The Economist have boosted the normal Airpoints Dollars earn rate on print and/or digital subscriptions.
For example, when you purchase a 3-year print and digital subscription to The Economist, you’ll earn a whopping 1,150 Airpoints Dollars—this is one of the best opportunities to earn a very high number of Airpoints Dollars all at once, without stepping foot on a plane.
I’ve reviewed the offer below to show what subscription type and duration is best, based on the effective Airpoints Dollars rebate you’d receive for your spend.
Note that the price of a subscription has recently increased, meaning this offer has less value that it did previously.
Offer details
According to the terms and conditions, this offer is for first-time subscribers only.
The number of Airpoints Dollars you’ll earn depends on the subscription type, and duration.
I have listed all the different subscription types, lengths and costs below, and have sorted from highest to lowest the effective rebate you’ll receive in Airpoints Dollars.
There is an added column showing the converted Airpoints amount using our equalisation method, to provide a point of comparison to other airline points currencies.
| Subscription Type | Cost | Airpoints Dollars (APD) Earned | Converted points earned | Effective Rebate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Print + Digital - 1 year | $750 | 470 APD | 27,730 | 63% |
| Digital - 3 years | $1,409 | 880 APD | 51,920 | 62% |
| Digital - 1 year | $549 | 340 APD | 20,060 | 62% |
| Print + Digital - 3 years | $1,949 | 1150 APD | 67,850 | 59% |
| Print + Digital - 2 years | $1,419 | 800 APD | 47,200 | 56% |
| Digital - 2 years | $1,019 | 560 APD | 33,040 | 55% |
| Print - 3 years | $1,619 | 880 APD | 51,920 | 54% |
| Print - 1 year | $639 | 340 APD | 20,060 | 53% |
| Print - 2 years | $1,179 | 560 APD | 33,040 | 47% |
As you can see, a 1-year print and digital subscription offers the greatest return vs spend amount. If you were planning to spend $470 on flights anyway, you’re effectively only paying $205 for the subscription itself— or about $3.94 per week.
Remember that 1 Airpoints Dollar equals $1 NZD spent on flights with Air New Zealand, so if you travel frequently either domestically or Trans-Tasman, you’ll immediately be able to see the value you’ll receive back in ‘free’ flights.
Alternatively, you could get even better value out of your Airpoints Dollars with a partner redemption— like the example shown below, where you could fly one-way from Ireland to the USA in United Airlines Business Class for only 800 Airpoints Dollars (the equivalent of 47,200 points/miles with other programmes).
Our take: is this a good deal?
If you have no interest in The Economist, keep your money in the bank. I cannot see any value in purchasing a magazine subscription just to earn the Airpoints Dollars.
This is especially so when you could just buy Airpoints Dollars as needed using a Kiwibank Air New Zealand Airpoints credit card.
However, if you were already intending to purchase a subscription, you should definitely take advantage of this high-value Airpoints Dollars earning opportunity. The ordinary online purchase price for a subscription without bonus Airpoints Dollars is the same, so you won’t be financially penalised for taking advantage of the offer.
Remember, if you purchase your subscription with a high-earning Airpoints Dollars credit card, you’ll earn even more.
For example, using the American Express Airpoints Platinum will see you earn 1 APD for every $59 spent. This will boost your effective ‘rebate’ by 1.7%.
Summing up
While lots of miles/points programmes partner with The Economist to provide similar offers, Airpoints is the outlier where you can easily see how much value you’ll receive by taking it up.
If you carefully plan your redemption, your subscription could end up effectively being free, based on the amount saved on flight cost.
Note that it may take up to 8 weeks for the Airpoints Dollars to credit, so be sure you take this into account if you were planning to use the Airpoints Dollars in the short term.
Will you take advantage of this offer? If so, what will you use your points on?
have you got a link to the terms and conditions where it says its not for renewals?
thanks
Hi Bob – it’s possible that this requirement may have changed, it was originally published as fine print on both the Air New Zealand and The Economist website, though now seems to have been removed. Though if you’re an existing subscriber and intend to rely on this offer, I would still recommend calling The Economist to make sure I haven’t missed something somewhere.
You will need to maintain your subscription for a minimum of one year to keep the Airpoints Dollars (says this on the final checkout page).
https://www.economist.com/terms/specificoffers
Thanks for finding that! Will update article.
the earn rates advertised on The Economist website via the Air New Zealand link are lower than above. I received 300 air points for a 1 year digital at the same price.
Hi Ben – this offer was advertised in one of the recent Airpoints emails. It is possible that they’re not advertising the offer on their website direct. Our link above would have got you the boosted amount.