Status Points and frequent flyer tiers
Earn status points to climb tiers and enjoy benefits such as priority service, lounge access, seat upgrades and extra baggage allowance.
Earning Status Points
You will earn Status Points on eligible Air New Zealand flights and many Star Alliance and partner flights you take. To see how many Status Points your qualifying flight will earn, use our Airpoints calculator. You can check how many Status Points you have collected in the past 12 months by signing in to your Air New Zealand account.
Tier benefits
As you move through each tier you will receive more benefits that you can make use of when you are travelling on eligible Air New Zealand, Star Alliance, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. See below for a quick overview.
Moving up a tier
As you earn and accumulate Status Points , you can upgrade through our tiers. Starting at Airpoints membership, you can upgrade to Silver followed by Gold and Elite.
Once you've earned enough Status Points within any 12 month period, your status will immediately move up to the next tier. You'll receive your new benefits and an end of tier date. This date will be the last day of a calendar month and set for 12 months in the future, when your account will next be reviewed. The benefits of the previous tier will immediately expire.
| Tier | Status Points* required to reach each tier | Status Points** required to retain tier status |
|---|---|---|
Silver (at least half on Air New Zealand operated flights, qualifying partner airline flights, or Star Alliance qualifying flights) | 450 | 405 |
Gold (at least half on Air New Zealand operated flights, qualifying partner airline flights, or Star Alliance qualifying flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost) | 900 | 810 |
| Elite | 1,500 (at least 900 on Air New Zealand operated flights or qualifying partner airline flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost) | 1,350 (at least 810 on Air New Zealand operated flights or qualifying partner airline flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost) |
Silver
(at least half on Air New Zealand operated flights, qualifying partner airline flights, or Star Alliance qualifying flights)
Status Points* required to reach each tier
450
405
Gold
(at least half on Air New Zealand operated flights, qualifying partner airline flights, or Star Alliance qualifying flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost)
Status Points* required to reach each tier
900
810
Elite
Status Points* required to reach each tier
1,500
(at least 900 on Air New Zealand operated flights or qualifying partner airline flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost)
1,350
(at least 810 on Air New Zealand operated flights or qualifying partner airline flights or from Frequent Flyer Status Boost)
*The qualifying Status Points must be earned in a 12 month period to achieve Tier Status.
**Only Status Points earned from purchases made after reaching your new tier count towards the total required to retain it the following year.
Any Status Points earned with an Airpoints earning credit card do not count towards the calculation of the number of Status Points earned on Air New Zealand operated flights, qualifying partner airline flights, or Star Alliance qualifying flights.
Retaining your tier
In order to retain your tier, you only need to earn 90% of the Status Points of that tier. You can start earning these Status Points from purchases made after reaching your new tier status until your tier end date.
To retain Silver and Gold tier status:
- At least 50% of the required Status Points must be earned on Air New Zealand travel, eligible Star Alliance travel, qualifying partner airline travel or Frequent Flyer Status Boosts (Airpoints Gold only).
- Up to 50% of the required Status Points may be earned on credit cards, by your tier end date.
To retain Elite tier status:
- At least 60% of the required Status Points must be earned on Air New Zealand travel, qualifying partner airline travel or from Frequent Flyer Status Boosts.
- Status Points earned on eligible credit cards and/or eligible Star Alliance travel can count towards the remaining 40% of Status Points required by your tier end date.
Welcoming a little one into your life? Status Hold - Parental let's you put your tier status on hold for a year, so you can focus on family life while maintaining your Airpoints Elite or Gold membership.
Please refer to Airpoints terms and conditions clause 12, qualifying flights terms and conditions and co-operation partners for more information.