When you earn miles you should always try to maximize them by flying the farthest you can using the awards available by your airline. One country that provides great value since its is about 14 hours away flying time from the U.S. west coast is Australia.
When thinking about traveling to Australia from the U.S., consider landing in the cities with nonstop service:
- Brisbane
- Melbourne
- Sydney
Then you think about the airlines serving the routes with nonstop service and then connecting service. After that you look at the airlines that are members of your airline’s frequent flyer program as you can redeem miles either directly from your own airline or on the partner airlines.
Airlines serving Australia from the U.S. with nonstop service
- American Airlines (oneworld)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Sydney (SYD)
- Delta Air Lines (SkyTeam)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Sydney (SYD)
- Qantas (oneworld)
- Brisbane (BNE) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
- Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) to Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Sydney (SYD)
- United Airlines (Star Alliance)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Sydney (SYD)
- virgin australia
- Brisbane (BNE) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Sydney (SYD)
Airlines serving Australia from the U.S. with connecting service
- Air Canada (Star Alliance)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Vancouver, BC Canada (YVR) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Vancouver, BC Canada (YVR) to Sydney (SYD)
- San Diego, CA (SAN) to Vancouver, BC Canada (YVR) to Brisbane (BNE)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Vancouver, BC Canada (YVR) to Sydney (SYD)
- Seattle, WA (SEA) to Vancouver, BC Canada (YVR) to Sydney (SYD)
- Air New Zealand (Star Alliance)
- Houston, TX (IAH) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Houston, TX (IAH) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Melbourne (MEL)
- Houston, TX (IAH) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles, CA (SFO) Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Brisbane (BNE)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Melbourne (MEL)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Sydney (SYD)
- Asiana (Star Alliance)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Seoul, South Korea (ICN)
- Fiji Airways
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Nandi, Fiji (NAN) to Sydney (SYD)
- Hawaiian Airlines
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Sydney (SYD)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Korean Air (SkyTeam)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Seoul-Incheon, South Korean (ICN)
You can even get more adventurous and take any of the following carriers, connect in their hubs and head to Australia. You can typically connect in any of the large Asian hubs. The award cost may be a little different though since you may be traversing two separate regions.
- ANA (Star Alliance)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) to Sydney (SYD)
- Cathay Pacific (oneworld)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) to Melbourne (MEL)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) to Sydney (SYD)
- China Airlines (SkyTeam)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Shanghai-Pudong, People’s Republic of China (PVG) to Melbourne (MEL)
- China Eastern Airlines (SkyTeam)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Taipei, Taiwan (TPE) to Melbourne (MEL)
- China Southern Airlines (SkyTeam)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China (CAN) to Melbourne (MEL)
- Japan Airlines (oneworld)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Tokyo-Narita (NRT) to Sydney (SYD) [an overnight may be required]
- Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) to Brisbane (BNE)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) to Sydney (SYD)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) to Melbourne (MEL)
Plus you can mix airlines that are in the same alliance. As an example, you can take American Airlines to Honolulu and then take Qantas from Honolulu to Sydney.
So you have a lot of options if you remember that you can earn the miles on say United in the Mileage Plus program and redeem them on a carrier that connects to Australia from the U.S. As an example, you can take Air New Zealand from San Francisco to Auckland and then to Sydney or take their flight that stops in Fiji then to Australia. The possibilities are endless really.
Although Alaska Airlines does not serve Australia, they have partnerships with airlines that do, which is fantastic as you can earn the miles in their Mileage Plan program and redeem them on these partners. Its a great list of partners and you have several cabins and redemption levels. Let’s take a look:
| Cathay Pacific | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 40 000 | 80 000 |
| Premium Economy | 47 500 | 95 000 |
| Business | 60 000 | 120 000 |
| First Class | 80 000 | 160 000 |
| Delta | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 100 000 | 100 000 |
| Business Elite | 160 000 | 160 000 |
| Fiji Airways | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | 40 000 | 80 000 |
| Business | 55 000 | 110 000 |
| Korean Air | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | 85 000 | 85 000 |
| Business | 125 000 | 125 000 |
Qantas One-way Round-trip
Coach 42 500 85 000
Premium Coach 47 500 95 000
Business 55 000 110 000
First Class 70 000 140 000
^ add 10,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
* add 20,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
~ add 50,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
In comparison, here is what it will cost you in mileage redemption on the airlines with service from the U.S. to Australia if redeemed directly.
| American Airlines | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Class | 40 000 | 80 000 |
| Business Class | 80 000 | 160 000 |
| First Class | 110 000 | 220 000 |
| Delta Air Lines | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Class | 60 000 | 120 000 |
| Economy Class (Delta Comfort) | 57 500 | 115 000 |
| Partner Economy Class | 45 000 | 90 000 |
| Business Class (Delta One) | 100,000/110,000 | 200,000/220,000 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Class | 60,000-100,000 | 120,000-200,000 |
| First Class | 105,000-210,000 | 210,000-420,000 |
| Qantas | One-way | Round-trip |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 45 000 | 90 000 |
| Premium Economy | 72 000 | 144 000 |
| Business | 96 000 | 192 000 |
| First | 144 000 | 288 000 |
United One-way Round-trip
Economy Class 40,000/85,000 80,000/170,000
Business/First Class 70,000^/175,000* 140,000"/350,000`
Star Alliance Partners First Class 80,000~ 160,000'
^ add 20,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
* add 40,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
~ add 100,000 additional miles if aircraft has both First and Business class and First Class Award is chosen. Note: This route only has two-cabin aircraft
You can book these awards on the airline’s website or contact them via phone. Note that for Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and Qantas, you can book those via American Airlines’ website since they are partners. Similarly you can book Virgin Australia on Delta’s website using your Delta miles. You have to go to Virgin Australia’s site to book their award seats.
Some things to remember
A visa is required. You can get one online for select citizenships including U.S. or at the airport at check-in.
Australia is in the southern hemisphere so the seasons are the opposite of the U.S. so pack accordingly.
Summary
You can get to Australia for as little as 40,000 miles each way in economy class, not bad at all considering the length of the journey and the adventure on the other end. It’s essential that you check all the possibilities as you can see there are plenty. One other thing to check is to see if your award allows you any free stopovers in the connecting cities, so you can have two vacations in one. Have fun heading to Australia.