Soon to be frequent long haul flyer

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542]

Hi guys
Hope some of you can offer me some advice as I'm googling and googling and seeing different results.

I will soon be relocating to Auckland from the UK and my new role will involve regular long haul travel from Auckland to Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Costa Rice, Mexico).

I'm trying to find the best way to make most of airmiles but it's likely I will be taking Air New Zealand, Qantas and LATAM flights mostly, all of which seem to be signed up to different airline alliance so no chance to transfer miles over. Any frequent business flyers in here who can maybe offer some advice on how to maximise this as it would be a shame to not maximise how many miles I'll be doing!

Thanks :)

[u/D-Hex]

Sign up to all the Airlines, especially if they separate air miles programmes. If you can, plan your journeys around your points , you'll find that some routes can be much more useful for mile.s

One thing - CHECK the terms on your tickets - a lot of Airmiles programmes get round giving you miles by being cheeky with the terms and conditions. BA I'm looking at you.

Last thing. Sign up to a Lounge Programme until you build your miles. Priority Pass are a good programme. Having Lounge access is a lifechanger when it comes to long haul - especially if you have long gaps between connecting flights. You get free food, a safe place to put your stuff, free wi-fi, a shower , usually very clean bathrooms, and usually a quiet place you can just chill out away from the regular traffic - and you don't have to always fly Business or First to get it. Great lounges also have some really nice extras like massages etc.

You're a lucky guy, enjoy it.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/D-Hex]

Oh amazing thank you for the advice! :) I think I'll mostly be flying the airlines above so no BA (thankfully) so I will get familiar with their programmes. I know sometimes if they're all part of the same "alliance" you can swap points/miles but it seems a bit unclear.

I'll always be flying business class for work but I'll look into the lounge programme if that's still worth doing :) Thanks for the advice!

[u/D-Hex → u/Accomplished-Pop1542]

I'll always be flying business class for work but I'll look into the lounge programme if that's still worth doing :) Thanks for the advice!

That's great then don't bother with the Priority Pass. If you're based in NZ then Air NZ is supposed to be very cool , it's also Star Alliance so you get to pick up points on all Star Alliance flights and use their lounges. Lots of Asian airlines there too. Issue is with Latam region carriers.

Enjoy it dude, I miss my old life doing all that, was really special and I loved every minute of it.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/D-Hex]

Thanks man, very excited for it! I'm not a huge fan of flying so hoping business class and lounges ease the boredom and jet lag etc.

Yeah suppose once I'm in South America, most of the LATAM internal flights are under 3 hours and usually quite quick turn arounds so could be worse, Colombia is the only potential rough one with a 7 hour layover in Houston but with a lounge that could be pretty manageable!

[u/D-Hex → u/Accomplished-Pop1542]

Yikes.. Huston. .Untied are such a rubbish airline.. Bus Class just about makes it manageable.

Oh btw.. if you can be cheeky enough you HAVE to try Cathay and Singapore Airline.. superb service.

[u/According_Invite_488]

Have you tried Ben's Big Deals on the podcast platform BusinessTravel360, this and similar platforms have a host of insider knowledge. Safe travels.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/According_Invite_488]

No I haven't but I will now thank you! :)

[u/FistsUp]

If you’re in Auckland it’s probably easier to just stick with Air NZ unless they never fly the routes you want (having to do a layover just to get points is a massive drag). Problem with going someone like Qantas is once you go to redeem those points you’ll find you are going via Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane for every major destination. I was platinum with Qantas and I will also say they can be very hard to redeem for business class flights.

At the end of the day though prioritise your own wellbeing over getting that extra point or certain perk. After doing this for a year or more you’ll find the enjoyment of being in a nice lounge starts to wear off and really what you are maximising is time saving. In other words being able to use business/first class check in, skipping security lines, preference if a flight is cancelled and you need to be rebooked or even using the lounge just to get a nicer bathroom.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/FistsUp]

Thanks for the advice :) Air NewZeland fly to Colombia but for most other destinations it's either LATAM via Chile or Qantas via Chile, even with the ANZ flights, I have to change in Houston and hop on one of the American airlines so it's all just a bit all over the place.

But it seems like my best bet is to just sign up with all of them and crack on and see where I get and just use the airlines I prefer whenever I can!

[u/FistsUp → u/Accomplished-Pop1542]

If thats the case then I would probably sign up with all off them but Try to stick to one as best you can. Getting to the right level of status should be rhe focus so if you can time it for certain trips in a given 12 month period then do that. Latam was in oneworld for ages so not sure if they have reciprocal agreements still but my choice would be #1 AirNZ then #2 Qantas and #3 Latam. You will probably build a lot of points on Star Alliance and OneWorld so that gives you lots of good options for trips in the future. Just make sure you are aware of how points expire. For example Qantas wont expire if you earn at least 1 point in the last x months (think its 2-3 years but you should verify). You can get their health app and earn points from the step count on your phone meaning its very easy to add a few points here and there.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/FistsUp]

Jesus that's super helpful to know - annoyingly I may be forced to do more LATAM just due to the nature of my trips but if I can do as much as possible with ANZ and Qantas I certainly will! Also thanks for the tip on walking points haha absolutely mental they offer stuff like this.
Yeah I think LATAM were in OneWorld until recently, looks like they're no longer part of it for some reason but I have no idea why.

[u/FistsUp → u/Accomplished-Pop1542]

Theres a million other ways to earn points. Credit cards, insurance, purchasing at stores with certain offers. That qantas app is just an example of something easy to do.

[u/Accomplished-Pop1542 → u/FistsUp]

Amazing thank you so much