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$8.99 (as of September 18, 2024 12:33 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)In the article “Flying to Australia and New Zealand in Business Class on miles and points: A Success Story,” the author shares a compelling tale of Joanne and her family’s journey to Australia and New Zealand using miles and points. Despite the challenges of finding award availability, Joanne’s flexibility and strategic planning enabled her to secure Business Class flights. By utilizing various loyalty programs and taking advantage of transfer bonuses, Joanne and her family were able to embark on their desired trip, creating a memorable experience. This success story serves as an inspiration and a testament to the effectiveness of the miles and points strategy in achieving luxurious travel experiences.
Joanne’s Success Story to Australia
Introduction to Joanne’s travel history
Joanne has been accumulating miles and points for a few years now and got into the hobby when she Googled how to redeem her miles she earned from work travel, for her personal vacations. She ended up finding our site as well as a few others – within minutes of reading how all of this works, she was hooked and signed up for a few credit cards.
Accumulating miles and points
Fast forward to about a year ago, Joanne was wanting to take her family on a trip to Australia during the summer (November – February) – the family was super flexible and they didn’t mind when they traveled – ideally it would have been over Christmas, but we all know that may be close to impossible. Joanne lives in San Francisco and had collected the following miles and points over the past few years:
- 387,000 American Express Membership Rewards points
- 125,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
- 432,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles
- 83,000 British Airways Avios points
She also collected various hotel points so the family could use them for their stays in Australia. She ended up with a lot of AA miles from her work travels and definitely wanted to redeem those ASAP.
Desired travel dates
Her dates were flexible – go to Australia for 12 – 17 days between November and February.
Miles and points accumulated
Joanne lives in San Francisco and had collected the following miles and points over the past few years:
- 387,000 American Express Membership Rewards points
- 125,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
- 432,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles
- 83,000 British Airways Avios points
Desire to redeem American Airlines miles
She also collected various hotel points so the family could use them for their stays in Australia. She ended up with a lot of AA miles from her work travels and definitely wanted to redeem those ASAP.
Flexibility in travel dates
Her dates were flexible – go to Australia for 12 – 17 days between November and February.
Finding Award Availability: Outbound
Choosing to use British Airways Avios first
Joanne knew it was best to use up her British Airways Avios points first as she could easily transfer more in if needed. British Airways is part of the oneworld alliance and also has a few other airline partners – airlines that she could fly using these points on the most “direct” route include:
- American Airlines
- Fiji Airways
- Qantas Airways
Airlines that can be flown using Avios
American and Qantas do not release a lot of award availability in the premium cabins between North America and Australia – finding a seat in Business or First Class on this route is challenging. Fiji Airways operates flights to Vancouver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and does occasionally have availability in Business Class for multiple people on their flights to Nadi, Fiji.
Difficulty in finding availability with American and Qantas
Joanne searched availability date by date and not surprisingly, she did not find anything that would work with American or Qantas.
Availability with Fiji Airways
But she did find 3 dates in the entire range from November to February that had 3 or more seats in Business Class on the same flight.
Transferring AMEX points to British Airways
She ended up transferring AMEX points to British Airways to top-up her balance and was able to take advantage of a 20% transfer bonus at the time to book:
- San Francisco (SFO) to Nadi (NAN), Fiji Airways Business Class, 77,250 British Airways Avios per person
Booking the flight with Avios points
She ended up paying less than that due to the transfer bonus at the time. Joanne figured the family should relax in Fiji for a few days and booked an Economy Class flight to Sydney, Australia on Fiji Airways a few days later using Avios points, as well.
Flying Within Australia Using Avios
Expensive flights within Australia
Qantas Airways flights within Australia are not on the cheaper side – they can get expensive, but all Qantas fares include free baggage, snacks, and seat assignment.
Booking Qantas flights with British Airways Avios
Thankfully, you can easily book Qantas flights with British Airways Avios and short hops within Australia in Economy cost just 6,000 points plus some taxes. If you book in advance or on a route that has many daily flights, availability in Economy is generally excellent.
Cost of short hops within Australia in Economy
Joanne and her family booked the following flights all in Economy all using Avios:
- Sydney to Melbourne
- Melbourne to Adelaide
- Adelaide to Brisbane
Booking flights in advance
They divided up their time evenly in Australia between the major cities.
Flights booked by Joanne and her family
Joanne and her family booked the following flights all in Economy all using Avios:
- Sydney to Melbourne
- Melbourne to Adelaide
- Adelaide to Brisbane
Returning Home via Tahiti
Difficulty in finding availability on the return
Finding award availability on the return was a bit harder because she had to match it up with their outbound flight – after all, they didn’t have unlimited vacation time.
Using partner airlines to find availability
Joanne was having a hard time finding something using American Airlines miles until she looked at all of their partner airlines and noticed that in addition to flying on American, Fiji Airways, and Qantas, she could also redeem on Air Tahiti Nui from Tahiti to Los Angeles or Seattle.
Booking Air Tahiti Nui from Tahiti to Los Angeles or Seattle
Air Tahiti Nui does occasionally have a lot of award seats open in all of their cabins – Economy, Premium Economy, and Business.
Availability of Air Tahiti Nui flights
Joanne was finding only a maximum of two Business Class seats on the flight to Seattle and none on the flight to Los Angeles. She ended up booking the two seats in Business on the date that worked and hoped that a third seat might open up. AAdvantage allows free changes and cancelations, so she had flexibility, and a few weeks later more seats opened on that flight.
Booking a third seat in Business Class
The only issue was getting from Australia to Tahiti isn’t that easy, to join the flight from Tahiti to the U.S. – you need to go via Auckland, New Zealand, with the first flight on Qantas and the second on Air Tahiti.
Complex routing from Australia to Tahiti to the U.S.
Joanne was frustrated and a bit confused at this point, so she began to read more about how partner awards work with American Airlines AAdvantage and eventually understood the rules and was able to construct her own, custom routing that the website would never show her:
- Brisbane to Auckland, Qantas Economy
- Auckland to Tahiti, Air Tahiti Nui Business
- Tahiti to Seattle, Air Tahiti Nui Business
- Seattle to San Francisco, Alaska Airlines Economy
Understanding the rules of partner awards
The cost per person was 80k American Airlines miles, an excellent deal.
Constructing a custom routing with multiple airlines
This routing that Joanne came up with on her own was not easy. She first needed to find the long-haul flight that had availability and later search individually all of the connecting flights and hope they were all available and matched up. Some of the shorter flights were only available in Economy and Joanne was fine with that.
Cost of the flights per person
The cost per person was 80k American Airlines miles, an excellent deal.
Booking process and challenges faced
She also needed to be patient and call a few times to find an agent who was willing to construct this routing – this routing is perfectly allowed within the rules but some agents insist that you can only book something if it shows up “naturally” from origin to destination. Not true!
All in All
The importance of being creative in the miles and points hobby
The miles and points hobby is alive and well, but you need to get creative. Finding award availability isn’t as easy as searching from your house to your destination on your desired dates, you may get lucky, but in most cases you need to be way more flexible (or at least search more creatively).
The need for flexibility in travel plans
Joanne spent weeks reading about the ins and outs of the points she had and ultimately was proud of this redemption – and we are too!
The time and effort spent in researching and planning
Thanks so much to Joanne and her family for sharing this great success story and these incredible flights with us! The miles and points hobby requires time and effort spent in researching and planning, and it’s always rewarding when a redemption comes together.
Proud moment of redemption
Joanne was able to make her dream trip to Australia a reality using her miles and points. It was a proud moment for her and her family to see their planning and efforts pay off.
Acknowledgement and thanks to Joanne and her family
We would like to acknowledge and thank Joanne and her family for sharing their success story with us. Their experience serves as an inspiration for others looking to maximize their miles and points to travel in style.
