Effective 1 Nov, there will be significant changes to the Star Alliance earn/burn tables (or more accurately significant reductions to premium class earn rates, and far less significant reductions to burn rates). This will mean that for all intensive purposes, Airpoints will be useless for earning rewards from travel on star alliance, as it removes the handful of semi-decent earns that remained in the program.
The reductions in premium class are 50-75% (ie new earn levels between 25% and 50% of what they used to be), eg Australia/Asia down from 150 to 55 AUD Airpoints$, Australia/North America J from 260 to 120 AUD airpoints$.
Meanwhile a reduction in the burn tables in the order of 15-25% will mean points earned already, are in theory, more valuable (however I will wait and see, currently NZ do not charge fuel surcharges on tickets, the reductions seem to be the order of magnitude of many fuel surcharges, which could mean the reduction is all smoke and mirrors, pardon my cynicism about anything NZ does with Airpoints.
This would have to make Airpoints probably one of, if not the most pathetic programs in star alliance, if not in any alliance, in the world.
The reductions in premium class are 50-75% (ie new earn levels between 25% and 50% of what they used to be), eg Australia/Asia down from 150 to 55 AUD Airpoints$, Australia/North America J from 260 to 120 AUD airpoints$.
Meanwhile a reduction in the burn tables in the order of 15-25% will mean points earned already, are in theory, more valuable (however I will wait and see, currently NZ do not charge fuel surcharges on tickets, the reductions seem to be the order of magnitude of many fuel surcharges, which could mean the reduction is all smoke and mirrors, pardon my cynicism about anything NZ does with Airpoints.
This would have to make Airpoints probably one of, if not the most pathetic programs in star alliance, if not in any alliance, in the world.
