Flying to Australia and New Zealand with Points in Economy {Guide}

Australia and New Zealand are exciting destinations with so much to offer. Because they’re a long distance from the United States, flight costs to get there are often high. But by using points and miles to offset the cost, you can make this dream destination a reality for your family.

Even though it’s so far away, there are many options for getting to Australia and New Zealand using points. In this article, I’ll show you what the options are, how to earn the right points, and include booking tips. 

If you’re new to booking flights with points, be sure to check out this overview for important background information. You can also sign up for our free course. You’ll want to be sure you understand how to find the best routes, price compare with Google Flights, how to search for available flights, and how to leverage transfer partners and airline alliances.

Earn More Points

Each airline option I list in this article has more than one credit card that can earn you a welcome bonus and the points you need to fly to Australia or New Zealand. This article is already long enough without listing out every single card you could get for each of these programs to earn points.

So how can you figure out how to earn the right points? First step: get our free airline transfer partner guide — inside we have a chart that shows which kinds of points transfer to which airlines. Then work backwards! Let’s say you figure out that you want to fly on American but you want to book via Cathay Pacific (this article explains exactly how to do that).

You can look at the chart in my Travel Points 201 guide and see that American Express Membership Rewards®, BILT Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou® Points all transfer 1:1 to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Then you could browse my Best Offers page, where I list all my favorite current offers–to see which cards currently have good bonuses and earn those kinds of points.

Pro Tip: Transfer Bonuses

Most points transfer 1:1 when you transfer from a program like Chase Ultimate Rewards® to an airline or hotel. But! Banks run promos throughout the year and certain transfers may offer a bonus. I don’t currently maintain an updated list of transfer bonuses but you can find one here.

 

Top Three Options: American Airlines, Qantas, and Alaska Airlines

These programs offer a balance of good pricing and lower taxes and fees. What makes the most sense for you may depend on your home airport, preferred routings, and what type of points you have.

Keep in mind that you can use one type of airline points one direction and a different one on the return.

And don’t forget that booking via a bank’s travel portal is still a strong option. It’s not uncommon for flights to Australia and New Zealand to be in the $800-$1200 range. Depending on what credit card you have, you could book a $1,000 flight for around 67,000-100,000 points with taxes included. 

If you’re looking at flights in the travel portal, consider flying into Brisbane. You can often find cheaper rates to Brisbane than other major cities like Sydney and Melbourne. 

American Airlines non-stop from Los Angeles to Sydney

A roundtrip from Los Angeles to Sydney costs 70,000 miles and around $100 in taxes and fees when booked through American. 

The great thing about American Airlines is that it usually doesn’t cost any more miles to add a connection from your home airport. You might have to be flexible with dates to find a flight at the lowest price, but it’s usually possible.

American Airlines also doesn’t charge any fees to change or cancel your flight.

Sample Card Strategy for a Family of Four

American Airlines miles are relatively easy to earn via credit card bonuses because both Citi and Barclay issue them. You’d need 280,000 AA miles for 4 people to fly round trip from the US to Sydney. How can you get that? Earn the following sign up bonuses (these were current as of July 2024).

• AAdvantage^® Aviator^® Mastercard 70,000 miles- Each parent can get 1 of these. That’s already 140,000 miles! {see this offer on my Best Offers page, it’s only available via personal referral}
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® – 65,000 miles – Each parent can get one of these. That’s another 138,000 miles after you do your spending! Alternatively you could get the personal version of this card.

With those 4 card bonuses you’ll earn almost enough miles (just 2,000 short) to cover 4 roundtrip tickets. If you need additional tickets, you can use American Airlines EShopping to earn additional miles or spend a little more on your cards.

Using Qantas to go to New Zealand

To fly from the west coast to Auckland booked with Qantas costs about 75,000 miles and $160 in taxes and fees roundtrip. 

Qantas tends to have more award availability to/from New Zealand than other programs which makes this a nice option. Plus you can transfer points from several different banks so it’s easy to earn a lot of points with Qantas.

Though Qantas is based in Australia, it offers a nonstop route from JFK to Auckland, New Zealand which is a strong option from the East Coast. 

Sample Card Strategy 

Stockpile flexible points that transfer to Qantas. There are several ways to do this so you have plenty of options! Capital One, AMEX, and Citi all transfer to Qantas. You can also use FlyingBlue miles to book onto Qantas flights and this may be worth it when Flying Blue has transfer bonuses which are fairly frequent. 

• Open cards that earn Capital One miles. One of my favorites for perks is the Capital One Venture X (earn 75,000 miles) but you can also earn 75,000 miles with a $95 fee Capital One Venture card.
• Open cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards® Points
• Open cards that earn Citi ThankYou® Points like the Citi Strata Premier® Card. This card also offers good travel insurance. 

Tip: You can transfer points from different banks to your Qantas account to pool your points there. So For example, you could transfer 150,000 points from Capital One and 150,000 points from Citi. Then you would have 300,000 points in your Qantas account which is enough to book 4 roundtrip tickets to New Zealand.

Alaska Airlines with a stopover in Fiji

This is a fun option that includes a free stopover! Flights to Australia start at 37,500 points each way when booked with Alaska Airlines. Adding a stopover is free, even on a one way ticket.

You’d need to depart from LAX, SFO, or Vancouver, Canada. 

Fiji is on the way to Australia or New Zealand geographically and would be a fun place to add a stopover. You can break up the long trip and enjoy an extra destination for free!

If you need to reposition to take advantage of this deal, Southwest Companion Passes are a great option.

Sample Card Strategy

• Sign up for the Alaska Mileage Plan Credit Card when it has an elevated offer. Look for an offer of 70,000 miles. Refer the second parent to the same card to earn more miles. 
• Sign up for the Alaska Mileage Plan Business Card when it has an elevated offer. Both parents can get this card as well.

To earn additional miles, use MileagePlus Shopping when shopping online. You can also check out BILT and earn more miles that way. BILT Rewards is the only transfer partner for Alaska Airlines.

With the Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines merger, it’s now possible to transfer Hawaiian Airlines miles to Alaska Airlines. American Express Membership Rewards® points transfer to Hawaiian at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can transfer from American Express to Hawaiian Airlines, and then take those points and transfer them to Alaska Airlines. Note that American Express charges a small excise fee to transfer points to Hawaiian.

If you don’t have enough Alaska Airlines miles for a roundtrip, consider booking a one way ticket and book your return flight using a different program. Alaska offers free stopovers even on a one way flight so you could still do the stopover in Fiji!

 

Routing Tips for Flights to Australia and New Zealand

There are several non-stop routes from North America to Australia and New Zealand. For example you can fly to Sydney non-stop from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, and Vancouver.

Other major cities like Auckland, Melbourne, and Brisbane have a few non-stop options as well.

If you don’t live near an airport that offers a nonstop, flying to Australia or New Zealand will require one or more connections. If you can easily get to a large airport like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, or Dallas, you can then get one of the non-stop flights from there.

Route Through Asia

Another common way to get down under is to route through Asia. You can fly from the US to a major city like Singapore, Seoul, or Tokyo, then continue to Australia or New Zealand from there.

Check out this overview for important background information on how to find good routes to book with points.

Pro Tip: Add a Stopover

You can get a bonus trip by adding a stop over on your way to you final destination.

It’s a long way from the United States to Australia and New Zealand. It’s about the farthest you can go! One of the best strategies to help make the long travel time bearable is to intentionally add in stopovers. There are several airline programs that allow you to add a stopover for a couple of days for free.

This means a few days to explore an additional destination for little to no fee. Even an overnight stopover can really help break up the journey: you get off the plane, book an airport hotel and get a good night’s sleep, and then continue to your final destination.

We have a complete guide that walks you through how to add a stopover with Air Canada Aeroplan. Several other airlines allow you to add stopovers as well including Alaska Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and more.

Returning to the US

Something I discovered while researching this post is that it’s easier to find award availability returning to the US from Australia than New Zealand.

While decent award availability for flights TO New Zealand is common, flights returning to the US are much harder to find, especially when looking for the lowest “saver” fares.

If you’re interested in visiting both Australia and New Zealand, consider flying into New Zealand and then returning from Australia.

For example, you could fly into Auckland, spend some time in New Zealand, take a quick flight over to Australia, and book your return flight from a large city like Sydney or Melbourne.

And if you want to return from New Zealand, it IS possible to find award availability, you might just need to be a bit more flexible. Qantas is a good program to look at specifically for returns from New Zealand, they tend to have decent availability.

Consider Booking with Different Airlines

Another important thing to remember is that most of the time, you can book an outgoing flight with one airline program and return using a different program. It usually won’t cost any more in miles or taxes to do it this way and it can give you a lot more flexibility to help you find the best deals.

A notable exception is ANA which requires roundtrip or open jaw bookings when using points.

 

 

Star Alliance Sweet Spots

The best way to book flights onto these Star Alliance carriers is not necessarily with their own points and miles currencies. Star Alliance airlines release certain seats to other Star Alliance airlines to allow bookings with points. So you could use United miles to book onto ANA and vice versa.

The major options for booking Star Alliance flights with easy-to-earn points are via ANA, Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles, Singapore Krisflyer, and United Mileage Plus. As you’ll see, pricing in miles varies a lot — even within the same airline program. The airline you actually fly on can make a huge difference in both the mileage cost and the taxes and fees.

Note: Air New Zealand is a member of the Star Alliance and seems like a logical choice, but they don’t tend to release many award seats. If you want to fly with them and use points, try using your points by booking through a travel site like Chase Travel. 

How to search for Star Alliance award availability:

For United flights, search on United.com to see 30 day availability. Look for United awards marked “Saver” — these are the ones that will be released to alliance partners. Those are usually 55,000 miles each way but it’s possible to find them cheaper on occasion.

If you want to fly on ANA and plan to book directly with ANA – search directly on ANA for these — you may find increased availability over what partners show.

ANA Mileage Club: From 75,000 miles + $121 or 70,000 miles + $294

Best for: Paying less in miles. A downside, however, is that ANA tacks on fuel surcharges, which can result in significant taxes and fees. Flights operated by United and Singapore Airlines may have lower taxes and fees.

Transferring Points: American Express Membership Rewards® is the only transfer partner. Points can be transferred to ANA at a 1:1 ratio. Transfers take up to 48 hours, and ANA does not hold award space while transfers are pending.

Cost: The mileage required for ANA and partner-operated flights is based on their award charts. There are different charts for ANA operated flights and partner flights.

Economy flights to Australia and New Zealand start at 70,000 miles roundtrip when flying on ANA and 75,000 miles roundtrip when booked with a partner airline.

Notes: To see prices in USD, you must be logged into the US website. Visit ana.co.jp/en/us/. If your travel dates are flexible, use the “Compare Seat Availability +/-3 days” tab. When using points with ANA, you can only book roundtrip or open jaw itineraries.

ANA Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on United) 75,000 miles + $121

 

ANA Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on ANA) 70,000 miles + $294

 

Air Canada Aeroplan: from 100,000 miles + CA $267

Best for: When you want to add a Star Alliance stopover. Also can work for flights from smaller regional airports.

Transferring Points From: Points from American Express, Chase, Capital One, and BILT Rewards can all be transferred to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. These transfers are typically instant. Transfer bonuses are frequent.

Cost: Rates start at 50,000 miles each way. Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart so the price varies depending on how far you fly. Since Australia and New Zealand are VERY far from North America, redemption rates can be high.

Notes: Aeroplan divides the world into zones for award pricing. Australia and New Zealand are part of the Pacific zone. The program offers separate award charts for partner and Air Canada-operated flights. Most fights to Australia and New Zealand fall into the highest two distance bands, meaning they cost between 50,000-110,000 miles each way. Partner flights are 50,000, 60,000 or 75,000 miles each way. You can find the cheapest rates from West Coast airports like LAX or SFO.

See the Aeroplan Award Chart

Booking Tips: Aeroplan offers flexibility by allowing you to book one way flights and add stopovers for just 5,000 miles each. This option allows you to explore another city or country for a minimal points increase, making it a great way to maximize your travel experience!

Even smaller regional airports can have reasonable pricing. The availability to book onto United through Air Canada from smaller airports will depend on if United has released “saver level” seats from that smaller airport to their partners.

Aeroplan Booking Example: SFO to SYD (on United) 110,000 miles + CA $329

 

Aeroplan Booking Example: EWR to AKL (on United and Air Canada) 111,700 miles + CA $238

Note: Availability for the New York to Auckland route is hard to find on Air Canada. You’ll need to be flexible with dates in order to find the lowest prices.

Avianca LifeMiles: from 80,000 miles + $95

Best for: Low prices on Star Alliance partners and when you know your trip is going to happen (big change fees)

Transferring Points From: Points from American Express, Citi, Capital One, and BILT can all be transferred to LifeMiles at a 1:1 ratio.

Cost: The standard price for an economy ticket to Australia or New Zealand is 80,000 miles round trip — or 40,000 miles each way. LifeMiles avoids passing on fuel surcharges, so you can expect lower taxes and fees. They do charge a $25 per person fee to book each ticket.

Note: Their customer service can be inconsistent, so be prepared for potential challenges if you need to make changes to your booking. They also charge hefty fees to cancel or change your ticket so it’s a good idea to make sure of your dates before booking.

It’s hard to find availability to and from New Zealand. Flights to Australia are easier to find.

Booking Tips: You’ll need to create an account and log in to www.lifemiles.com. Enter your departure and arrival cities to search for both one way and roundtrip flights.

LifeMiles offers three search categories: “Smart Search,” “Avianca,” and “Star Alliance.” For Star Alliance award flights, choose either “Smart Search” (which includes Star Alliance and Avianca flights) or “Star Alliance.”

LifeMiles Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on United) 80,000 miles + $95

Singapore Airlines: from 121,000 miles + $137

Best for: Flying on Singapore Airlines and including a free stopover. Departures from LAX, SFO, SEA, and NYC airports. But overall, pricing is high, so we’d recommend avoiding this one. 

Transferring Points: Points from Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One can be transferred to Singapore KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio.

Cost: Singapore Airlines Saver Award fares to Australia and New Zealand start at 60,500 miles for a one way economy flight. It is possible to book other Star Alliance flights with Singapore Airlines and those cost 66,000 miles each.

Singapore Saver Award Chart

 

Booking Tips (How to Book a Stopover): Singapore offers a lot of connecting flights to Australia and New Zealand. Certain Singapore Airlines itineraries may be eligible for a free stopover. You’ll receive an alert during the online booking process if a stopover is possible on your chosen route. This is typically available on a round trip itinerary but not a one way.

You can see that your route is eligible for a free stopover if you see this button while booking.

Singapore Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Singapore) 121,000 miles + $137

Singapore Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on United) 132,000 miles + $121

Singapore Booking Example: JFK to AKL (on Singapore) 132,000 miles + $162

United Airlines: From 98,100 miles + $99

Best for: If you want to book a United nonstop from San Francisco or LAX.

Transferring Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United at a 1:1 ratio (instant transfer).

Cost: The standard “Saver Award” fare price for flights to Australia and New Zealand is 55,000 miles each way. United technically uses dynamic pricing so it’s possible to find flights priced slightly lower.

 United MileagePlus Cardholders have access to more “saver award space” (flights with lower mileage requirements) than non-cardholders.

Note: United often allows adding a connection from a smaller airport for little to no cost. This offers a more convenient alternative to booking a separate repositioning flight to reach San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Booking Tip: With the Excursionist perk, you can essentially add a stopover for free.

United Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on United) 110,000 miles + $121

 

United Booking Example: LAX to AKL (on United) 98,100 miles + $99

Note: These flights route through San Francisco, but because of dynamic pricing, in this case it’s cheaper to start in LAX. The same departing flight starting in San Francisco costs 55,000 miles instead of 47,000.

United Booking Example: EWR to AKL (on United) 110,000 miles + $99

 

 

 

 

 

oneworld Sweet Spots

The major options for booking oneworld flights to Australia and New Zealand are via American Airlines, British Airways Avios, Alaska Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.

Overall, American Airlines typically offers the lowest cost in both miles and taxes & fees.

American Airlines: From 70,000 miles + $104

Best for: low points cost and reasonable taxes and fees. It’s relatively easy to earn AA miles due to a number of personal and business cards that offer welcome bonuses.

Transferring Points From: Currently, American Airlines has no transfer partners. However, you can earn American miles through various co-branded credit cards and their two shopping portals (AAdvantage Shopping and Simply Miles).

Cost: The cost of award tickets for American-operated flights uses dynamic pricing, but starts at 35,000 miles each way. Taxes and fees are also low, usually around $100 roundtrip.

The nice thing about American is that they offer the 35k rate from smaller airports as well. That means you can typically add a connection from your home airport without paying any additional miles or needing to book a repositioning flight.

Booking Tips: A valuable tool for flexible travelers is the AA Award Map. This map allows you to search for award flights by region based on the number of miles you have available.

AA Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on American) 70,000 miles + $104

AA Booking Example: JFK to AKL (on American and Qantas) 80,000 miles + $94

 

Alaska Airlines from 75,000 miles + $165

Best for: Booking free stopovers, even on a one way flight. Especially good for booking a stopover in Fiji which is on the way there geographically.

Transferring Points: Alaska Mileage Plan only has one transfer partner: BILT Rewards. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. However, you can earn miles through their co-branded credit cards and their shopping portal (MileagePlus Shopping). It’s hard to earn a lot of Alaska miles. But you can look for credit card offers when they are about 70,000 miles for the business or personal version which can almost cover a round trip to Australia or New Zealand.

With the Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines merger, it’s now possible to transfer Hawaiian Airlines miles to Alaska Airlines. American Express Membership Rewards® points transfer to Hawaiian at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can transfer from American Express to Hawaiian Airlines, and then take those points and transfer them to Alaska Airlines. Note that American Express charges a small excise fee to transfer points to Hawaiian.

There is a lot of speculation on whether or not American Express will remove Hawaiian Airlines as a transfer partner or whether or not Alaska will devalue a lot of their awards as a result of the merger. We don’t know what this might look like in the future, but for now it does make earning Alaska Airlines points easier than it used to be!

Cost: Flights start at 37,500 miles each way. Alaska uses a distance-based award chart. This means that longer routes take more miles.

Alaska Partner Award Chart

 

Notes: While Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly directly to Australia or New Zealand, they offer partner availability with access to Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, Qantas, and others.

Booking Tips: To easily see the dates with the lowest prices, use the calendar view.

One of the best perks of the Alaska Mileage program is the ability to book a free stopover on a one way flight. This lets you break up your journey and see another destination for free. Stopovers can use American Airlines and a max of one other partner airline.

To search for a free stopover, you need to select “Multi City” To view award availability and pricing by month, check the “Award Calendar” option during your search.

Alaska Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Fiji Airways) 75,000 miles + $165

You can use the Alaska program to book a non-stop flight from LAX to SYD flying on American Airlines or Qantas, but it costs more miles.

Alaska Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on American) 85,000 miles + $138

Alaska Booking Example: EWR to AKL (on Qantas) 85,000 miles + $119

British Airways Avios from 103,000 miles + $193

Best for: British Airways charges a lot of miles and high taxes and fees so I generally don’t recommend booking with them. That being said, if you can utilize a transfer bonus or you happen to have a lot of Avios, it may make sense for you. The best value they offer is booking onto Qantas.

Transferring Points: Points from Chase, American Express, Capital One, and BILT can all be transferred to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio. It’s generally not a good idea to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to British Airways because the transfer rate is so low. 

Cost: British Airways uses a distance based award chart. Their prices vary depending on what airline you’re flying and where you’re going. British is notorious for passing on fuel charges so their taxes and fees are typically high, even when booking partner airlines.

Booking Tips: Go to Britishairways.com and under book choose “book a flight with Avios”. You’ll need to sign in to search. Input your departure and arrival cities along with your preferred dates.

British Airways Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Qantas) 103,000 points + $193

British Airways Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on American) 103,000 points + $402

This is more expensive both in points and taxes than either Alaska or American Airlines but since all major banks transfer to Avios this may make sense for booking Qantas with a transfer bonus.

Cathay Pacific from 80,000 miles + $163

Best for: If you have transferrable points and want to book onto American Airlines.

Transfer Points From: Points from American Express, Capital One, Citi, and BILT can all be transferred to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a 1:1 ratio.

Cost: Cathay Pacific uses a distance based chart. The longest distance caps out at 38,000 Asia Miles each way for Cathay flights which means all economy round trips cost a max of 76,000 miles plus taxes. Partner awards to Australia and New Zealand cost 40,000 miles each way. Cathay Pacific, like British Airways, passes on large fuel surcharges on award tickets, especially for their own flights. Some partner awards have lower taxes and fees.

Booking Tips: Go to Cathaypacific.com and under flights choose “Redeem flights”. You’ll need to sign in to search. Input your departure and arrival cities along with your preferred dates.

Cathay Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on American) 80,000 miles + $163

Cathay Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Cathay) 76,000 miles + $736

 

Finnair from 80,000 miles + $352

Best for: Nothing really, but it’s an option if you have a lot of Avios or transferrable points.

Transfer Points From: Points from American Express can be transferred to Finnair at a 1:1 ratio. Another way to get Finnair miles is to connect your existing Avios account with Finnair. For example, Capital One, Citi, and BILT (along with American Express) can all be transferred to British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio. Once you have the points in your British Airways account, you can transfer them to your Finnair account.

Cost: Finnair uses an award chart for booking partner airlines. The price from North America to Australia is 40,000 miles each way, plus taxes and fees. Like British Airways and Cathay, Finnair passes on large fuel surcharges on award tickets.

Finnair Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Qantas) 80,000 miles + $352

Qantas: from 75,200 miles + $159

Best for: Flights to New Zealand, especially from the West Coast. Good availability for award tickets in general.

Transfer points from: American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou® Points all transfer to Qantas.

Cost: Reward flights booked through Qantas are based on distance. The farther you go, the more miles it will cost. Taxes and fees can be high, but there are some reasonable options.

Notes: Qantas has better availability for flights to and from New Zealand than many other carriers. If you’re having a hard time finding availability, it’s worth giving Qantas a look! Also note that though Qantas is in the oneworld alliance, it also partners with Flying Blue which can be another option for booking these flights. See the SkyTeam section for more details. 

Qantas Airways Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Qantas and Fiji Airways) 83,800 miles + $253

Note: You can pay slightly less in taxes and fees by flying Fiji airways on the return, but it includes a stop in Fiji. Qantas does not offer free stopovers, but layovers under 24 hours are included so you could enjoy a long layover and break up your journey home.

Qantas Airways Booking Example: LAX to AKL (on Fiji Airways) 75,200 miles + $159

Qantas Airways Booking Example: JFK to AKL (on Qantas) 102,400 miles + $236

 

 

 

SkyTeam Sweet Spots

SkyTeam has a few airlines that offer routing from the US to Australia and New Zealand. There aren’t a lot of great options, but it’s helpful to know what’s possible for comparison. 

Delta Airlines from 76,000 miles + $139

Best for: When Delta has a sale, which is unpredictable and can be hard to find.

Transferring Points: Points transfer from American Express but you will pay a small fee for the transfer. You can also earn Delta miles from co-branded American Express cards.

Cost: Delta uses variable pricing so prices change regularly. If you can catch a sale, there are definitely good deals to be had, but it’s not something I would count on. However, if you have Delta points or a lot of AMEX points, it’s worth checking because you may get lucky.

Notes: The cheapest rates on Delta are typically in basic economy which doesn’t include things like seat selection. You can upgrade to a main cabin booking by paying additional miles.

Delta Booking Example: LAX to SYD 76,000 miles + $139

Delta Booking Example: JFK to AKL 136,000 miles + $99

Virgin Atlantic: from 124,000 miles + $155

Best for: flights booked on Korean Air

Transferring Points: Points from Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One can all be transferred to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio. Note that Capital One officially transfer to Virgin Red. You can link a Virgin Red account to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to use those points to book flights. Frequent transfer bonuses make it easier to get more points.

Cost: Virgin Atlantic uses a distance based chart. This means that flights from the West Coast are cheapest and then further east will be more expensive.

Note:  It’s usually possible to book Delta flights with Virgin, but it’s very hard to find availability to Australia and New Zealand this way. I couldn’t find a single flight available to book, even when checking on multiple different occasions. 

Virgin Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Korean Air) 124,000 miles + $196

Virgin Booking Example: LAX to AKL (on Korean Air) 124,000 miles + $155

 

Virgin Booking Example: JFK to AKL (on Korean Air) 136,000 miles + $155

Flying Blue from 81,000 miles + $281

Best for: Reasonable point prices on Qantas flights, especially if you can utilize a transfer bonus. 

Transfer points from: Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou® Points.

Cost: Cost will depend on your route. Award flights to Australia and New Zealand with Flying Blue start at 40,500 miles each way. Transfer bonuses are frequent which can make for an even better deal.

Taxes and fees are higher than some other options, but the low point price may make it worth it, especially when paired with the child discount and/or a transfer bonus. With a 25% transfer bonus, you would only need 64,800 miles to book an 81,000 point flight.

Note: Flying Blue and Qantas aren’t in the same alliance, but they do partner together. That means you can use Flying Blue points to book onto Qantas and vice versa.

Flying Blue Booking Example: LAX to SYD (on Qantas) 81,000 miles + $281

Flying Blue Booking Example: LAX to AKL (on Qantas) 101,000 + $292

Flying Blue Booking Example: JFK to AKL (on Qantas) 95,000 miles + $267

 

 

 

 

 

 

Award Redemption Comparison

Here is a chart comparing all of the airlines we talked about. As you can see, prices vary a lot.