The Best Ways to Redeem Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars

Air New Zealand’s Koru program (being renamed from Airpoints in 2026) has a relatively bad rap among frequent flyers, and its last-place ranking in the latest AFF Point valuations reflects that sentiment.

But for members already holding a balance, using Airpoints on Partner Airline Rewards may offer some of the best ways to redeem Airpoints Dollars. This article highlights some real-world redemption examples that provide good value for redeeming Airpoints Dollars.

Partner Airline Rewards

As Air New Zealand is a member of Star Alliance, you can redeem Airpoints Dollars for travel on other Star Alliance airlines.

In addition to its Star Alliance partners, Air New Zealand also maintains separate bilateral partnerships with some airlines, including Qantas.

Air New Zealand prices redemptions on its own flights dynamically, with Airpoints Dollars effectively acting as a cash equivalent (1 Airpoints Dollar = NZD 1). So, it’s pretty much impossible to get outsized value for your Airpoints when redeeming with Air New Zealand.

In contrast, partner airline redemptions use a fixed reward chart based on the distance flown. As long as award availability exists, the Airpoints cost for these redemptions remains fixed rather than tracking the underlying cash fare. This means there’s potential for value!

Note that this chart is based on kilometres rather than the industry standard miles used by most other programs.

Domestic Qantas Flights

Thanks to the codeshare agreement between Qantas and Air New Zealand, travellers can redeem Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars on most Qantas and QantasLink-operated Australian domestic flights.

For Qantas Points Club members, these Airpoints redemptions still earn Qantas Status Credits on these flights.

Economy Class availability on these redemptions is generally good, and all Qantas domestic flights fall within the first four distance bands of the chart. Note, Qantas does not make domestic Business Class seats available for redeeming with Airpoints.

Here are some examples of one-way Qantas domestic flights that you can redeem using Airpoints Dollars.

• Melbourne – Sydney or Adelaide – Canberra (125 Airpoints Dollars + taxes)
• Melbourne – Brisbane or Melbourne – Alice Springs (150 Airpoints Dollars + taxes)
• Melbourne – Perth or Brisbane – Darwin (250 Airpoints Dollars + taxes)
• Sydney – Perth or Melbourne – Darwin (375 Airpoints Dollars + taxes)

While you probably won’t see eye-catching value, it can make sense to use your points for Economy in some cases – and it’s better than letting your points expire!

Intra-Asia Star Alliance flights

Air New Zealand partners with some great airlines in Asia thanks to its Star Alliance membership. This opens up opportunities to redeem Airpoints Dollars on short-haul intra-Asia routes.

Routes such as Singapore–Jakarta and Bangkok–Hanoi fall into the first row of the Air New Zealand partner reward chart. Availability on these routes is great, with good options in both Economy Class and Business Class.

Slightly longer routes such as Bangkok–Hong Kong, Singapore–Ho Chi Minh City, and Tokyo–Shanghai fall into the second row of the Air New Zealand partner reward chart.

Star Alliance flights to Asia

If you have a more substantial balance, international flights on Star Alliance partner airlines from Australia to Asia could be a worthwhile redemption.

For example, flights from Melbourne to Singapore or Bangkok fall into the 5,000–7,499 km reward band. So, you could fly Thai Airways’ Business Class between Melbourne and Bangkok for 1,000 Airpoints plus taxes!

Economy Class on this route would be 550 Airpoints, plus taxes and fees. Generally, award availability on these routes is similar to what’s offered through the Air Canada Aeroplan program.

How to book Airpoints Partner Rewards

If you have a New Zealand-based Koru account, you can redeem this online using the partner airline online portal. The link will prompt you to log in to your Airpoints account before opening up the search page. There is no booking fee when booking online using this portal.

For Australia-based Koru accounts, unfortunately, you won’t have access to this page and instead need to call Air New Zealand on 1800 803 298 to make the redemption.

You might want to check availability on a partner airline program website first, prior to calling. To get an indication of Qantas flights available to Air New Zealand members, try searching for the same award seats on the Alaska Airlines website. Likewise, for Star Alliance flights, the Air Canada Aeroplan website would be a good place to check for available seats.

Unfortunately, Air New Zealand may charge a service fee when booking through the call centre. This may be waived if you let the agent know that the link is not accessible from an Australia-based account.

Need more Airpoints Dollars?

The easiest way to earn Airpoints Dollars is through one of their credit card partners. In Australia, American Express Membership Rewards, ANZ Rewards, NAB Rewards, Westpac Altitude Rewards and Star Alliance Rewards all offer transfers to the Airpoints program. However, there are more compelling Star Alliance programs, and we only recommend transferring to the Airpoints program if you are short of points for a redemption.