The Best Ways To Fly to Australia With Points & Miles [Step-by-Step]

Australia is an undeniably far-flung destination for Americans. The continent is located at least 14 hours by nonstop flight from the contiguous U.S. (excluding Hawaii). But its remoteness is no doubt part of what compels many travelers to head there in the first place.

Known for its awe-inspiring nature and rich indigenous culture, Australia is one of the top tourist destinations on the planet. But, flying to Australia can be a huge logistical undertaking, especially if you don’t know where to start planning your trip.

Although using points and miles can reduce the cost of flights, you’ll definitely want to save up for business or first class if you can, simply due to the grueling nature of these ultra-long-haul flights.

Today, we’ll present the top ways to fly to Australia with points and miles, especially in premium cabin redemptions. Because some airlines are notorious for not releasing any seats for award bookings to Australia, we’ll integrate award availability into our rankings.

Table of contents

Nonstop Routes Between North America and Australia
Best Programs for Booking Flights
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Nonstop Routes Between North America and Australia
Best Programs for Booking Flights
Final Thoughts

Nonstop Routes Between North America and Australia

Since Australia is one of the most difficult destinations to access, particularly from the U.S. and Europe, there are going to be fewer routes you can take.

There are a total of 7 airlines that operate nonstop flights from the U.S. (including Hawaii) to Australia. These are:

Air Canada
- Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)
American Airlines
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Delta Air Lines
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Hawaiian Airlines
- Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
Jetstar Airways
- Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
Qantas
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Sydney (SYD)
- Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)
United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)

In all, there are 10 routes with nonstop service to Australia from North America.

Hot Tip: Nonstop from New York (JFK) to Sydney (SYD)? Qantas has just ordered the A350-1000 for what will be the world’s longest flight starting in 2025.

Best Programs for Booking Flights

Generally speaking, award availability, especially in business/first class is extremely difficult to find. More than ever, the importance of flexibility and being open to positioning flights can’t be overstated.

If you are flexible, you should be able to book at least a solid lie-flat business class seat to Australia using points and miles with minimal cash outlay — let’s take a look at the best ways to do so.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

United Airlines Polaris Business Class — United Airlines’ lie-flat business class, though not the true Polaris product, can be found on numerous flights to Australia. Image Credit: United Airlines

Our top choice for flying to Australia is using All Nippon Airways’s loyalty program, ANA Mileage Club. It consistently gets rave reviews, whether it’s the amazing redemption prices or its variety of partners.

Although it’s a relatively complex program, there’s so much value to be had when redeeming ANA miles for flights to Australia. ANA offers excellent redemption rates with tons of sweet spots and an awesome stopover/open-jaw allowance. And, making it even better, there are loads of ways to earn ANA miles.

ANA has 2 main award charts:

One for ANA-operated flights, which are subject to seasonal pricing fluctuations
One for partner-operated flights, which are not subject to pricing seasonality

With All Nippon Airways, you can only redeem for round-trip tickets — one-way tickets are not allowed. If you can avoid booking one-way tickets, ANA offers some excellent business class pricing. Here’s the partner award chart for round-trip tickets:

Class of Service	ANA Mileage Cost
Economy	75,000
Business	120,000
First	225,000

The 2 main carriers offering nonstop flights that you’ll want to book to Australia using ANA miles are:

Air Canada
- Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)
United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)

In general, Air Canada has a reputation for offering a superior premium cabin product. However, other things can factor into your decision, such as proximity to the departing airport, willingness to connect in Canada, and more.

Total taxes and fees will usually run you at around $10 to $50 for United Airlines and Air Canada, which is great.

The seats on these United Polaris-equipped flights are usually arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. Although all the seats are 100% lie-flat, not all of them have direct aisle access, and the seats aren’t as private as the true Polaris business class. Currently, there are no United Airlines routes to Australia that feature the true Polaris business class.

Air Canada’s product consists of reverse herringbone seats in a clean, airy cabin. If possible, we’d recommend you book Air Canada’s business class product over United’s in this scenario.

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- Round-trip in United Airlines business class for 120,000 ANA miles + $40 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Round-trip in United Airlines economy for 75,000 ANA miles + $40 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL); Sydney (SYD) – San Francisco (SFO)
- With an open-jaw in Melbourne in United Airlines business class for 120,000 ANA miles + $40 in taxes and fees
Vancouver (YVR) – Melbourne (MEL); Brisbane (BNE) – Vancouver (YVR)
- With an open-jaw in Melbourne in Air Canada business class for 120,000 ANA miles + $40 in taxes and fees

To book any of these itineraries, follow these steps:

Go to ANA’s homepage.
Click ANA Mileage Club on the top-right side of the homepage.
Find the Flight Awards section on the left side of the page. Click International, and then Award Reservation.
Log in using your ANA Mileage Club account number and password.
Type in your route pairing, travel dates, number of passengers, cabin class, and then click Search.
Transfer your points to ANA. You might have luck holding awards when calling 800-235-9262, but this is the exception rather than the norm.
After the points are deposited into your account, confirm your reservation by paying for taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Mileage Club Miles

As we mentioned above, earning ANA miles is super easy. ANA is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, so there are many options for earning credit card points and transferring them to ANA.

Amex transfers at a 1:1 ratio, whereas Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.

There can be a bit of a delay when transferring to ANA. Amex usually takes around 3 business days to process transfers, while Marriott Bonvoy takes around 7 business days.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Platinum card! (The current public offer is 80,000 points.)

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card! (The current public offer is 60,000 points.)

Business Owner? Check out our article on the best Amex business cards that earn Membership Rewards.

Bottom Line: ANA provides access to 2 carriers that operate nonstop flights to Australia, Air Canada and United Airlines, and offers attractive redemption rates, particularly in business class.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Qantas First Class Dining — Enjoy a nice meal (or 2) on your journey to Australia in Qantas first class. Image Credit: Qantas

One of the best ways to book nonstop flights to Australia is to redeem Alaska Airlines miles. Although Alaska itself doesn’t operate flights to Australia, it has some great partnerships that can be instrumental in economically getting you to Australia in style, 2 of which are particularly noteworthy for nonstop flights to Australia:

American Airlines
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Qantas
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Sydney (SYD)
- Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)

Qantas is the flag carrier of Australia, but we’ll be the first to mention that travelers usually have a love-hate relationship with the airline.

Qantas first class is one of the most aspirational products out there. With such a tight grip on award inventory, booking Qantas first class is very elusive, which likely contributes to the intense interest surrounding the product.

Here’s the award chart for the 2 airlines for one-way flights between the U.S. and Australia:

Cabin Class	Alaska Miles Cost for Qantas Flights	Alaska Miles Cost for American Airlines Flights
Economy	42,500	40,000
Premium Economy	47,500	N/A
Business	55,000	80,000
First	70,000	110,000

As you can see, Alaska Airlines redemptions for Qantas business or first class are incredibly lucrative. If you couple this with the stopover allowance on one-way flights, there’s simply too much value to pass up.

There is 1 massive catch, however: Qantas is extremely stingy with award availability. It has gotten to a point where most of the time, you won’t see award space on any of the nonstop routes for the entire year. It’s almost as if booking Qantas is impossible.

You wouldn’t be wrong in most cases. Periodically, Qantas will dump an obscene amount of inventory in business/first class into the system. This is typically done for flights in January through March.

Other than that, you’re going to have a very difficult time nabbing these flights. If you do, however, you won’t be disappointed — Qantas makes an appearance on our rankings of the best international first class airlines in the world.

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Sydney (SYD) – Perth (PER)
- One-way in Qantas first class for 70,000 Alaska miles + ~$26 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Brisbane (BNE) – Darwin (DRW)
- One-way in Qantas business class for 55,000 Alaska miles + ~$26 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL) – Alice Springs (ASP)
- One-way in Qantas first class for 70,000 Alaska miles + ~$26 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) – Hobart (HBA)
- One-way in Qantas first class for 70,000 Alaska miles + ~$26 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD) – Cairns (CNS)
- One-way in Qantas business class for 55,000 Alaska miles + ~$26 in taxes and fees

The process for booking Qantas and American Airlines flights using Alaska miles is easy:

Go to Alaska Airlines’ website.
Sign in using your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Number and Password.
Search for your route pairing, dates, and number of passengers on the homepage (check off the box that says Use Miles).
Select your flight and click Add To Cart.
Complete your booking by paying with miles and for any taxes and fees using a credit card.

Earning Alaska Airlines Miles

Alaska Airlines’ only transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy. The transfer ratio is 3:1 with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred. Transfers usually take around 2 business days to complete.

There are also several different ways to earn Alaska miles, including opening the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card or buying Alaska Airlines miles when there’s a big sale.

The biggest sales have featured a 60% bonus on all purchased miles, which is a big deal. This can effectively get you a Qantas first class flight, which typically retails for $15,000+, for only $1,000 to $2,000!

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Bottom Line: Redeeming Alaska Airlines miles for Qantas or American Airlines flights is a great way to fly to Australia, as long as you can find award availability.

United Airlines MileagePlus

Hawaiian Airlines Business Class — Hawaiian Airlines business class on its Airbus A330-300. Image Credit: Hawaiian Airlines

Award flights booked through United Airlines MileagePlus are priced dynamically.

Here’s the approximate award chart for one-way flights between North America and Australia:

Cabin Class	United Miles Cost for United Flights	United Miles Cost for Air Canada Flights	United Miles Cost for Hawaiian Airlines Flights
Economy	40,000 to 100,000	44,000	38,500
Business	80,000 to 200,000	99,000	60,000
First	N/A	N/A	N/A

Using United miles rarely represents the absolute best value for your points. However, using MileagePlus to book your awards has the following benefits:

Miles are easy to earn, particularly for Chase loyalists
Easy booking process
No fuel surcharges on most flights
Star Alliance network of routes

There are 3 airlines on which you can book nonstop flights to Australia:

Air Canada
- Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)
Hawaiian Airlines
- Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

Honolulu (HNL) – Brisbane (BNE)
- One-way in Hawaiian Airlines first/business class for 60,000 United miles + ~$65 in taxes and fees
Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Hawaiian Airlines economy class for 38,500 United miles + ~$65 in taxes and fees
Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in United Airlines business class from 80,000 United miles (saver award) + ~$6 in taxes and fees
Vancouver (YVR) – Melbourne (MEL)
- One-way in Air Canada business class for 99,000 United miles + ~$6 in taxes and fees

To book using United miles, follow these simple steps:

Visit United Airlines’ homepage.
On the homepage, there’s a search box. Type in the city pairs, travel dates, number of travelers, and cabin class you’re booking.
Click Find flights.
Log in using your MileagePlus Number and Password.
Locate your flights, and pay with miles. Pay for taxes and fees using any credit card to finish confirming your reservation.

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

There are so many different ways to earn United miles. The primary way is going to be transferring from Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Marriott Bonvoy.

Bilt Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio instantly, while Marriott Bonvoy points transfer within 2 business days at a 3:1.1 ratio with a 5,500-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred.

You can also use Chase’s co-branded United credit cards to earn United miles directly.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Business Owner? Read our article on the best Chase business cards that earn Ultimate Rewards.

Avianca LifeMiles

Air Canada Business Class — Air Canada Signature Class. Image credit: Air Canada

Avianca is a Star Alliance airline with plenty of transfer partners, and its frequent flyer program is called LifeMiles. Using LifeMiles is attractive due to the reasonable redemption rates and the plentiful ways to earn LifeMiles.

With LifeMiles, you’ll enjoy instant mileage transfers, lots of transfer partners, no fuel surcharges, and an easy online booking process.

There are several great ways to redeem Avianca LifeMiles for maximum value, and this is definitely one of them. Here’s the award chart for one-way flights from North America to Australia:

Class of Service	Avianca LifeMiles Cost	Fees
Economy	40,000	~$61
Business	80,000	~$61

The 2 airlines you’ll want to book flights on are:

Air Canada
- Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Vancouver (YVR) – Sydney (SYD)
United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)

Here are some great examples of redemptions:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- One-way in United business class for 80,000 LifeMiles + ~$31 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in United economy for 40,000 LifeMiles + $31 in taxes and fees
Vancouver (YVR) – Melbourne (MEL), Sydney (SYD), or Brisbane (BNE)
- One-way in Air Canada business class for 80,000 LifeMiles + $31 in taxes and fees

Once you’ve solidified your travel plans, here’s how you can book your flight using Avianca LifeMiles:

Go to the LifeMiles website.
Click the flag icon in the top-right corner and choose English.
Click Log in at the top-right side of the page.
Enter your LifeMiles number and password.
Click Fly at the top banner to search flights.
Enter your route pairing, number of passengers, and cabin class. Click Find Flights.
Click your flight date(s).
Find your flights and pay with LifeMiles and for any taxes and fees using a credit card.

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

As we mentioned above, LifeMiles has transfer partnerships with a number of transferable currencies: American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi points transfer at a 1:1 ratio instantly, while Marriott Bonvoy points transfer in around 1 to 2 business days at a 3:1 ratio.

Amex and Citi have both offered transfer bonuses of up to 35% in the past, so be sure to hold out for transfers until you see one of these, if possible. Capital One’s transfer bonuses, when offered, have usually been around 20% to 25%.

You can also buy LifeMiles — Avianca is known to offer giant sales with up to a 200% bonus on purchased miles, so you’ll absolutely want to wait for the right time to buy LifeMiles.

Recommended Capital One Cards

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Qantas Airbus A330 Business Class Window Seat 4K. Image Credit: Greg Stone

If your points budget is unlimited and you just want the highest probability of landing Qantas’ first or business class, the best way to accomplish this is by using Qantas’ own frequent flyer program: Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Qantas first class is arguably the greatest unicorn in points travel. In our guide covering when airlines release award seats, we outline why booking Qantas first class is much more probable using Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Chiefly, Qantas first and business class is easier to book for 2 reasons:

Qantas releases award seats exclusive to Qantas Frequent Flyer members redeeming Qantas Frequent Flyer points
Qantas’ schedule opens up 353 days in advance, compared to Alaska’s 330 days and AAdvantage’s 331 days, effectively giving you a 22- to 23-day head-start

If you’re wondering why Alaska miles are so hard to redeem for Qantas first class, it’s because all of the availability is gobbled up by Qantas members, 22 to 23 days in advance. By the time Alaska or American Airlines have access to this award space, all of the very few seats are already taken.

There are 3 airlines on which you can redeem Qantas points for nonstop flights to Australia:

American Airlines
Jetstar
Qantas

Here’s the award chart for flights between Australia and the U.S.:

Qantas Classic Flight Reward Table (applicable for Qantas, Airnorth, Fiji Airways, Air Vanuatu, American Airlines, and Emirates)
Zone	One-Way Distance (in miles)	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First
1	0 to 600	8,000	13,800	18,400	27,600
2	601 to 1,200	12,000	20,600	27,600	41,500
3	1,201 to 2,400	18,000	31,000	41,500	62,200
4	2,401 to 3,600	20,300	42,200	57,000	85,500
5	3,601 to 4,800	25,200	51,300	68,400	102,600
6	4,801 to 5,800	31,500	61,500	82,000	123,100
7	5,801 to 7,000	37,600	71,100	94,900	142,300
8	7,001 to 8,400	41,900	81,300	108,400	162,800
9	8,401 to 9,600	51,200	94,900	126,500	189,800
10	9,601 to 15,000	55,200	108,400	144,600	216,900

Here’s the award chart for flights on Jetstar:

Jetstar Classic Flight Reward Table (applicable for Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan, and Jetstar Pacific only)
Zone	One-Way Distance (in miles)	Economy	Business
1	0 to 600	6,400	13,800
2	601 to 1,200	9,600	20,600
3	1,201 to 2,400	14,400	31,000
4	2,401 to 3,600	18,000	42,200
5	3,601 to 4,800	21,500	51,300
6	4,801 to 5,800	26,000	61,500
7	5,801 to 7,000	32,000	71,100
8	7,001 to 8,400	35,600	81,300
9	8,401 to 9,600	43,500	94,900
10	9,601 to 15,000	46,900	108,400

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Qantas business class for 82,000 Qantas points + ~$60 in taxes and fees
Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Jetstar economy for 26,000 Qantas points + ~$60 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL)
- One-way in Qantas first class for 162,800 Qantas points + ~$60 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Qantas first class for 162,800 Qantas points + ~$60 in taxes and fees

Again, you’d really only want to use Qantas points if you desperately need award availability to show up, at the expense of paying more points. Follow these steps to book your flight online:

Visit Qantas’ website.
In the top-right corner, log into your account using your Qantas Frequent Flyer number, last name, and PIN number.
In the flight search box, enter your city and date pairings, number of passengers, and click the button that says Use points.
Click Search flights.
Click the date(s) that works for you.
Select your flights and click Continue.
Pay using points and for any taxes/fees using a credit card.

Earning Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

There are numerous ways to earn Qantas points. If you’d like to transfer points, Qantas has transfer relationships with American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred.

Amex transfers almost instantly to Qantas, Brex takes up to 1 business day, Capital One takes around 36 hours, and Citi takes around 2 business days. Marriott Bonvoy takes the longest at around 6 business days.

Recommended Citi Cards

Bottom Line: Qantas Frequent Flyer offers 1 advantage: more award availability. Using this method can dramatically increase your chances of booking Qantas first/business class. However, you’re going to pay more points.

American Airlines AAdvantage

American Airlines 787-9 Flagship Business Class cabin. Image Credit: Stephen Au

Our second-to-last method to book nonstop flights to Australia is by using American Airlines AAdvantage. American miles are great for booking flights on these airlines:

American Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Qantas

Here’s the award chart for one-way flights from the U.S. to Australia:

Cabin Class	AAdvantage Miles Cost for AA Flights	AAdvantage Miles Cost for Qantas Flights	AAdvantage Miles Cost for Hawaiian Airlines Flights
Economy	40,000 to 90,000	40,000	37,500
Premium Economy	65,000 to 155,000	N/A	N/A
Business	80,000 to 195,000	80,000	65,000
First	110,000 to 260,000	110,000	90,000

Here are some great example routes you can take:

Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Qantas business class for 80,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$40 in taxes and fees
Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Hawaiian Airlines business/first class for 65,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$20 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Brisbane (BNE)
- One-way in Qantas business class for 80,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$40 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in American Airlines Flagship First Class from 110,000 AAdvantage miles (saver availability) + ~$11 in taxes and fees

To book your AAdvantage award, follow these steps:

Perform an award search using Alaska Airlines’ search engine (method outlined in the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan section). For Hawaiian Airlines, you may need to use a search tool such as ExpertFlyer.
Call AAdvantage at 800-433-7300 and tell them your flight numbers, dates, number of passengers, and class of service.
Pay using AAdvantage miles and a credit card for the taxes and fees to ticket your reservation.

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles is easy. Whether it’s using the Citi or Barclays co-branded AAdvantage credit cards or transferring from Marriott Bonvoy or Bilt Rewards, there are plenty of ways to earn AA miles quickly.

Marriott Bonvoy is a 3:1 transfer partner, and transfers from Marriott Bonvoy take around 2 business days to complete. Bilt Rewards is a 1:1 transfer partner, and transfers from Bilt take around 1 business day.

Bottom Line: Using AAdvantage miles is an excellent way to book nonstop flights to Australia. Whether it’s for flights with American Airlines, Qantas, or Hawaiian Airlines, you’ll definitely find a great way to use AA miles.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Delta One Suites on the Airbus A350. Image Credit: Stephen Au

Virgin Atlantic has partnerships with 2 important airlines:

Delta Air Lines
Hawaiian Airlines

Virgin Atlantic’s frequent flyer program, known as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, has been ruthlessly devalued in the context of long-haul Delta flights.

There are still tons of ways to redeem Virgin Points for maximum value, but this redemption falls to the bottom of our list.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club prices out awards with different award charts for each partner. Therefore, the same flights on different carriers will inevitably cost different amounts of Virgin Points.

For Delta Air Lines redemptions, you can follow this award chart for one-way flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD):

Cabin Class	Virgin Points Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	45,000	$5.60
Business	165,000	$5.60

Fortunately, Delta Air Lines’ sole Australia route (Los Angeles to Sydney) features Delta One Suites, the airline’s best business class product. In fact, Delta One Suites is at the top of our list of best international business class products, so you know you’re in for a treat. It boasts sliding doors, excellent food, comfortable bedding, and fully lie-flat seats.

Best of all, taxes and fees are minimal, which will reduce your out-of-pocket cost.

Of the 2 partners listed above, Delta has better award availability, in addition to offering a fantastic business class product. You’ll definitely need to be flexible, but that flexibility can really pay off.

Award availability is best in advance, but seats often open up after the holiday season or if there’s a lot less demand than expected.

Finally, Virgin Atlantic is partners with Hawaiian Airlines, which can be useful for those based in the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s the award chart for one-way Hawaiian Airlines flights:

Cabin Class	Virgin Points Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	40,000	~$65
First/Business	65,000	~$65

This pricing is decent, especially if you’re already planning on flying out of Hawaii. All the seats are lie-flat, though not all of them have direct aisle access. Nevertheless, for a ~10-hour flight, 65,000 miles in business is a decent deal.

Let’s put all of this together and show you some great example redemptions you can make:

Honolulu (HNL) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Hawaiian Airlines business/first class for 65,000 Virgin Points + ~$65 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
- One-way in Delta One Suites for 165,000 Virgin Points + $5.60 in taxes and fees

Once you’ve decided on which flight you want to take, follow these steps to book your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award flight online:

Visit Virgin Atlantic’s homepage.
Change the region by scrolling to the bottom of the page. Click the globe icon at the bottom of the page that says United States – English. Change it to United Kingdom – English.
Once redirected to the new page, type in your flight details into the top banner of the homepage. Enter in your departure and destination cities, flight type, number of passengers, and travel dates.
Click the button that says Advanced Search towards the bottom-right of the banner. Click Miles and select Upper Class to search for business class award space.
Click the arrow to perform the search. If there’s no award availability, scroll down and select Show flights for Within 5 weeks. Redo the search.
You may need to play around with dates to find availability. Once located, click Next Step.
- Although transferring points to Virgin Atlantic is normally instant, you can also request 5-day award holds by calling Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500.
Log into your Flying Club account.
Complete your booking by paying the miles and paying for taxes and fees.

Booking Delta awards is completely doable online. However, you may need to call to book Hawaiian Airlines flights if there’s no online award availability showing up.

Hot Tip: Want to monitor flight award availability without checking every day? Read our ExpertFlyer guide to learn how to set up automatic flight alerts for your desired cabin and flight!

Earning Virgin Points

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. As you can probably imagine, there are tons of ways to earn Virgin Points.

American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer instantaneously at a 1:1 ratio.

Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio, usually within 1 business day. Also, when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you’ll earn a 5,000-mile bonus to Virgin Atlantic, resulting in a total of 25,000 miles.

Best of all, American Express and Citi are both known for offering generous transfer bonuses ranging from 15% to 35%. This means you could get a huge bonus by timing your transfers properly. A 35% transfer bonus means you could get 165,000 Virgin Points by transferring just 123,000 points!

Final Thoughts

There are so many different ways to fly to Australia using points and miles, but we’ve focused primarily on the best ways to book nonstop flights. With a number of nonstop routes offering great inflight products, there’s no reason to book a connecting flight! When you book nonstop flights, you can arrive well-rested and ready to hit the ground running exploring Australia. Happy travels!

The information regarding the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Arvin Wiyono via Unsplash

Frequently asked questions

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to Australia?

You can pay as few as 40,000 United miles, Avianca LifeMiles, or American AAdvantage miles for a one-way flight in economy.

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book a business class award flight to Australia?

The cheapest business class redemption is using 55,000 Alaska Airlines miles for one-way flights in Qantas business class. If you’re fine with booking a round-trip ticket, you can spend 120,000 ANA miles for United Airlines business class.

If you want to fly Delta One Suites, you can spend 165,000 Virgin Points one-way.

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book a first class award flight to Australia?

Your only option to fly first class is with Qantas or American Airlines, as other carriers like Delta and United do not offer nonstop service in first class.

You can pay 70,000 Alaska miles, 110,000 AAdvantage miles, or 162,800 to 189,800 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for a one-way first class award flight on Qantas.

Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to Australia?

Australia is one of the few countries that restricts fuel surcharges. This is great news for flyers headed Down Under!

What is the best airline to fly to Australia?

If you’re considering booking business or first class flights, the best way to fly in first class is with Qantas. However, the flights are notoriously difficult to book with points, so it might not be realistic.

That being said, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines offer solid business class products, especially Delta One Suites.

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About Stephen Au

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Stephen has been privileged to enjoy many premium cabin products and 5-star hotels. As one of the foremost experts in credit cards, over the past 4 years, he has amassed a portfolio of over 70 credit cards, both personal and business. Stephen has personally tested, first-hand, almost every major rewards credit card on the market today, spanning banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, City National Bank, U.S. Bank, and more.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

21 comments

Marilyn B August 27, 2018

Have seen your posts on OMAAT. This is an absolutely awesome post! Will help me tremendously.

Reply
Tim June 18, 2019

I just wanted to let you know that your rates need updated…..badly. It says on the article that it was updated on May 10th of 2019, but it is obvious that it is not updated at all for current redemption rates. United Business class round trip Base Business fare is 200K each way, you have listed 80k! It is 90K business class with saver availability…..each way. Round trip is never under 180K. Please update.

Reply
- Stephen Au June 18, 2019
  
  Tim,
  
  Thanks for reading. You are incorrect in saying that business class is 90,000 United miles on United metal. It costs 80,000 miles each way on United Airlines-operated flights and 90,000 miles on Star Alliance partners.
  
  Reply
BV July 10, 2019

“As the only Star Alliance carrier operating nonstop flights between the U.S. and Australia, you will have limited opportunities to use your United MileagePlus miles. United operates 2 flights to Sydney (SYD): 1 from Houston International (IAH) and 1 from San Francisco (SFO).”

The above statement is incorrect. United flies to Sydney from LAX, SFO and IAH daily (except in the northern hemisphere summer, when they decrease service to 3x (LAX) and 4x (IAH) weekly). There are also daily flights from LAX and SFO to Melbourne (SFO service starting 10/2019) – uncertain on the seasonal variance in these flights. Hope that helps people.

Just scored some 4 award tickets to SYD 12/30 —- and there looks to be plenty to open (elite) business class award space (IN and PZ class) to Australia.

Reply
- Stephen Au July 16, 2019
  
  Hey Brent!
  
  Thanks for reading. We appreciate your feedback and we’re in the process of updating this piece.
  
  Reply
Hahm Burger November 16, 2019

You wrote: >>>….the importance of flexibility and being open to positioning flights can’t be understated. <<<

Should be: cant be OVERstated.

Reply
- Stephen Au November 18, 2019
  
  Hi Hahm,
  
  Thanks for the feedback. We changed the language accordingly.
  
  Reply
Brando December 19, 2019

FYI, the mileage cost from Hawaii to Sydney on Hawaiian (booking through Virgin Atlantic) is not accurate. It’s 40k economy each way

Reply
- Jarrod West December 23, 2019
  
  Hi Brando,
  
  Thanks for pointing this out. We have this post in the queue for editing and will have that corrected as soon as possible.
  
  Thanks for reading!
  
  Reply
- Julian April 15, 2020
  
  Yes, I just spent an hour on hold with Virgin trying to book the hnl – syd flight at 40k in biz only to find out it’s actually 65k. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
  
  In general, love your articles, but I hope these inaccuracies are updated soon.
  
  Reply
  - Stephen Au April 15, 2020
    
    Hey Julian,
    
    Thanks for the feedback. The accurate prices have been updated to reflect this.
    
    Please visit Virgin Atlantic’s Hawaiian Airlines page to confirm your information in the future.
    
    Reply
Steven January 19, 2020

Excellent article! Thank you! What about using Aeroplan points for AC or United? AC will have fuel surcharges but not if you originate out of Australia.

Reply
- Stephen Au January 22, 2020
  
  Hi Steven,
  
  Yes, this is definitely a viable option. Air Canada releases decent award availability, especially for their Vancouver (YVR) – Brisbane (BNE) route. That requires origination in Canada, as opposed to the U.S. Thanks for reading.
  
  Reply
Scott May 11, 2020

How early/late out does Avianca start to show business award space for the Sydney-LAX/SFO routes? Is it just hit and miss? I’m not seeing any for business class for next March/April so far.

Reply
- Jarrod West May 25, 2020
  
  Hi Scott,
  
  Avianca usually releases award space 360 days in advance for all of their routes – so award space for those dates should have been released already.
  
  With that said, those routes are extremely popular for award flights and usually, very few seats are released for award bookings. This does not mean that all hope is lost though, you can continue to check back periodically to see if any new seats are released or set up an alert via a platform like Expert Flyer.
  
  Reply
Yuval April 5, 2022

Hello,

I love your emails and articles! They helped me in the past with booking flights to Hawaii with miles.

This is a tricky one: there’s the British Airways Avios promotion at American Express. However, I don’t know how many miles will it cost me to book Qantas or American Airlines via British Airways website (unless if there’s another way to do it that I didn’t think of. I am a beginner here! lol)?

Since I only have 105,000 points and it’s the two of us, we’ll focus on economy flights.

Oh yes, the flights are for the end of the year to Sydney and it’s super expensive! I hope the miles can help us here. Also, how do I know if the dates I need are available for award miles? Are the black out dates?

Also, my wife has 75,000 miles with Alaska Airlines and 50,000 miles with Discover Miles. Maybe it can help as well?

Are there better options than the promotion of Avios? I am open to suggestions.

Thank you for all the help here! Keep up the good work! 🙂

Reply
- Stephen Au April 14, 2022
  
  Hi Yuval,
  
  If you are trying to figure out how to use British Airways Avios for a flight on Qantas or American Airlines, we’ve written a guide to walk you through how to redeem BA Avios for maximum value:
  
  https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/how-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/
  
  The number of Avios you will redeem depends on the flight distance of your itinerary. The longer you fly, the more it’ll cost in Avios.
  
  You can also redeem Alaska Airlines miles for flights on Qantas or American Airlines.
  
  Discover Miles are best used to offset travel costs since their value is pegged to 1 cent.
  
  Reply
Caleb Govoruhk August 28, 2022

Where are you seeing these prices? The round-trip United flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne is $2,900, and when click on the option to use points, the price goes up significantly. Definitely not the 1:1 ratio Amex says.

Reply
- Jarrod West August 29, 2022
  
  Hi Caleb,
  
  The prices shown in this post are the award prices for the respective airline award charts. If you look solely through the Amex Travel portal the price you will be shown is directly tied to the cash price. This is why we recommend using transfer partners.
  
  Reply
Richard August 29, 2022

Great article but I can’t seem to find any reference to Chase Ultimate points on the United Mileage Plus pages. Have I missed something? I have 149k points I’d like to redeem.

Thanks!!

Reply
- Jarrod West August 30, 2022
  
  Hi Richard,
  
  You have to transfer your Chase points to United first, read through our guide on the Chase transfer partners for assistance here.
  
  Reply

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