AirNZ Airpoints Dollars

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Tockly

346 posts

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#207604 4-Jan-2017 18:16

Hey,

We have just come back from a trip which we booked using Airpoints Dollars I have purchased using my OneSmart card. EG: topped up my OneSmart each payday and then converted these funds to Airpoints Dollars. We found this a great way of saving for our trip as we couldn't then spend the money on other things.

However I just looked into restarting the same process for our next trip only to find out that you now can't do this. I tweeted AirNZ and was told the only way to now do this is to have a Kiwibank Credit Card, something I don't have or want.

Poor form AirNZ, very much a backwards step in my eyes. Guess we'll just have to be a bit more disciplined with our savings.

sbiddle

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#1698555 4-Jan-2017 19:16

Tockly:

Hey,

We have just come back from a trip which we booked using Airpoints Dollars I have purchased using my OneSmart card. EG: topped up my OneSmart each payday and then converted these funds to Airpoints Dollars. We found this a great way of saving for our trip as we couldn't then spend the money on other things.

However I just looked into restarting the same process for our next trip only to find out that you now can't do this. I tweeted AirNZ and was told the only way to now do this is to have a Kiwibank Credit Card, something I don't have or want.

Poor form AirNZ, very much a backwards step in my eyes. Guess we'll just have to be a bit more disciplined with our savings.

Most people wouldn't do this as you don't earn SP or APD on reward bookings paid for with APD. This means a trip to the US for example where you could earn say APD$100 - APD$150 even in economy class would earn you nothing. You would be far better off putting the money in a bank account (or even just putting it on your OneSmart card in NZ$ as you did) and using the OneSmart to pay for it (as you'll save the CC booking fee) and you'll still earn from your travels rather than converting it to APD to buy the tickets which meant you earned no rewards from this.

Different people use their APD for different things, and because I fly a lot it simply becomes an upgrade fund for me since I can use the APD as an Elite to get fixed price upgrades. One of the primary problems with the ability to "buy" APD is that it means Elite customers can lodge an unlimited number of upgrades for themselves, and for anybody they know who they want to add to their gifting register. This is not really how the system was intended and it is being abused.

An Elite could gift an upgrade at a fixed price to anybody they know and that person could simply pay them back and they could top their APD balance back up again. This may be great for customers who can benefit from this, but not great in the grand scheme of things for the airline, and simply makes it even worse for those wanting upgrades to clear.

nova

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#1698614 4-Jan-2017 21:40

Definitely agree that it is better to put the money aside and pay directly, rather than through APD.

APD dollar top-up can be handy if you have $500 APD towards a $700 flight, and want to top up the remaining. And one nice thing is that if you pay for one person on a booking with APD, the credit card fee is waived for the rest of the party, which can outweigh the lost APD earnings if there are three or more people.

sbiddle

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#1698618 4-Jan-2017 22:06

nova:

Definitely agree that it is better to put the money aside and pay directly, rather than through APD.

APD dollar top-up can be handy if you have $500 APD towards a $700 flight, and want to top up the remaining. And one nice thing is that if you pay for one person on a booking with APD, the credit card fee is waived for the rest of the party, which can outweigh the lost APD earnings if there are three or more people.

My understanding is Air NZ are moving towards allowing part payment by APD and you then pay the rest of the fare by credit card.

Tockly

346 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1698669 5-Jan-2017 07:31

TBH I'm not worried about the status points and additional Airpoints Dollars. I don't travel often enough to use them, however I do see your point.

I just found it a great way to save for a trip.

chevrolux

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#1698686 5-Jan-2017 08:39

Tockly:

TBH I'm not worried about the status points and additional Airpoints Dollars. I don't travel often enough to use them, however I do see your point.

I just found it a great way to save for a trip.

Like Steve mentioned, why not just keep putting money on your OneSmart as NZD? Cut the card up even so you can't take it anywhere haha!

sbiddle

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#1698699 5-Jan-2017 09:14

Tockly:

TBH I'm not worried about the status points and additional Airpoints Dollars. I don't travel often enough to use them, however I do see your point.

I just found it a great way to save for a trip.

You can still save for your trip using the new card in exactly the same way.

I just found it particularly strange that you'd purchase APD with your OneSmart just to buy a flight when APD$1 = NZD$1 so there were no benefits in buying the seats with APD. You may not care about status points if you don't fly a lot but when you can easily earn $150 on a flight to the US which is effectively a cashback from the airline it seems a little strange to not want free money!