italdesign
Level 2 Member
I would like to get myself (one pax) to New Zealand around Xmas 2017, possibly with a stopover in Asia or Oceania (Fiji etc).
My grand wish is to hike the Milford Track. Why do I want to subject myself to the busiest week of the year, when hiking tickets reportedly sell out within 2 minutes? Because I have the week between Xmas and NYD off. In the worst case, I don't get the ticket and hike another track instead.
Anyway, how to get myself to NZ. I definitely prefer J/F and have some miles. The issue is availability. Here are the options I'm aware of. Please suggest others I may have missed.
I intend to try the "book as soon as it becomes available" thing (which I've never done before). However, I know some programs have access before others. Please point out relevant caveats, if any.
DIRECT (to the continent)
NZ and UA both fly directly to NZ. QF and VA can get there via Australia. I have enough miles for a one way and can have RT using 2 one ways in different programs.
via ASIA
Availability will be scarce for these too, but perhaps a bit better. Will try the T-(~330) days booking strategy also.
For 60k AS, I can fly CX J to Australia or NZ via HKG. F is 80k. Can someone confirm if stopover in HKG is allowed? AS phone agent told me no, not allowed on this route, but I'm hoping they were wrong. Anyway, this seems an excellent option.
UA only charges 40k for TG F BKK-SYD. I love this possibility because it would allow me to experience the TG F lounge/spa in BKK again, in addition to a long haul F flight. I just need to get myself to SE Asia first, which will likely be cheaper on a separate ticket than using UA's 130k for partner F to Australia. Total would be around 110k UA-equivalent miles.
AA would require 2 separate tickets, first to SE Asia for 70k in J then 40k to NZ.
via OCEANIA
FJ flies LAX-NAN-Australia. Inferior J product but I like the idea of spending some time in Fiji.
Other thoughts
A few years ago I went to Australia during Xmas. The only thing I could find in premium cabin was via HNL on HA. That option now costs a lot more with AA requiring separate tickets for destinations beyond HNL on HA. I believe it would now cost about the same as routing via SE Asia. With HA's new lie-flat J product, this option might be more OK than before, although I'm not sure how pervasive that new product is among their fleet. Anyone know?
I'm also aware of a very nice hack using AS, from Drew's mailing list (which I won't spell out here since this isn't L2). I have no desire or time to visit Hawaii though, so I don't consider it advantageous to the CX via Asia option.
My grand wish is to hike the Milford Track. Why do I want to subject myself to the busiest week of the year, when hiking tickets reportedly sell out within 2 minutes? Because I have the week between Xmas and NYD off. In the worst case, I don't get the ticket and hike another track instead.
Anyway, how to get myself to NZ. I definitely prefer J/F and have some miles. The issue is availability. Here are the options I'm aware of. Please suggest others I may have missed.
I intend to try the "book as soon as it becomes available" thing (which I've never done before). However, I know some programs have access before others. Please point out relevant caveats, if any.
DIRECT (to the continent)
NZ and UA both fly directly to NZ. QF and VA can get there via Australia. I have enough miles for a one way and can have RT using 2 one ways in different programs.
via ASIA
Availability will be scarce for these too, but perhaps a bit better. Will try the T-(~330) days booking strategy also.
For 60k AS, I can fly CX J to Australia or NZ via HKG. F is 80k. Can someone confirm if stopover in HKG is allowed? AS phone agent told me no, not allowed on this route, but I'm hoping they were wrong. Anyway, this seems an excellent option.
UA only charges 40k for TG F BKK-SYD. I love this possibility because it would allow me to experience the TG F lounge/spa in BKK again, in addition to a long haul F flight. I just need to get myself to SE Asia first, which will likely be cheaper on a separate ticket than using UA's 130k for partner F to Australia. Total would be around 110k UA-equivalent miles.
AA would require 2 separate tickets, first to SE Asia for 70k in J then 40k to NZ.
via OCEANIA
FJ flies LAX-NAN-Australia. Inferior J product but I like the idea of spending some time in Fiji.
Other thoughts
A few years ago I went to Australia during Xmas. The only thing I could find in premium cabin was via HNL on HA. That option now costs a lot more with AA requiring separate tickets for destinations beyond HNL on HA. I believe it would now cost about the same as routing via SE Asia. With HA's new lie-flat J product, this option might be more OK than before, although I'm not sure how pervasive that new product is among their fleet. Anyone know?
I'm also aware of a very nice hack using AS, from Drew's mailing list (which I won't spell out here since this isn't L2). I have no desire or time to visit Hawaii though, so I don't consider it advantageous to the CX via Asia option.
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