gratn

Interesting speculation in the NZ Herald about changes to the Air Points programme in 2023.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/ai...ZAWJ5VSFSBWTE/

Xiaotung

It's interesting that I received an email about the loyalty manager going on maternity leave. Hope that's not the reason why they need a year to implenment changes but I wouldn't be surprised.

nzkarit

I didn't see anything other than a rehash of the survey.

sbiddle

You mean the NZ Herald story that just rehashed what Executive Traveller wrote a couple of months ago?

bce1

Very lazy ‘journalism’

Ellice

Hope they introduce lifetime status like Qantas.

LyingFlat

NZ already have an informal form of lifetime status through Elite banked years. I personally know of several people who have 10/15/20+ banked years...

nzkarit

That was one of the survey questions from *checks notes* Nov 2020 & mentioned in Executive Traveller in June 2022 article. Can't find it right now but think ET also had something in Nov 2020 at the tone of the survey or was it just discussed on FT?

Ellice

Lucky them, they must be the elite elites. Would be good if there was some kind of official process. Would cut down on a lot of innuendo and ill feeling towards NZ.

LyingFlat

When NZ first introduced banked years they didn’t have a cap on how many you could earn. Some people travelled enough that they earned several a year which quickly added up. In fact, this is the reason why banked years are now capped at one per membership year (with the exception of the odd one given through Elite threshold gifts). It’s also part of the reason why NZ are planning to introduce banked year gifting to try and encourage members with large numbers of banked years to start using them.

It’s quite easy to start building up banked years especially if you do a moderate amount of travel (plus have credit card earn helps). I also know of one person who managed to maintain their Elite status throughout Covid through flights and CC spend. They effectively ‘banked’ the additional banked years that NZ gave everyone and added them to their already substantial stockpile…

Ellice

Ok so that's interesting. I wasn't aware that banked years were now limited to one a membership year. I had noticed that my banked years hadn't been moving. I thought it was because NZ had kept extending the status during covid. I doubt anyone's going to start giving away their banked years as gifts unless they've got them coming out of their ears.

kiwifrequentflyer

I can definitely imagine some parents giving their banked years to their older children.

CHCflyer

My banked years will take me into my late 70's. I am likely to add another one to my total this year given the amount of delayed flying I am squeezing in for work this year...
I doubt I will have the inclination to travel as much as I do now, even in business class once I am 78..
To be honest, there is only so much more I can ask Air NZ for as a loyal passenger. I would much prefer that there was an NZ form of EU261 to give me back some cash for the hours, sometimes days I've wasted hanging around lounges for Air NZ delayed flights. US is getting even heavier on delay penalties - a scripted apology and a shoulder shrug no longer cuts it for me.

edmm

I'm the same, enough banked years to take me into my late 70's. To me that is the obvious case for Lifetime Elite, when someone has been Elite for many, many years, reach their mid-70's well into "retirement" age still being Elite. It's hardly going to cost the airline a lot and is good PR.