Air New Zealand status credits and GrabASeat

[andrewlorien]

A couple of months out from my Velocity anniversary, I've discovered I don't have nearly as many credits as I expected (i'll start a complainy thread about that later). My solution : a status run to New Zealand. I have an old friend who has just been bereaved, and a tax deductable excuse.

So I'm thinking (if only i could work out how to make their site show AUD)
Sydney (AKL) Hamilton 15 + 10 credits
Hamilton (WLG) Dunedin 10 + 10 credits
Dunedin (CHC) Sydney 15 + 10 credits
That's about $30 per status credit, but I'm doing something good.

Questions:
Most importantly, am I right that all those connecting flights will earn status for both legs?

There are some cheaper flights on GrabASeat.co.nz - but even though the interface is almost identical, the booking class is missing from the little interface thing at the top. The Air NZ points earn is still there. But the terms and conditions have a paragraph about how no points on any frequent flyer program are earnt with flights "booked in F class". Is it a big trick and all grabaseat flights earn nothing?

If I book Sydney - Auckland - Hamilton in one booking, the SYD-AKL leg is an NZ code on an NZ flight so that's fine, but the next leg is an NZ code "operated by Mt Cook Airlines". Once again the interface shows the Air NZ points earn, but I really need the 15+10 credits for both legs.

I only have one chance, if i make a mistake i'll be back to silver a couple of weeks after I get home. Please help!

 

[Lord_Lenny]

The SC earn on domestic NZ flights on Air New Zealand are a little tricky to decipher, but assuming you are booked in an eligible fare class then you should be able to earn on those connectors.

To quote the Velocity site you won't earn points or status credits on:

• Codeshare flights (Any flight with an NZ flight number that is operated by an airline other than Air New Zealand, Air New Zealand Link carriers, including Air Nelson, Eagle Airways and Mount Cook Airlines, and Virgin Australia). (Emphasis mine)

So if I read that correctly your connections will be on a Air New Zealand code which is operated by Air New Zealand link which itself will be flown by a Mt. Cook Airlines aircraft, therefore you are booked on an Air New Zealand Link flight and should be eligible for points and SC earn - again assuming you are booked in the correct fare class.

As for Grabaseat I dunno, if it was me I'd probably stick to booking through the airline to avoid the risk of ending up in an ineligible fare class.

 

[andrewlorien]

Thanks Lord Lenny.
On further investigation, the fare class is also sometimes missing in the ANZ interface. So maybe it's a little bug. Most domestic legs only have economy anyway, and I can make the credits without premium/business so that's OK.
And GrabASeat does have the same prices as airnewzealand.co.nz - I was being tricked by different currencies.
So, all good and off I go.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Safe travels!!

I would guess that the fare classes that don't earn status credits are probably the ultra ultra cheap fares - if you're concerned the Velocity earning tables contain the eligible fare classes

 

[andrewlorien]

Yep.
And for anyone who finds this thread from a search, as of mid-2017 :
I'm sure now that grabaseat.co.nz has the same fares and classes as air new zealand, it just provides a funkier way of finding their current deals.
All Air New Zealand domestic economy flights ("seat", "seat+bag", "theworks", "worksdeluxe" are "discount economy" and earn 10 Velocity credits (Auckland-Dunedin is still not far enough for zone 2). I couldn't find a "full fare economy (class Y or B) in any of my searches. Premium economy earns 30 credits for around double the price.
Sydney - Auckland is <1500 miles, so 15 credits in discount economy or 45 in premium. Melbourne-Auckland is >1500, so it's 20 and 60.
And about the best you can do on Air New Zealand is 1 credit for $9

 

[Cessna 180]

I have found mostly on a domestic NZ flight I have earned 10 sc for velocity. Occasionally 20.
From memory there are a couple of discount economy tickets which do not earn and Y or B class earn the 20.

I did not think you can fly direct from AKL to Hamilton? Maybe they have added one now.

 

[OzEire]

Be sure to check the fare class. My recent trip earned one way and not the other on a basic domestic return booking out of AKL.

Also note baggage fees on the cheaper NZ classes, I was astounded by the ludicrous situation of how VA platinum status, which provides for two free 23kg bags, would be recognised. NZ interprets this such that after you purchase checked bags from NZ as an extra then you receive your VA allowance (2 more bags) on top of what is purchased. I only had one bag, after paying extra for this one bag I could then bring 3 !!!

 

[andrewlorien]

So it worked out.
I was careful NOT to book the couple of flights which inexplicably were class X (thanks OzEire). Booking freedom and discount economy fares, SYD-AKL then AKL-WLG-DUD then DUD-CHC-SYD (which were actually all the most convenient flights, we didn't make all those stopovers just for the points) two of us earnt a total of 120 credits.
Thanks for your help, everybody.

 

[Lord_Lenny]

Glad to hear it worked out!!

Now here's to another year of VA Gold

 

[cliche_flying_kiwi]

I know i'm a bit late to the party - but Grabaseat and Air New Zealand are one and the same. Grabaseat is just a promotional portal they set up to advertise their daily sales, telling customers which routes are cheap and how many cheap seats are still available. This is why the prices will be the same between grabaseat and the Air NZ booking engine, all grabaseat is doing is showcasing the cheap seats.

Generally they change daily at 9am NZ time - although for sales such as the regular 48 hour Trans Tasman deals or sales to Hawaii/LA they'll sit there for the promo period or until they sell out. Depending on the route and the special, sometimes you can earn no status credits from Grabaseat flights, it's the tradeoff you get from being able to fly Auckland to Wellington for $39.