The best type of flight is one that you don’t have to pay for. And if you’re looking to travel to New Zealand this year, you’re in luck. There are quite a few ways you can use your award miles to snag seats.
Finding award travel options that will get you to the land of the Kiwis isn’t that difficult, either. This is especially true if you’re willing to be flexible in your travel plans.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can book award flights to New Zealand.
New Zealand Travel Routes
First and foremost, you’ll want to determine just how flexible your travel is. If you want a direct flight from the US to New Zealand, there are only a handful of options from the landlocked States. You have:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand and American Airlines
- San Francisco (SFO) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand and United
- Houston (IAH) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
If these direct flight (or airlines) don’t work for you, you’ll need to alter your travel plans accordingly. However, there are many other options available if you’re open to traveling a longer route through Hawaii, Asia or Australia first, and then connecting into New Zealand.
Of course, routing through Hawaii or Australia will extend your trip by a few hours. Routing through Asia can be cheaper and offers additional flight options. However, it will nearly double your travel time, compared to a direct flight from the U.S. to New Zealand. If you’re not on a time crunch, though, or don’t mind the extra time en route, this can be the most economical option.
Personally, when I traveled to New Zealand a few years a go I routed through Australia, and I'm glad that I did.
Business Class Award Flights to New Zealand
While business class award travel to New Zealand is harder to come by, it’s not impossible to find. Often, you’ll simply need to book far enough in advance (6-8 months, at least). Plus, it helps if you have a little flexibility in your route.
Let's say that you want a business class seat on the United non-stop flight from SFO to AKL. In this case, you might need to jump on the waitlist. Otherwise, a multiple-leg trip is your best bet.
If you have Alaska Airlines MileagePlan points, you can fly business class on Cathay Pacific to New Zealand (routing through Hong Kong) for 60,000 one-way. MileagePlan isn’t a transfer partner for any of the major point programs (like Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards). However, you can earn points by flying on one of their partner airlines, their co-branded credit card, or staying in a partner hotel.
If you have earned Chase Ultimate Rewards points with a card like the Chase Freedom or Sapphire Preferred, you can use them for your flights. It’s also very easy to book through United MileagePlus, one of the rewards program’s partners. Plus, if you carry certain Chase credit cards and book through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll also earn an extra percentage when converting your points for airline travel.
Economy Flights
Looking at traveling in economy class? Then the easiest way to get to New Zealand is through Air New Zealand and United.
Same as with business class, you can use United MileagePlus points to book economy travel, especially if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards. And if you have a fee-based Chase card, you’ll earn bonus rewards on everything you redeem through the portal.
If you’re alright with stopping over in Australia or China first, you’ll have even more rewards-based economy flight options for getting to NZ. With American Airlines, you can fly direct from LAX to AKL in economy class with your AAdvantage rewards. The saver level options for this route are limited, however. You’ll want to book your travel as far in advance as possible.
American Airlines also partners with Qantas, giving you the option of a US-Sydney-Auckland trip using your points. You’ll need to search for each leg separately, however, to redeem your earnings toward award travel.
If you have accumulated enough American Express Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou points – using a product like the Platinum Card from American Express or the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card – you can fly to New Zealand on Air France. You’ll just need to route your trip through either Australia or China.
The travel will cost you as little as 50,000 points each way (plus fuel surcharges). To use your points toward Air France flights, visit AirFrance.us and search for award travel.
Lastly, you can utilize your earned Delta or SkyTeam partner rewards points toward travel to New Zealand. These also have you routing through China or Australia. With Delta (utilizing flights from Virgin Australia or China Eastern), you can also expect to pay as little as 50,000 points each way, plus fuel surcharges. If you do an award search on Delta.com, you’ll find all your options and mileage pricing shown.
Traveling to New Zealand is an experience that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Getting there, though, can be a bit tricky, especially if you want to fly for using your earned rewards.
Thanks to mileage and partner points programs – like American Express Membership Rewards and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Program – you can use your daily spending to earn points that easily transfer to the airline of your choice. As long as you’re willing to be a bit flexible (and plan your trip well in advance!), you can easily find a complimentary seat in economy or business class that’ll have you in Auckland in no time.
