Air New Zealand now has 4.2 million Airpoints members with a higher active rate than ever before. Airpoints Membership is 600,000 up on last year's 3.6 million and almost double the base since the end of the Flybuys partnership in 2016 (when there were 2.2 million Airpoints members). There are only 4.1 million New Zealanders over the age of 15 (and 5.1 million in total) which may indicate recent growth in Airpoints membership outside of New Zealand and specifically growth in Australia. The new Airpoints-led Star Alliance credit card rewards program launched in Australia last year to compete for Australian Frequent Flyer with Qantas on its home turf. Airpoints won't match Qantas Loyalty's billion-point giveaway for Australian Frequent Flyers who've flown in the last year. Both airlines reported hefty profits.