I just completed a return to New Zealand on points and miles. My first trip to New Zealand was to the South Island. We were supposed to go to the North Island on that same trip too, but they had sudden flash flooding, and we had to cancel that part of our itinerary. So this trip covered what we missed the first time! One of my favorite parts of visiting New Zealand (or Australia) is that we can go during our winter and enjoy summer there! Wearing flip-flops and short-sleeved t-shirts after leaving snow-covered Colorado is one of the reasons I love points and miles so much. So buckle up for my adventurous return to New Zealand on points and miles!

 

Flights to New Zealand

Business-class flights are the only way I will fly to New Zealand, and they were NOT easy to find this year. We began by finding a mistake fare on United from Auckland to Dallas for a mere $1,000/ticket. I booked that over 8 months before our trip began. I had so much trouble finding a flight over to Auckland that I thought I might end up canceling that return flight.

I finally found an award redemption on American Airlines from Dallas to Auckland. It’s a direct 15-hour flight and the tickets I found were about 130K AA miles + $40 each. It’s not the cheapest redemption, but we had the miles, and a direct flight sounded amazing. Previously, I had seen the same flight for as much as 450K. (Not happening!) As I said, it was hard to find cheap business-class flights this year that matched my mistake-fare return flight. You can read my review of our great AA flight in business class here.

 

 

Renting a Car

I used Autoslash to find a car to rent in Auckland. They found me a midsize SUV from Budget via Priceline. We paid $709 for this rental with our card_name to get excellent rental-car coverage. This is really important when you are driving on the left side of the road. Believe me, there is no napping when my husband drives in New Zealand! We were able to pick this car up at the airport, making it super easy.

 

Auckland Stay

We started our stay with two nights at the Park Hyatt Auckland. We loved this stay and the hotel’s location. You can read my review tomorrow. We were also lucky to check in early at 11:00 am, despite the hotel being booked to capacity.

On our first day, we walked all over the area around the hotel—great location! It was Auckland Day, and we enjoyed watching dragonboat races and having a great lunch at Soul Bar and Bistro. (This restaurant was so good that we had dinner there one night, too.) Then, we did a four-hour tour of Auckland, which we thought would be a good way to start things off. We booked through Viator, but our guide was very lackluster, and we ended up cutting the tour short.

 

 

 

After the best breakfast on the second day, we took the ferry to Waiheke Island and rode the hop-on hop-off bus to see the sights there. We loved it there—the island had a very cool, relaxed vibe. There are many vineyards in the area and consequently many wineries for wine lovers. We primarily went to two beaches, Oneroa and Onetangi—both gorgeous. We also loved wandering the town of Oneroa. We booked the ferry and the bus here. I highly recommend doing this. We are looking at Airbnbs to book so we can stay on Waiheke Island when we return to New Zealand one day.

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting the Bay of Islands

After two nights in Auckland, we drove three hours north to the Bay of Islands region—home to 144 breathtaking islands. We used a little over $500 in Capital One credits from card_name and card_name to pay for our room at the Paihia Beach Resort and Spa. This was a great location and the perfect place to stay for two nights. The staff was amazing, and the rooms were slightly dated, but the views and location were spot-on!

 

 

On the first night, we had fish and chips at Zane Grey’s Restaurant and Bar near the wharf and walked around the cute town of Paihia. We also spent some time relaxing by the pool at our hotel and using the hot tub.

 

 

Fantastic Tour

On our only full day in the area, we took a boat trip around the islands, including a short hike on Robertson Island, a look and pass through Hole in the Rock, and snorkeling on another island. We spent about $100 each for this four-to-five-hour tour, and it was well worth it! We got off at Russell and had lunch (fish and chips again!) at The Duke of Marlborough, a historic hotel and restaurant in Russell. Again, it is a very cute town. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both agreed that we wished we had more time in the area, but it was time to move on. We headed five hours south to Cathedral Cove.

 

Cathedral Cove

Our return to New Zealand on points had to include Cathedral Cove, as we were disappointed not to make it there on our first trip. We stayed in a tiny home that we rented on Airbnb. This was the only place we paid cash ($442 for two nights) on our trip. On our arrival, we ate at a cute place called The Hive.

 

 

The following day, we took this Viator tour of Cathedral Cove. We met at 8:30 for a three-hour kayak tour. This was an incredible tour, and the staff was so nice. Our guide was Ollie, who gave us a history of the area and pointed out some fantastic rock formations and huge red snapper in the clear water. He even made us delicious hot chocolate (and coffee for others) and provided cookies when we landed on Cathedral Cove Beach, which was gorgeous. 

 

 

 

We then went to Hot Water Beach and it was so interesting. You can take small spades and dig holes in the sand and hot water seeps up from the sand into the hole so you have your own hot tub. In some places, it literally scalded my feet! My husband also enjoyed some great body surfing on this beach. 

 

 

We had lunch and dinner at The Pour House, and gelato afterward. The little town of Hahei is a town we would love to have spent more time in.

 

 

Rotorua

We used my husband’s Capital One credits from the card_name and card_name to stay at the Pullman Hotel in Rotorua. It’s advertised as a five-star hotel, but I’d say it was just ok—not a five-star hotel in my opinion. Our favorite meal was at Devon Seafoods, where you took your meal to go!

 

 

 

 

 

In Rotorua, we took another Viator tour—Rotorua Rafting: Kaituna River White Water Rafting. It cost us $72 each.

 

 

 

We also took this Viator tour, which included visiting a Maori village. It cost us $98 each and included dinner. The best parts of the tour were the Maori manning the boat and the Haka—who doesn’t love the Haka?! We truly enjoyed the beautiful music and learning about the history of the Maori people. 

  

 

 

Lake Taupo

Our final stop before returning to Auckland was Lake Taupo, about an hour from Rotorua. It has a huge lake, and my husband stopped at a hunting and fishing store to check out the fishing prospects (presumably for next year). There is a lot of trout fishing in Lake Rotorua and Lake Taupo. I think I have him hooked on a return visit.

 

 

We booked a premium room—a one-bedroom king apartment for 95K/night at the Hilton Lake Taupo—and it was gigantic! We didn’t do much there besides having a great lunch at Vine Eatery, walking around the wharf, and checking out the lake. We thought about a boat tour to the Maori Carvings but decided to relax and enjoy the weather and view from our balcony terrace instead.

 

 

We had dinner at the hotel. It was one of the best dinners of our trip. At check-in, my Gold status gave us free drinks from the restaurant and a continental breakfast for the two of us. We could upgrade to the buffet for $10 each. 

 

One Last Night in Auckland

We loved the Park Hyatt Auckland so much that we returned there for the last night. It was great that we were able to get a late checkout because of my Globalist Status, too. Our flight was leaving at 4:00 pm, so we stayed until 12:30 after having one more amazing breakfast there. 

 

Flight Home

This trip came about because I booked a mistake business class fare—Auckland to DFW for only $1,000/person. I couldn’t pass up this flight, and on United Polaris, no less. I kept my fingers crossed for months before I started looking at flights to Auckland because I was sure they would cancel the flight. Nope! It was a dream price as this flight usually costs almost $4,000. And the miles price was way more than I am willing to pay!

 

Here’s what I paid!

 

Not only was the flight amazing, but we stopped in San Francisco and were able to use the United Polaris Lounge there, which meant we got a favorite lounge treat: cookie skillets!! 🎉

 

Bottom Line

Our return trip to New Zealand on points and miles was so much fun that we are already planning another return for next year. This time, my husband will fish a lot, and we will include a return to the South Island and also Australia. Credit card points can make what seems like a dream a reality, over and over again!

 

Tidbits from this trip:

• Tipping is NOT what it is in the United States. Seldom did we see the option on our bills. There were occasional tip jars present, but it’s not expected as it is in the United States. I felt like I was getting off cheaply with a 10% tip, and the servers were thrilled!
• Another reason to love flying business class? Customs took five minutes or less both in and out of NZ. Our flight back allowed us to go through an express lane, bypassing a huge line.
• Having an alert navigator makes driving in NZ much easier!
• The people in New Zealand are laid back and very friendly.
• We had delicious food in most of New Zealand—we both commented that the food was very, very good. If you like fish, you will be in heaven!

 

Related Posts

Using Points and Miles for New Zealand

American Airlines Business-Class Flight Review

Friday Family Vacation: 2.5 Week Family Trip to Hawaii and Australia

Reader Success Story to Australia