Flying Qantas? You Can Now Upgrade With American Airlines Miles

Updated: July 19, 2024, 7:11am CDT

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Upgrade Your Next Qantas Flight Through American Airlines AAdvantage
Final Thoughts

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You can now request to upgrade Qantas flights (the Australian national flag carrier) using American Airlines miles.

The move comes as part of an update to American’s AAdvantage loyalty program, which was announced at the start of 2024.

Here are the details of this exciting new upgrade option.

Upgrade Your Next Qantas Flight Through American Airlines AAdvantage

More often than not, upgrading using cash or points is cheaper than paying outright for the cabin you upgrade to. Now, you can do exactly that on Qantas-operated flights using American Airlines miles to enjoy a more premium in-flight experience for less.

First of all, you must have a fare that permits upgrades. Lucky for us, Qantas is generous, and upgrades are permitted on most tickets whether they’re booked directly with Qantas, via American Airlines, or even through a travel agency.

However, sale fares on international flights are not eligible for upgrades.

You’ll only ever be able to upgrade one cabin class — from economy to premium economy, premium economy to business, or business to first.

Qantas Airbus A330 business class — Qantas’ Airbus A330 is the only aircraft you can upgrade from economy directly to business class: it’s a pretty good business class product, too. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

While many of the first-class cabins on Qantas serve caviar, the only aircraft where you’ll find the airline’s most luxurious first-class cabin is onboard its small fleet of superjumbos — also known as the Airbus A380s.

Here’s a breakdown of each of the routes Qantas operates to the U.S. and which cabin classes are on each flight so you know the upgrade possibilities that would be available to you:

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Route	Aircraft	Economy	Premium Economy	Business Class	First Class
Dallas (DFW) to Melbourne (MEL)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Dallas (DFW) to Sydney (SYD)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Honolulu (HNL) to Sydney (SYD)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE)	Airbus A330	Yes	No	Yes	No
Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD)	Airbus A380	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
New York (JFK) to Auckland (AKL)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD)	Boeing 787	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

If you’ve got an upcoming Qantas flight, you can request an upgrade here. All you need to submit a request is the flight confirmation code and your last name.

Prices will be displayed and will vary depending on the flight. There’s no published award chart for this, but we’ll update this piece once we have an example from an Upgraded Points team member.

If there is space available on your requested flight, you’ll receive confirmation of your upgrade within 24 hours of departure.

Bottom Line:

You can now apply for an upgrade on Qantas flights through your AAdvantage account. Qantas operates a total of 7 nonstop flights from Australia to the U.S. to cities such as Dallas (DFW), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO). Additionally, Qantas serves New York with a fifth-freedom route from Auckland, New Zealand (AKL).

Final Thoughts

It’s always an exciting prospect to be able to upgrade your flight, especially when it means you can pay significantly less than what the ticket would have cost outright.

Now, thanks to an update to American Airline’s AAdvantage program, you can request to upgrade flights operated by Qantas using American Airlines miles.