JNZ

Just wanted to jump on this thread to ramble and moan about GE, as it seems most relevant place to do so.

I’ve been G for 8 years and now GE for the last one. Let’s be honest, GE means nothing over G - an upgrade, parking vouchers, discount J, gifting, blah blah blah, it’s a bunch of 1% gains when I’ve spent nearly twice as much as I did to get G.

My whole 8 years as G, I assumed the real benefit was above and beyond service and care - people going the extra mile, and a few bits of indirect financial benefit which would come from that. It turns out I was completely mistaken.

Three examples - and I’m open to being told that these are completely unreasonable expectations by me, but also on the contrary would be keen to know if other GE from ‘back in the day’ remember there ever being service like this.

1. Had a very cheap ($50) seat only ticket CHC-ZQN which became redundant. Called and asked nicely if I could just credit it — resounding no.
2. Somehow managed to book an international seat fare instead of seat and bag, must’ve fat-fingered it in a rush booking on my phone last minute. Stung $90 to check bag at airport, not even a hint of flexibility
3. Put a flexi booking into credit to then rebook. Was assured by CSA I’d receive the credit in 10 minutes. 3 hours and 3 calls later it arrived — and by then the fare I needed had increased by $150. No interest in offering the lower fare, even though it was their fault I couldn’t book it.

Are these mostly my fault? Yes. Could they be avoided? Yes. But do I think that ANZ should be offering me a bit of leeway here and there when I spend $20k a year with them? Yes.

Honestly keen to know if this is considered unreasonable by me, because I increasingly resent ANZ for the fact they seem to offer me the exact same treatment that a jade member would get. I know they’re just following the rules — but should these be the rules? Do other airlines treat HVCs with a bit more leeway?

I’ve had a few good experiences here and there (eg. Being moved to earlier flights on non-flexi ticket, including proactively once), but overall it feels like they go out of their way to ensure I don’t receive any special treatment. Thoughts?

Thai-Kiwi

Way too many Elites to be especially ‘special’ I suspect…

As a THAI *G I get noticeably better (subtle, but noticeable) benefits / treatment on TG flights in comparison than to what AirNZ provides me as a Gold Elite. For example, I booked MEL-BKK-LHR//FRA-BKK-MEL in Flexi economy (Q) and my ‘Gold member’ upgrade saw all 4 sectors confirmed to business class (J). That is a real ‘benefit’.

LyingFlat

Unfortunately, whilst $20K is a lot of money to many people, in the airline world it's not even a rounding error. I've sold Business Class tickets on Air NZ that cost more than $20K. I recall a client once needed to fly someone in from NYC to AKL and only C class was available on NZ1/2. The cost for one person was about NZD32K return...

CHCflyer

Unfortunately NZ doesn't need to fight for loyalty. If you are a frequent domestic flyer in the regions then the choice is NZ or NZ. I get gold flying those miserable ATRs and gold elite flying Star Alliance carriers elsewhere - simply because I can't afford Air NZ's business class prices long haul (though that's no loss as the NZ 787 business product is mediocre). I'm over a decade as Gold Elite with 14 banked years and have never used their upgrade certs, parking vouchers, car upgrades, hotel upgrades, partner rates - for me it is purely decorative and has lost relevance when it comes to my choice of travel - price always wins when it comes to booking a premium fare. I flew AA to LAX this month as it was $2,500 cheaper than NZ and frankly the product was pretty good.
I use the lounge weekly and that's about it. Even the Airpoint earn rate is the same as Jade.

samjaynz

Very good point. I basically get my status through regional flying and then having a work credit card that earns SP which gets heavy use each month. I don't have much of a choice as Air NZ is usually the only airline flying where I'm going.

I must admit (as I'm not the type of pay cash for premium fares) that I've been liking the APD upgrade ability of Elite. I get a decent number of APD each month and in the past had just used them to buy things off the Airpoints store, but I've got four upgrades from economy to premium economy locked in already, which feels like I'm getting something of tangible value. However, that only works because I'm an economy buyer and I've got the card that earns decent APD on a big monthly spend. Take that away and there'd be no real additional value for me.

I appreciate, of course, if you are in the position to pay for premium class fares that the value proposition of Air NZ Elite quickly dilutes.

I do wish that they could sort some lounge solution however. I'm off to Auckland tomorrow, and I know I won't be bothering to try and go to the Auckland lounge on the way home at 5pm ... I'll get the Uber to drop me at the pub/restaurant down the road and I'll walk over just in time to board the flight home. Not worth fighting tooth and nail for a seat.

CHCflyer

And as if by magic I got a survey from Air NZ asking me about the value of the airpoints scheme and the benefits it accords. There is a space for specific issues you may wish to raise with them about the scheme.

edmm

I've done various surveys over the years, including a one-on-one by an outside company, but nothing has ever come from them.

Like you, I've been Elite for many years, a bit longer than you, and have a similar number of banked years. My wife has been Elite for several years. I too have suffered hundreds of flights on ATRs. Being from the provinces, we can't use our parking vouchers, and we just pay for J, so don't use our upgrades. This all means that there is very little benefit for us being Elite, over being Koru or Gold. The same overcrowded lounges, the same seat selection, no dedicated phone line. That is what we have said in surveys, but I don't think they have the will to fix things. But, as has been said, if you fly the wrong routes (domestic and TT) you are mostly stuck with NZ.

Having said that, the staff are mostly great, particularly in the provinces.