New Zealand is a natural wonderland for hikers and adventurous travelers, and it even made our list of best places to travel in 2023.
If you’ve wanted to visit, you can now travel that long distance with much more comfort with these business class deals on direct flights from airports like Los Angeles International Airport ( LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and George Bush Airport (IAH) to Auckland International Airport (AKL) and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD).
EQUAL First reported by Dan’s Deals, you can find award-winning business class seats with United MileagePlus miles for 80,000 points one-way on United flights and on Air New Zealand-operated flights for 99,000 points one-way. There are also some seats available and the deals are even better if you book through other airline programs, including Virgin Atlantic, with Current transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards or even Aeroplan.
We doubt this will last, so here are the details.
Related: 7 tips and mistakes to avoid when planning your first trip to New Zealand
basic transaction
Airlines: United, Air New Zealand, can be booked through a partner.
Route: Fly non-stop from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston to Auckland and/or Sydney. Some seats on connecting flights are available from Washington, DC and other cities.
How to put: Directly on United, Air Canada or other partner sites. To use Virgin Atlantic points, you will have to call the Flight Club team at 800-862-8621.
Date of department: Dates vary from May to July.
Recorded by: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
sample flight
Let’s say you want to depart San Francisco on June 1. You can book a business class seat on a direct United flight to Auckland in 80,000 miles. It departed at 11pm and arrived in Auckland at 7:10am on 3 June.
As you can see below, the same offer is available on May 30th and June 6th, 8th and 13th. We recommend using this flexible calendar date view to find cheap flight dates. best.
United Polaris business class offers flatbed seats with Saks Fifth Avenue linens, free checked baggage, enhanced in-flight beverage and food service, amenity kits from Away, suits sleep on request and access to the United Polaris lounge before your flight.
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If you want to fly on Air New Zealand, you can still earn and use United MileagePlus miles because United and Air New Zealand are members of the Star Alliance.
Air New Zealand Business Class provides each traveler with a flat bed with memory foam mattress, two carry-on bags, three check-in bags, premium check-in, access to a pre-flight lounge and Food and drink from the Business Premier menu.
On United’s website you can book a direct Air New Zealand-operated flight departing from LAX on June 6 at 10pm and arriving in Auckland on June 8 at 6am. Cost is 99,000 United miles plus $41.10 in taxes and fees.
Air New Zealand also operates direct flights from Houston on certain days. The flight below is available for booking with United Mileage Plus miles.
You can book the same flight through Air Canada’s Aeroplan program for just 75,000 miles + taxes and fees each way. You can transfer points to Aeroplan from credit card programs such as Chase, Capital One and American Express.
If you’re a Virgin Atlantic Flight Club member, you can also use your Virgin Atlantic points to buy Air New Zealand-operated flights. See conversion rate Thisalthough New Zealand to North America is not listed, each way is 62,500 miles, which can cost you less points by maxing out current transfer bonus.
To book with Virgin Atlantic points, you will have to contact the Flight Club team by calling 800-862-8621, although you may want to call and pause the rewards before transferring points as not all transfers are instantaneous. That said, chase Transfer usually instant to Virgin Atlantic.
Note: Fares above are accurate at time of writing but are subject to change.
Maximize your purchases
bottom line
If you’re someone who needs a business class seat to handle a long flight from the US to New Zealand, now is the time to book. Deals like these are rare and don’t usually last, so book as soon as possible if you’re interested in this summer’s trip from the US (when it’s winter in New Zealand, of course) .
