Low tax fees

[Cappuccino99]

I recently received notification that $600 of my accumulated Airpoints dollars are due to expire soon. As I'm in Melbourne and the travel bubble has only just been announced, but I have no immediate plans to travel until after my vaccines, I don't really want to lose the hard earned dollars.
I notice that all bookings now have a free change credit so that's my current thinking of purchasing a ticket but then requesting a cancellation credit.
When I did a dummy booking, I noticed that I can't use my airpoints dollars for the taxes and have to pay for those in real money.

So, my question is, can anybody offer me suggestions of the best route with low taxes to make the best use of these soon to expire dollars?

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

For NZ domestic trip the whole cost including taxes can be paid with airpoints dollars.

I don't think a refund will extend expiry though, so only select flights you are willing to take. You can book up to 355 days in advance.

 

[henrus]

So, my question is, can anybody offer me suggestions of the best route with low taxes to make the best use of these soon to expire dollars?

Simple, book a NZ domestic flights (or several) and then turn them into a credit.

Yes I've done this and it's possible. First find a domestic NZ flight (or a few) that closely match the amount you've got remaining and make sure they're on a date before 30 June 2021, NZ domestic flights are great because there are no taxes (well there are but they allow them to be paid via airpoints)

I'd recommend booking flexidate fares as these are fully refundable so if the process does go wrong the worst that happens is you get all your airpoints back with the same expiry date.

Book it using your airpoint dollars and once booked you'll get your booking confirmation/s. It's then possible to go to the manage booking page and select hold in credit:


This will create a credit with an expiry date of 30 June 2022 which can be used up to 30 June 2023. Best thing is that when you do go to use them credits can be used to cover international taxes.

 

[Cappuccino99]

Simple, book a NZ domestic flights (or several) and then turn them into a credit.

Yes I've done this and it's possible. First find a domestic NZ flight (or a few) that closely match the amount you've got remaining and make sure they're on a date before 30 June 2021, NZ domestic flights are great because there are no taxes (well there are but they allow them to be paid via airpoints)

I'd recommend booking flexidate fares as these are fully refundable so if the process does go wrong the worst that happens is you get all your airpoints back with the same expiry date.

Book it using your airpoint dollars and once booked you'll get your booking confirmation/s. It's then possible to go to the manage booking page and select hold in credit:
View attachment 244969

This will create a credit with an expiry date of 30 June 2022 which can be used up to 30 June 2023. Best thing is that when you do go to use them credits can be used to cover international taxes.

Awesome! Thanks Henrus, this is exactly what I will do.