Using Air NZ Airpoints on COVID-19 times

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CokemonZ

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#269751 6-Apr-2020 11:44

I've been saving Airpoints for a few years now for a long planned for Holiday next year.

Close to enough to fly 2 adults and 4 kids return to the US, so a pretty substantial amount.

I am worried about the health of AirNZ and I wonder if the Airpoints is an ugly liability they'll look at getting rid of.

So on that note - lets do a poll:

1. Keep them - the NZ Gov't would never let this expire even if they take over completely

2. Spend 1/2 on random crap such as wine and a vacuum sealer from their store and some mitre 10 vouchers and save 1/2.

3. spend it and and get out now, before they announce any nonsense

Thoughts?

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#2455619 6-Apr-2020 11:44

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mrdrifter

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#2455644 6-Apr-2020 12:11

Well if nothing else it would need to be wine and random crap as they have stopped selling Mitre 10 vouchers at the moment.

sbiddle

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#2455670 6-Apr-2020 12:35

I know multiple people with $20k+ of Airpoints, and none of them are particularly worried. My balance isn't quite that high still pretty significant and I'm not worried either.

Air NZ is not going to go bust because the Govt will step in because an airline is so critical, so the odds of losing points is pretty minimal.

CokemonZ

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#2455672 6-Apr-2020 12:37

I'm not sure that Airpoints are a critical part of keeping the airline running if it gets that bad.

If I was in charge and restructuring after an airline shrinking from a $6.5B to a $.5b size Airpoints would be down the gurgler.

CokemonZ

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#2455675 6-Apr-2020 12:38

mrdrifter:

Well if nothing else it would need to be wine and random crap as they have stopped selling Mitre 10 vouchers at the moment.

Damn - didn't notice that.

Senecio

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#2455712 6-Apr-2020 13:23

sbiddle:

I know multiple people with $20k+ of Airpoints, and none of them are particularly worried. My balance isn't quite that high still pretty significant and I'm not worried either.

Air NZ is not going to go bust because the Govt will step in because an airline is so critical, so the odds of losing points is pretty minimal.

I know you have a lot of knowledge of the travel sector @sbiddle but I think this is a little naive. Yes the government will do everything they can to protect the national carrier and ensure they remain viable going forward. But in ensuring they remain viable they need to cut costs, liabilities such as loyalty schemes won't be high on the agenda to protect.

I only have ~$1,000 of Airpoints but I will be spending them as soon as I get a chance.

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sbiddle

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#2455713 6-Apr-2020 13:23

CokemonZ:

I'm not sure that Airpoints are a critical part of keeping the airline running if it gets that bad.

If I was in charge and restructuring after an airline shrinking from a $6.5B to a $.5b size Airpoints would be down the gurgler.

I'm struggling to understand your point.

Airpoints is an essential part of Air NZ just like loyalty programs are an essential part of most full service airlines.

Air NZ can't just take away Airpoints Dollars you have earned - however they are a liability of their balance sheet so if they did go bust you would be an unsecured creditor.

dejadeadnz

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#2455714 6-Apr-2020 13:23

sbiddle:

I know multiple people with $20k+ of Airpoints, and none of them are particularly worried. My balance isn't quite that high still pretty significant and I'm not worried either.

Air NZ is not going to go bust because the Govt will step in because an airline is so critical, so the odds of losing points is pretty minimal.

I am not so sure. Having a national airline might be critical but it doesn't have to be Air New Zealand Limited. If things to get out of hand, you really have to ask why the government as the majority shareholder should keep throwing good money after bad instead of letting it fold and then picking up the assets on the cheap. It might be objectionable morally but it's gotta at least be considered.

sbiddle

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#2455723 6-Apr-2020 13:26

Senecio:

I only have ~$1,000 of Airpoints but I will be spending them as soon as I get a chance.

And of course if everybody did that the airline would be bankrupt tomorrow having to pay out $$$, many airlines have restricted doing things with points because of this.

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#2455725 6-Apr-2020 13:31

I suspect that if AirNZ was teetering and the government decided to bail them out (I'm not talking about a loan on commercial terms like we saw recently), then maintaining airpoints balances would be important for public acceptance of the bailout.

Dunnersfella

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#2455817 6-Apr-2020 14:21

I noticed that my Status Points have frozen...

I guess it's because I can't fly to top them up?

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Dulouz

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#2455824 6-Apr-2020 14:32

I think they will retain individuals airpoint balances. They will be a useful mechanism to get people flying again.

Amanon

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#2455833 6-Apr-2020 14:42

CokemonZ:

...

2. Spend 1/2 on random crap such as wine and a vacuum sealer from their store and some mitre 10 vouchers and save 1/2.

...

I did option 2 about a month ago. I expect AirNZ to survive, but airpoints might be devalued by restructuring the programme or flight cost inflation. That's happened many times before by pretty much all airlines.

CokemonZ

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#2456357 7-Apr-2020 11:08

Thats a worry - devaluing is not good.

I've just run through building a shopping cart - I wonder how many different business are behind the scenes of the mall.

I assume that Airnz takes responsibility for products being delivered and if a small supplier goes bust they will refund?

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#2456378 7-Apr-2020 11:30

CokemonZ:

I assume that Airnz takes responsibility for products being delivered and if a small supplier goes bust they will refund?

You'd have to comb the T's & C's of the programme to get to the bottom of that

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