Book now: Open business-class award availability to New Zealand this spring
If you've ever dreamed of traveling to New Zealand, with its spectacular landscapes, stunning national parks and natural wonders like Milford Sound, there is excellent award availability using Star Alliance miles in April. Best of all, you can travel nonstop in business class from the West Coast.
Air New Zealand is currently showing generous nonstop availability from both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Auckland Airport (AKL) on many dates in April.
Related: I flew 14 hours on a 'couch' — here's whether Air New Zealand's Skycouch was worth it
You can easily view the availability by month on the United Airlines MileagePlus website, where you can book one-way flights for 110,000 miles plus $43.30 in fees and taxes each way.
There are also limited seats on the nonstop service from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in April and May.
An even better deal is booking the same flights with Air Canada Aeroplan points, where you will be charged just 75,000 points each way in business class. Keep in mind, though, that there's a slightly higher charge of $95 for fees and taxes.
There is some availability for return flights to the U.S. in April at the same price, though your options are far more plentiful when traveling to the Land of the Long White Cloud.
It's worth noting that Air New Zealand offers lie-flat seats with direct aisle access and a decent soft product, but the seats lack privacy and storage. The airline will introduce an all-new and much-improved business-class seat in 2024, though this will not be in place for these April dates.
Related: Aboard Air New Zealand's inaugural flight from NYC to Auckland, the world's fourth-longest
How to earn Star Alliance miles
This offer once again illustrates the value of earning transferable points. If you only collect United miles, you would need to pay 110,000 miles each way for these flights. However, if you have transferable points, you could choose to transfer them to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio from the following programs:
The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses with points and miles that you can transfer to your Aeroplan account:
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- American Express® Gold Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)
The information for the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels
Bottom line
Finding a 13-hour nonstop business-class flight in a lie-flat seat for just 75,000 credit card points plus minimal fees and taxes is an excellent deal. If you have ever considered visiting the spectacular country of New Zealand, consider jumping on this award availability.
While Air New Zealand does not have the most cutting-edge business-class seats, for this price, you can sleep all the way to the South Pacific.
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month