nzchick

Hi all,

I am heading away on a work trip shortly & have a couple of possible routings I can take. (Note that work will not pay for business class, but premium economy is ok).

Choice 1: Direct CHC-SIN in economy on SQ. I have no status or miles with SQ, so no chance of an upgrade at all.

Choice 2: Take NZ CHC-AKL-HKG in premium economy, then United (or some other airline) HKG-SIN. I have Koru Silver status with NZ & my organisation has a big contract with NZ which seems to help with upgrades etc. I have lots of airpoints $ to try for upgrades to BP on the New Zealand to Hong Kong/return legs, which are certainly the long legs of such a trip.

I am not sure what to do & am looking for some advice - no lounge access with SQ, but do have it with NZ (through Koru), good upgrade chance with NZ (100% strike rate in the past), but not a direct flight. Also, airpoints earning with SQ very poor if credited to NZ, ok if PE on NZ & credit to NZ. Could open a Kris account, but not really worth it for these flights only...

I can easily take extra time out & stopover in HKG in either or both directions, so the 'connection t hing' potentially isn't an issue.

Advice please? Direct or via HKG??

Kiwi Flyer you must have some good advice...??

Cheers
nzchick

Thai-Kiwi

Go for it via HKG! Just on your KC alone would swing it for me, add in extra mileage earning and the possibilities of AP$ upgrades.....

Provided that there are no issues with whoever manages your office's travel arrangements...

Kiwi Flyer

Agree - assuming you have the time and cost is comparable, HKG an easy decision. Preferably with HKG-SIN on the same ticket to reduce misconnection hassles in case of delays.

NZ_Flyer

CHC-AKL-HKG-SIN would earn you 150 airpoints dollars one way, so 300 for the return trip. Which puts you well on the way to re-qualifying for Silver. If you went for Kris Flyer you wouldn't earn any worthwhile miles, have no chance of an upgrade and no chance to re-qualify for a tier.

You could use your complimentary upgrade to do PE -> BP one way if you still have it left.

nzchick

So the earning is 10 + 100 + 40 in each direction? If so I will definitely requalify for silver this year. Am leaving tomorrow & have requested upgrades in each direction, so hopefully they come through.

Have a couple more questions:

1. Am leaving CHC on NZ 302 (to AKL, but from International terminal). Is the NZ International lounge open for this departure? If so, how soon before the (8.30pm) flight does it open?

2. In HKG is the United lounge the current Koru member contract lounge? I seem to remember there was a temporary change a while back?

3. In HKG if my BP upgrade clears which lounge is the best to use? The NZ contract one, or another *Alliance one?

4. Does anyone have any hints for what to do for a day in Hong Kong? NZ flight arrives 6.15 am & my UA flight to SIN leaves around 8pm so will head into town for the day. All tips greatly appreciated. I presume my bags will be through-checked (all one itinerary if that makes a difference)?

Cheers!

NZ_Flyer

Correct. 150 each way, so 300 all up.

NZ website says that CHC international lounge is open 1.5 hours prior to departure. I'd imagine that the domestic flights from the international terminal would count as a proper departure and thus the lounge should be open, but don't quote me on that.

I believe the HKG RCC is the contract lounge for Koru Club members. Some people have had luck getting into other *A lounges as a Koru Club member travelling in Y or Y+ but that is technically not allowed as not flying J or are *G's.

The HKG RCC is actually one of the better RCC's in the UA network. Your other main options are SQ and TG. One is much better than the other, I think TG is the better one from memory but I may be getting that mixed up with SQ!

Xiaotung

For the UA sector, I assume that's full economy booking class Y which credits at full economy while all other classes credit at discount economy level?

Kiwi Flyer

If you are checking in early (before about 7pm) then head to the domestic lounge first.

TG. SQ is far from the gates NZ uses, and is not as good. UA is one of the best RCCs but TG is better.

Yes definitely leave the airport. Either the city or visit the giant buddha statue on the neighbouring island to the airport, or even a day trip to Macau (by ferry).

trooper

I had a similar schedule in HKG.. in on NZ - out on CX late afternoon. Having never been there before I did the "classic" tourist stuff.... the Tram to the Peak... and the Star Ferry across to Kowloon. And just wandered for a while too....Thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The train from the airport to the city is excellent.

I was on a separate ticket with CX but was allowed to check in in the morning - not long after arrival IIRC.. I dropped my cabin bag/laptop at the "Left Luggage" place for the day too... money well spent - wouldn't have wanted to lug that stuff around...

Came back a bit earlier than absolutely necessary.. the CX flight was in C and I wanted to try the famous HKG lounge!! Think it was the Wing.... closest one to the right gate anyway...

I too had the UG clear AKL-HKG (Y>BP..^).. I was under the impression that the HKG route was a little easier for that... of course it WAS the 744 on that flight...

djsteve

Macau day trip gets my vote. I had a few hours to kill in HKG in April (about 10hours) and went to macau on the ferry.
One mistake I made was to clear immigration and then have to travel downtown to the ferry terminal to get to Macau. You don't need to clear customs if you are going to Macau from the airport ferry terminal. Just meant i had a little less time and more stamps in the passport...

nzchick

Thanks for all the tips. I'm stopping for a night (2 days) on my way back to NZ so decided to keep it low key here in Hong Kong today. I went to The Peak, had some cocktails in a bar while taking in the views & then took the tram back down & had a look around downtown (shops etc). Am currently in the Traveller's Lounge at the airport waiting for my United flight (only running 15 mins behind schedule which is a surprise!) I figured out that I get free access to this lounge with my Diner's card. It's ok, free wi-fi, ok food & non-alcoholic drinks. Certainly better than no lounge at all!

Oh, and my BP upgrade came through on the way over from AKL to HKG, so I was a happy little camper.

trooper

Good one!