rickh25345

Hi - looking for advice please. Have searched the forum looking for guidance on the most cost-effective way to accumulate AirNZ Status Points. I can't find anything "Recent" referring to status point runs or similar. I attained Gold status recently (currently Koru as well), someway short of Elite but expected to get within ~140 by end-June at current earn rate. End-June because in July I start to lose status points quite quickly from that month and so on, they roll over the 12 month anniversary. Driver is that I may not qualify for Gold <again> by anniversary early next year as travel <work> may trail off. a little. Still some international holiday travel <economy> a couple of times a year. Expect it won't be enough to retain Elite, Gold maybe..... but.....

I ask because of the "Soft Landing - if I understand correctly from this forum.... once qualified for any level ..... if you do not earn enough Status points to retain that level upon status anniversary date, then you "soft land" to the next level below. In other words if I do manage to attain Gold Elite by end-June 2020 and do not accumulate another single status point, I will roll back from Gold Elite to Gold end-June 2021, and retain Gold until end-June 2022?

Back to the point (no pun intended). I'm looking for any advice on the best way to accumulate ~140 points <best bang for buck>. From what I can see a Business Class return to Raro. Fiji or Samoa would generate 140-odd Status points for around $1400-$1500..... about $10 per point. That's 2 years worth of Koru yes.... but the Gold options for a couple of years work & holiday travel outweigh that for me , plus I get to have an Island holiday, (and would buy partner same Businses Class fare with already accumulated Airpoints).

Hoping this is making sense. Any advice greatly appreciated. Cheers

sopwith7

If you're just traveling to/from NZ, Koru is fine, and I wouldn't worry about stretching to Elite to get one more year of Gold. But if you're traveling extensively outside NZ, then *Gold is pretty great to have and probably worth the stretch. I believe your assessment of Soft Landing is correct, but others here may chime in with additional info. Seems the only real benefits of Elite now are Elite Partner (if that matters to you), and of course the confirmed Elite Airpoints Dollars Upgrades, but those are being devalued significantly this year (especially on routes to North America ).

racekp

140 odd SP seems alot to be chasing, you'd want to have some international travel lined up to make best use of being Elite over Gold. I'm going to be in a similar positon in about 2 months but I'll be looking at chasing ~50SP for Elite which I'll be doing for the sake of a $400-500 spend (I hope). From what I have previously read you should be able to get a SP earn rate of better than ~$10/point if you are looking at a pure SP run

sbiddle

$10 per SP is pretty much a normal earn rate. Most people doing status runs on the usual high earn routes would be paying around $7 - $7.50 per SP which is considered a good earn rate.

​​​​​​TT flights are typically a waste of time for earn unless you can pick up a good special to PER in BP as the tax on TT flights is so high.

It's still a lot of $$ to spend if your don't fly enough to benefit from status.

rickh25345

It's not so much Elite I'm after - it's the soft landing in Feb 2021 back to Silver if I don't get to Elite by end-June I'd like to avoid. If I get to Elite I'll probably soft-land back to Gold end June 2021 to end-June 2022 . Yes, we'll be travelling internationally to US East Coast and also Europe in these two years, possibly 3 or 4 times, AU on business mutiple times but low SP earn as mentioned. Koru has been good to me/us (4+ years local and International) but it's the expanded Star Alliance network/ lounge options I'm interested in if I choose NOT to fly AirNZ particularly ouside NZ. And there is the possibility I could retain Gold but I'd "manage" that scenario, quite probably in a similar manner.

Again, hoping that makes sense... in other words currently $10 per SP to get me <us> two years expanded travel options....

racekp

Totally understand, I'm almost in the exact same situation and thought process but with less spend needed to achieve it. It really comes down to you deciding if the spend warrants the reward. I also read previously Adelaide was an ok option for TT points earn but may not offer enough for you.

rickh25345

sbiddle - thanks - you mention "the usual high earn routes"? .... I've tried searching for those here and thrashed AirNZ booking page but couldn't get anywhere near those numbers. At the end of the day I'm happy to pay the premium if the reward is there - in this case an Island break for a week, J there and back. IS there a better way tho?

racekp - thanks - if it works it works , not a big deal but i just hate to see an opportunity slide by if you know what I mean. I'm usually AKL-SYD-AKL and even at short notice the SP's blow....... :-)

ps107

How much do you spend on credit cards? Do you have tax/GST bills? You could get 140 status points by spending about $32k with the right card.

taupo

Unless I have misread your posts, it seems the primary reason you are looking for GE is to obtain lounge access for a couple of years.
You have Gold in the bag already which will give you Koru and *G lounge access. Koru membership can replace it locally once your Gold runs out.
Priority Pass will give you lounge access membership worldwide with no need to chase a FFP.
You mentioned we'll be travelling internationally to US East Coast and also Europe in these two years, possibly 3 or 4 times, AU on business multiple times being business class will also give you lounge access.

As previously mentioned Gold Elite gives you Elite Partner and APD upgrades, nothing else tangible.

rickh25345

PS107 - Not a lot really, not self-employed. I did look a that but @1SP per $250 it's in the middle of the bunch

Taupo - international travel I mention would be Economy <sadly>, AU travel is FOR business sorry, not IN business <my bad grammar>. Gold now/Elite July 2020/Gold July 2021 gives me/us Star Alliance flight/lounge options other than AirNZ for our private US/EU travel to July 2022 and of course all my NZ & AU business-related travel in AirNZ Lounges. Priority Pass - hmmmm.... good point - I didn't even think of that option , thank you.

Beano

They will have a domestic based priority pass lounge in Auckland (may)

Beckett66

One of my better Status Point earns was WLG to NAN via AKL in J over the Waitangi break. Booked for $1,251 during a sale in July last year, earning 196 Status Points, or $6.38 per point.

rickh25345

Priority Pass - Looks like AKL is Intl only - Strata Lounge . Checked Sydney Intl - "The House" but you have to pay extra to get into it in addition to using one of your passes. Or you get a "Discount" off your bill from the establishments also listed as a "lounge" (bars etc) . Seems to be the go elsewhere too

Beano

The domestic priority pass lounge in Auckland opens in May

rickh25345