It’s now possible to book Air New Zealand domestic flights using Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
Air New Zealand award seats are available to Qantas flyers on 30 domestic New Zealand routes where Qantas codeshares with the Kiwi carrier. This covers New Zealand destinations including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Rotorua, Queenstown, Nelson and Gisborne.
It is possible to book Air New Zealand award flights using Qantas points both as standalone domestic journeys, and in conjunction with a Qantas flight across the Tasman. However, it is not possible to redeem Qantas points for Air New Zealand international flights.
Qantas Classic Flight Reward seats on Air New Zealand domestic flights are only available in Economy class, as Business class is not offered within New Zealand. Reward tickets booked with Qantas points include 1 piece of checked baggage.
Award seats on many New Zealand domestic routes are available for booking on the Qantas website.
The Qantas website does not recognise some regional New Zealand airports, including Tauranga, Kerikeri and Invercargill. To redeem points for an Air New Zealand flight to or from any of these airports, you would need to call Qantas.
Most Air New Zealand domestic flights cost 10,000 Qantas points (plus taxes). On longer routes over 600 miles in length, such as Auckland-Queenstown and Auckland-Dunedin, the price is 14,000 Qantas points.
There are no fuel or carrier surcharges payable on Air New Zealand reward tickets, and the taxes on domestic New Zealand flights are generally very low. In fact, you’d pay just NZD1.84 (~$1.77) in taxes for a flight from Auckland to Rotorua.
You can also redeem Qantas points to fly on Jetstar, which is a low-cost carrier, within New Zealand. Jetstar reward tickets cost fewer Qantas points than Air New Zealand flights, but the additional charges are higher. For example, you’d pay 6,400 Qantas points and NZD21 for an Auckland-Christchurch flight on Jetstar. The same flight with Air New Zealand costs 10,000 Qantas points and NZD9 in taxes.
Qantas already announced in the June 2019 frequent flyer program changes that it would open up points-based bookings on Air New Zealand codeshare flights. The airline also announced at the same time that frequent flyers would soon be able to redeem Qantas points to fly on Bangkok Airways, Air France and KLM – but we’re yet to see that happen.
Would you like help using your frequent flyer points?
Australian Frequent Flyer offers a personalised service that’s designed to take the hard work out of redeeming your frequent flyer points!
Frequent Flyer Concierge can help you to find the perfect reward flights. Just let the team know how many points you have and where you would like to go, and they’ll prepare an itinerary for you using your points.
Having trouble finding and booking reward seats?
Our Frequent Flyer Concierge is here to help!
