spend or effort. So this means those like me often choose to travel with other carriers or not travel at all.

The cynic in me thinks that our definitions of lifetime are not the same. With that said, I can certainly see the appeal of a First lounge. NZ doesn't have this same scale, unfortunately, and from what I've seen the EP1 lounges are not exactly fancy.

Lifetime gold with Qantas comes after 14,000 status credits, Platinum for a year is 1400 sc first yr and 1200 to retain. So you'd be guaranteeing yourself lounge access on one world carriers after you'd hit that. Still a lot of flying. Currently there is no lifetime platinum (One world emerald) with Qantas but I believe BA gold (despite being called gold it's actually OWE) has lifetime status.

The first class lounge access is more of a one world alliance trait rather than Qantas alone. Star alliance doesn't appear to have anything similar in place so it's not just an Air NZ thing.

I was of the understanding EP1 was really made to give VIP customers quiet from the lounge and escorts in other airports to make life easy. NZ weren't aiming for the luxury component. Just a way to keep the high spenders with NZ by making their lounge time productive and efficient processing through airports.

If you're hitting elite or the banked year and still have excess flights then I guess you have to look at one world - the next major alliance or at your frequency, destinations and other carriers to determine which other FFP's to join. I'd look at mainly points accrual and redemptions. All seem to offer lounge, priority check in etc at some point in different status levels.

If you don't think you can make any meaningful status in another programme then it may not be worth crediting to another FFP and you keep flying NZ for the APD.

I think VA is good in some ways because I like flying Air NZ so I can continue to fly them but just credit to VA. I like the accrual from NZ and EY (SQ also) but also the redemption on SQ/TZ. Certain NZ domestic fare classes accrue and they have family pooling for points and status credits. Gold is only 500 sc then 400 to retain. Need 4 VA marketed flights/yr too (meaning you can fly NZ but buy from VA website. Can't be a purely domestic NZ flight). There are some annoyances about the programme but it will suit some.

There is a thread offering advice about which FFP to join which is probably just as applicable to picking subsequent FFPs as well as the primary FFP.

In my situation I retain Elite then earn to United after that. It works as I have regular US business. Always make 1K with United as well. Earn / burn on United is excellent compared to Airpoints. I get very tangible benefits. +1 and myself flying F to Europe shortly on United earn. Try doing that with Airpoints.

For many years, I too was like the OP, blindly flying NZ as much as I could without a care as to where all that "excess" SP went. Several AP "enhancements" and the declining quality in inflight meals has changed my outlook.

Assuming very little QF flying in the past, I worked out about 11.5 years of "just over the QF Plat threshold" = Lifetime Gold. I did not find it as hard as I initially thought. QF does not brutally (I think cruelly) discount SP earn the way NZ and some *A does on intra-alliance flights. JQ also provides good $ spent to QF SP earn ratio.

As a FF I don't see much value in this, especially if you have been through the same airport before. Probably make me feel like an "unaccompanied minor" except that I'm grown up! If I was going to a third world country where officials might hit you up for gratuities, maybe. A decrepit requiring wheelchair assistance...probably.