Using UA Points for Air NZ flights

[MelUser]

Hi, my partner and I would like to use our UA points to book in Air NZ (business class) from Melbourne to pacific - possibly tahiti although reviews are scaring us off so we are thinking of going to cook islands.

We each have 43000 points.

Is it correct that it will cost us 40000 points each?

How do we make this booking?

Is there any way to check on seatcounter.com if there are seats - what class do UA business redemptions book into on Air NZ? If there are no business seats, what class do UA economy redemptions book into on Air NZ?

thanks,

[StevePER]

Hi, my partner and I would like to use our UA points to book in Air NZ (business class) from Melbourne to pacific - possibly tahiti although reviews are scaring us off so we are thinking of going to cook islands.

French Polynesia is nice. What is scaring you off?

Is it correct that it will cost us 40000 points each?

Correct.

How do we make this booking?

Call United on 131777. You will probably talk to India. Have a look at what flights you want because sometimes they're not very helpful. For example, they will claim that they don't have any flights from Melbourne to Tahiti because they only look at direct flights unless you say you want to fly via Auckland.

Is there any way to check on seatcounter.com if there are seats - what class do UA business redemptions book into on Air NZ? If there are no business seats, what class do UA economy redemptions book into on Air NZ?

Business class is I, economy is X. I'm not familiar with seatcounter but it does show up on expertflyer.

Steve

[MelUser]

Thanks

The reviews on Tahiti being a rip off and hotels being unclean are a bit scary.

Any recommendations for Tahiti accomodation?

We are thinking of the Intercontinental - a 1 week package wth all food in mid level room is about USD$5000 for 2 adults and infant.

[StevePER]

Thanks

The reviews on Tahiti being a rip off and hotels being unclean are a bit scary.

Any recommendations for Tahiti accomodation?

We are thinking of the Intercontinental - a 1 week package wth all food in mid level room is about USD$5000 for 2 adults and infant.

Ouch - that seems ridiculously expensive (I think the room only was going for about A$220 per night last time I looked). Also I think the Sheraton was cheaper than Intercontinental when I was looking. But overall French Polynesia is really expensive. I wouldn't stay on Tahiti that long, I think it would be worth checking out at least one other island (Moorea is the easiest, but we went to Bora Bora). It all depends on what you want out of your holiday.

In Tahiti we stayed at Fare Suisse for two nights. It's a guesthouse rather than hotel, but it's clean and cheap by Tahitian standards. It's not luxurious but it is spacious - I wasn't overwhelmed by how great it was like most of the reviews on TripAdvisor seem to be but it met our expectations. Not sure what sort of accommodation you're after - maybe it would meet your needs, maybe it wouldn't.

Steve

[stryker]

My own opinion, having been to Tahiti several times, and to the Cook Is many times, is... don't go to Tahiti (unless you want to blow a lot of money, and also love France and the French language to a huge extent). Each to their own, though.

I would strongly recommend the Cook Is. It's English speaking and uses the NZ dollar. You can rent a 3 bedroom house on the beach for less than $1500 pw. PM me if you want to know more.

My wife and adult children (5 pax in total) are flying to RAR next month on UA free tickets (provided by me) and are renting a 4-bedroom house on Muri Beach for less than $2000 for 8 days.

Go to Tahiti (where there are few natural sandy beaches) if you wish, but don't complain about the cost, or the rudeness of the French.