How to get the most value out of ANZ Rewards points on a flight to London?

Hi,

As stated, I’m flying from Brisbane to London towards the end of May.

I currently have about 84,000 ANZ Rewards points and am confused as to how to get the most out of them.  As it is I can see 2 options.

  1. Book the flights direct through ANZ Rewards flying Singapore Airlines via Singapore: Total ANZ point cost is 203,700 incl taxes etc. Total cost to me is all my points plus $650. I believe if I do it this way I am eligible to claim KrisFlyer Miles on this flight too. How does this sound?
  2. Convert the ANZ Rewards points into Velocity Points or KrisFlyer Miles and use them: This would give me 42000 Velocity Points and roughly 30,000 KrisFlyer Miles. What I can't work out is what monetary cost I would incur by flying either Virgin, Singapore or Etihad in addition to using my newly converted Velocity Points or KrisFlyer Miles. Would it also be true that I could not earn points on the flights if I do it this way?
Sorry if this is a silly question, however this is going to be my first flight using points and what to do with them is confusing me!

Best regards,

Lewis

Hi Lewis,

The second option above is the one you want. Buying through ANZ Rewards portal will probably assign a very low “price” to each point you have, and then will divide a retail fare by that price to end up with an exorbitant point cost, as you’ve shown above.

In other words, it’s a direct correlation between retail price and points cost. You may earn points on those flights, but I can almost guarantee it won’t be much, so I wouldn’t really factor that in unless you have status or are buying a higher class.

However, transferring directly into an FFP like KrisFlyer or Asia Miles or Velocity is the way to go. Obviously some programs have better transfer rates out than others (and KrisFlyer is best reached via Velocity - so don’t transfer direct to KrisFlyer), which is one factor in your decision-making.

Finding out the surcharges is usually just a matter of going onto the website for the FFP you want to use (i.e. Asia Miles) and then plugging in your chosen destination etc. and it should give you an idea of the surcharges that will be applies. Both KrisFlyer and Asia Miles have quite high surcharges, but Velocity is much cheaper  in dollar terms (but more points required).

I’ll leave you with a few extra thoughts:

  • Another factor to consider is which program has the "sweetest" award chart for your chosen destination. That's probably a question in itself.
  • Some programs have extra perks i.e. KrisFlyer gives you 15% off point cost if booked online; Asia Miles gives you cheaper point cost if flying return with them; Velocity has access to Etihad.
  • Unfortunately, I don't think 84k ANZ Rewards points is going to get you far at this stage. Keep saving! :(
  • Consider being flexible with your origin and destination. Can you JetStar down to Sydney if there are more options from there? Do you have to fly to London, or is Copenhagen or Amsterdam an option (falls into a cheaper band with Singapore)?
Feel free to follow up with any other specific questions about routes etc. as new questions here.