New tier coming to Air NZ’s Airpoints programme after system overhaul

Monday, 12 August 2024

A new tier is coming to the Airpoints system.

Air New Zealand Airpoints members can now share their points with 10 others.

The airline says a new tier is coming in the next 12 months.

Tier review dates have been simplified to ensure benefits can be used immediately.

Members of Air New Zealand’s frequent flyer programme, Airpoints, can now share their points with a group.

Air New Zealand has made upgrades to its website, making it easier to view a member’s Airpoints benefits and activity.

Airpoints Dollars will be able to be shared with up to 10 different people within New Zealand.

This is the good, bad and ugly of what it's like to make Air NZ's top tier of frequent flyer.

Until now, members could only share with four others across two addresses.

Tier review dates have also been simplified, meaning if members retain their tier, the new membership year will begin immediately instead of the six-week wait it was previously.

Air New Zealand chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar said it is the first of two phases of its improvements.

“We’re not slowing down, we're committed to creating an even more rewarding travel experience for our members, so watch this space.”

In the next 12 months, Airpoints members will gain more earning power with more retailers, more rewards and a new tier. Currently, there are three tiers - Silver, Gold and Elite. Where the new tier will sit on that scale is not yet known.

Ravishankar said the airline was thrilled to unveil the first of many improvements to its frequent flyer programme.

“We needed to first invest in the technology to be able to create these enhancements for our customers, which is what we’ve done during a scheduled maintenance period. Now that we are live with that, we can refresh our tiers and benefits, expand our partner network and provide customers with new ways and more ways to earn.

“Our customers have told us what they love about the Airpoints programme, but we’ve also heard that we need to fix some pain points. With this new system now in place, we can work hard over the next 12 months to enhance our programme, offer new benefits for Silver, Gold and Elite members [and] provide a better recognition upgrade process.”

Earlier this year, Stuff Travel obtained a list of perks being considered for the Airpoints programme, including being able to check in your bags from home.

Most of those potential perks would be for Gold or Elite flyers.

In August, the airline said such changes were “months and months away” from being confirmed.