kiwilliam

Hi guys, after 5 years with Oneworld, I finally had enough with them.... well the airfares are not that cheap, um...really hard to get to the next level and less airline partners. I have the airnz airpoints membership, but I don't really like that program much at all. Coz it is just so hard to get points with it. And not easy to spend your points.

I'd like a membership that could let you earn points on cheap airfares, and also could let you get to next level faster, that is it! Any ideas guys??

Thanks a lot!


Kiwilliam

Al B

Numerous threads in the past on best schemes with lots of input. Search for things like "Best Scheme to join" and similar.
One word of warning though - NZ don't allow the partners to accrue on their discounted fares either, so if you have a lot of local flying in the cheaper classes, you're probably no better off.

MKE-MR

If you live in New Zealand, you're probably stuck with Airpoints as your "native" program.
United is known to be most generous with mileage earning on discount fares, but this does not necessarily apply to their partners. Searching for the Star Gold comparison chart might be a good place to start. It will lay out benefits, and to some extent earnings, for each program. Then you can look for individual program details concerning the fare classes you are most likely to fly (for instance, if you fly NZ most of the time on "S" fares, see which programs give 100% mileage, which give 70%, or which give zero. Made up example, obviously).

Welcome to Star. You'll like it better

Frequent flyer 101

Without a doubt the best program in terms of value is BMI. While it certainly doesn't offer the best perks, its redemption rate is very good. They have a miles + cash option that allows some really good deals. They allow you to collect 1x miles on most *A longhaul fares even NZ (exclusing L class which never gets any miles). They have a really low qualifying threshold (38,000 for gold). You can do this in 2 longhaul ecnomy trips. Beware, they do not offer amazing customer service, free upgrades (well they do but not in the sense UA do). Deffinatly worth checking out.

kiwilliam

Thanks I'd really like to try Star now.

kiwilliam

Not allowed me to apply the membership, coz I'm in New Zealand.

Keith009

Not if you have mates in the UK who're willing to 'lend' you their addresses.

Anyway if that isn't an option, you should try AC Aeroplan or TG Royal Orchid Plus. For AC, 35k miles get you Elite status; for TG, you'll need to earn 50k for TG Gold but the status lasts for 2 years, and there's also the option of 80k miles within 2 years.

It would also help if you find a program that suits your airlines of choice/travel plans, otherwise you miss out on the status benefits that are exclusive only to members of the relevant program and you'll be limited to generic Star Gold benefits. Of course this would be moot for airlines which don't offer additional benefits over and above the Star Gold ones, but there are very attractive rewards from some programs, like upgrade certs on TG and AC. Since you don't like Airpoints, I suggest getting a program from another airline that you can see yourself flying with at least once a year.

Reason077

You could also consider Aeroplan. Gold status after just 35,000 miles, which lasts up to 2 years if you make the 35k part way through a year. There's no joining fee, miles don't expire, and you can join from anywhere in the world. The mileage cost for most *A rewards is slightly higher than United, however.

Another advantage is that Aeroplan awards miles for each sector flown (with a minimum of 500, in general), where as NZ air points only awards points for the entire one-way journey.

Kiwi Flyer

Not if the journey includes other airlines then it is based on each sector

kiwilliam

Thanks guys!! Air Canada's Aeroplan sounds like a really good thing for me, I shall join with them!! It's good that all points with AC don't have expire date, and it's easy to get to the next level, wowwww!!! What a program！！ But just wondering how does AIR NZ's program survive? In New Zealand, there are just so many kiwis use AirNZ's program!!!

Thanks again guys!


kiwilliam

Xiaotung

Stuck with NZ because of local credit card earning, FlyBuys, and, oh that's it.

Keith009

And neither is the general public as informed as FTers about the pros and cons of various frequent flyer schemes.

kiwilliam

How much points can you really earn from your BNZ cards and Flybuys anyway? Or any other airline creditcards? I don't think you can earn that much, think about why those airline programs are called,---- Frequent flyer program, if you don't fly heaps just use creditcards, they won't give you many points, plus you have to pay heaps fees to BNZ each year, Has to fly, xiao dong come on!!!! leave AirNZ!!!! hahahaha what's so good about AirNZ program??

Xiaotung

Good point Kiwilliam. NZ is not designed for long haul travelers. So for shot haul, cheapest fares don't even earn points. What is the point of still having Airpoints as a loyalty program? Very disappointed.

Al B

Aeroplan points do expire if there is no activity in a 3 year calendar period. Once any activity is registered on the account, the 3 year clock resets from that day. Technically, they can expire but there is always some sort of activity you can do to keep them alive.
L N K S R G classes on NZ flights earn no miles in Aeroplan scheme.