looks like I’ve got the short straw of a 2-ish week work trip to NZ in March. Paid for flights etc but I should get to choose the airline and benefit from the airmiles.

I’ve not signed up to airmiles schemes as most of my holiday and work flights are european and thus EasyJet…

So who should I sign up with for the best benefits? Might be going to Vegas on work later in the year too – which ones cover the most different airlines?

Virgin / Star Alliance works pretty well – obviously assuming you have free choice of the airline choice

One flight ain’t gonna get you much, especially if you dont use the miles personally.
Pick the best flight that you’re allowed to, it’s a long time in the air. Best airline will vary depending whether you’re going cattle, premium, or business.

Air New Zealand would be the leading contender if you’re ok going via LAX.

i should be able to use the miles myself if/when i get them. might inspire me to stop being so tight when i fly european too 😉

That flight…..**** the airmiles , they are next to worthless if you fly that infrequently…

Fly emirates via dbx , even their cattle class is adaquate, foods the best ive had on any airline and the entertainment has plenty modern studf to watch

emirates is the plan all being well. few colleagues were surprised i didn’t have any schemes – the longer i work there the ‘better’ the work trips are getting (eg vegas), so they said its worth it in the long run

Singapore air, no idea about the air mikes but fantastic service and one stop.

Singapore airlines is star alliance. It’s who I’m flying to nz with again later this week with. Best cattle class I’ve flown with

The Etihad scheme allows you to buy stuff from their online ‘mall’ or better still cash in on a prepaid virtual credit card called Pointspay to buy what you want. The rates apparently fluctuate but four of us return to Oz in economy netted me just over £200 that I spent at JL, Amazon etc.

Of course swapping for cash gets you less but the online mall prices are higher than the high st and assuming you don’t plan on accumulating miles for further travel than effectively you’ve got something for nothing.

As an airline Etihad is excellent with flights from more than just Heathrow. Connections in Dubai are pretty painless as it’s just a classic megahub airport built where there’s plenty of space. I can’t imagine getting to Auckland will be hard but it might require two stops as ISTR only Air NZ do a single stop (LA or Singapore).

If it’s only worth 50 quid to spend online I’d only considering it all other things being equal.

Anything that doesn’t involve going via Sydney for a 2 hr stop. Singapore via Virgin works. Again air miles pointless, it’s taken me 3 years to get anywhere.

As an airline Etihad is excellent with flights from more than just Heathrow

Based on Friday from Abu Dhabi to Manchester I’d have to disagree.

I fly with Emirates from GeordieLand. Very good as I can stop at Dubai duty free to top my nicotine. 😆