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While you can sometimes get return flights to the US for less than $1,000, depending on sales and when you book, it’s also possible to cover the cost of your airfares with frequent flyer or credit card reward points. Here, we compare how many points you’d need for a reward flight to the US with six of the most popular rewards programs in Australia. Your destination in the US affects the cost of the fare, so we’ve focused on flights that depart from capital cities in Australia and fly to Los Angeles airport (LAX), where the majority of flights from Australia to the US land.
Classic Flight Rewards lets you use Qantas Points to pay for eligible flights with Qantas, Jetstar and partner airlines. If you’re travelling with an eligible family member such as your partner or child, you can also use points to pay for their fare. However, availability is limited, so make sure you plan ahead if you want to use Qantas Points for a trip to the US.
Here you can see how many Qantas Points you’d need for an economy or business class flight to LA. We’ve included details of the points needed for both one-way and return flights from each capital city in Australia.
| Departure city | One-way economy flight | Return economy flight | One-way business class flight | Return business class flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney | 45,000 points | 90,000 points | 96,000 points | 192,000 points |
| Darwin | 55,000 points | 110,000 points | 112,000 points | 224,000 points |
| Perth | 60,000 points | 120,000 points | 128,000 points | 256,000 points |
Point values are based on search results from 18 April 2018.
Follow these steps to redeem your Qantas Points for a Classic Flight Reward ticket to the US:
You can also book your flights through the Qantas Contact Centre by calling 13 13 13 from Australia. A booking fee of $70 per person applies if you use this option.
These are the key details to keep in mind when you want to use Qantas Points for a trip to the US:
You can use your Qantas Points to upgrade an existing Qantas flight to the US. To give you an idea of the cost, an upgrade to business class on a one-way economy flight from Sydney to LAX is worth 90,000 points. That’s the same as the points needed for a return economy rewards flight, but could be worth it depending on the original cost of your fare and reward seat availability.
If you’re a Velocity Frequent Flyer member, using your points for a Reward Seat flight to the US usually offers the most value. Another option is to use your points for an Any Seat reward, which gives you more flexibility with dates and flights but may use up more of your hard-earned points.
Below, we look at the key details for both Reward Seat and Any Seat options, including estimates of the points you’d need to fly to the US from a capital city in Australia.
Reward Seat bookings typically offer the biggest bang for your points but are subject to availability. The table below shows how many points you’d need for one-way and return flights to LAX in either economy or business class, based on details from Velocity’s points tables and the estimated miles for direct flights. Note that fees and taxes are excluded from the points prices quoted on Velocity’s reward tables and calculators, as they vary between fares and flights.
| Departure city | One-way economy flight | Return economy flight | One-way business class flight | Return business class flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney | 44,800 points | 89,600 points | 95,500 points | 191,000 points |
| Perth | 54,800 points | 109,600 points | 111,500 points | 223,000 points |
Point values based on data from Velocity website sourced on 18 April 2018
Keep in mind that Velocity’s airline partners may not offer direct flights to LA from all Australian capital cities. When that’s the case, you might need to add a connecting domestic flight to the booking. For example, if you want to fly to LAX from Perth with Virgin Australia, you will need to book a connecting flight from Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or Singapore. This would increase the amount of points needed to get to the US.
With the Any Seat reward option, you can use your Velocity Points to pay for any flight bookings with Virgin Australia. This gives you a way to avoid the availability restrictions of Reward Seat bookings – which may not be available at peak travel times. While Any Seat rewards have more flexibility with flights, fare classes and dates, they do require more points than you typically need for a Reward Seat. The amount of points you need for an Any Seat reward flight to the US varies based on factors including the retail cost of the flight, the fare class and when you’re flying.
To give you a general idea of how many points you might need, the following table shows examples of point costs for a one-way flight from Sydney to Los Angeles on 31 October 2018. We’ve also included details of the fare class, costs in dollars and how much value you’d get from your points with these options.
| Booking payment option | Economy Getaway | Economy Elevate | Economy Freedom | Business Saver | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Seat points | 132,700 points | 190,800 points | 239,700 points | 1,472,800 points | 1,647,800 points |
| Cash payment cost | $795.28 | $1,144.28 | $1,437.28 | $8,836.28 | $9,886.28 |
| Approximate point value per $1 of fare | 1 point = 0.59 cents | 1 point = 0.59 cents | 1 point = 0.59 cents | 1 point = 0.59 cents | 1 point = 0.59 cents |
Fare costs based on flight search on 18 April 2018.
In this case, all of the fares that were available for points or cash payments offered the same point value of 0.59 cents (or $0.0059), when calculated to four decimal places. (If you wanted to drill down further, there was slight variation in values around seven decimal places).
On the flipside, paying for one of these fares would usually offer you a higher point-to-dollar value. For example, on the Business Saver fare, you’d earn 2 Velocity Points per mile flown, or around 14,990 points. When weighed against the fare cost of $8,734.88, this means you’re getting the equivalent to 1.72 points per $1 spent (rounded to the nearest two decimal places).
This shows how your options and point values can vary. So, for example, if you wanted the most value from your flights, you would actually benefit more from buying a cash fare and earning points on your flight. But if you want to use points and need flexibility, then the Any Seat option is worth considering.
Keep these details in mind to help you make the most of your Velocity Points when you fly to the US:
If you have an American Express Membership Rewards credit card, you can use your points to book flights to the US directly through your account. You can also transfer your Membership Rewards points to an eligible frequent flyer program and redeem flights from there.
The Membership Rewards program lets you use points to pay for travel bookings via American Express Travel, Webjet or selected Helloworld locations. The amount of points you need depends on the retail cost of the fare, and can also vary depending on the Membership Rewards stream you’re enrolled in.
As a guide, the American Express website states that 10,000 Membership Rewards points equals $100 of your travel booking. So, in the table below, you can see how many points you might need for one-way and return fares to the US based on this point-to-dollar ratio:
| Fare cost | Membership Rewards points needed |
|---|---|
| $1,000 | 100,000 points |
| $1,500 | 150,000 points |
| $2,000 | 200,000 points |
Costs are accurate as of 18 April 2018.
The Membership Rewards program also gives you the option of transferring your points to a range of frequent flyer programs, including Velocity, Air New Zealand Airpoints, Asia Miles and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. With this option, the point transfer rates vary depending on your Membership Rewards account and the frequent flyer program.
As a general guide, the American Express website lists a transfer rate of 1:1, based on Membership Rewards Ascent. The transfer rate/s available to you are shown when you log in to your Membership Rewards account.
How to transfer credit card points to a frequent flyer program
Let’s take a look at the potential value of this option. If you had 100,000 Membership Rewards points on a card enrolled in the Ascent program, such as the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card, you could redeem them for 100,000 Velocity Points. That’s enough for a return economy flight (starting from 89,600 points) or a one-way business class flight (starting from 95,500 points) when flying direct from most Australian capital cities.
If you’re planning to use Membership Rewards points for flights to the US, keep these details in mind.
With CommBank Awards, you can use points to get to the US by redeeming them for flights booked with Flight Centre. You can also transfer your points to an eligible frequent flyer program and then redeem them for flights.
Using this option, you can use your CommBank Awards points to pay for flight bookings made online via the CommBank Awards website, or at selected travel agencies around Australia including Flight Centre, Escape Travel, Student Flights and Travel Associates.
Aside from the minimum 2,500 points, CommBank Awards does not openly provide details of the amount of points you need for this type of flight reward. Instead, you may be able to find out how many points you need by logging in to your CommBank Awards account, visiting Flight Centre or calling the CommBank Awards Centre on 13 16 61 between 8am and 8pm on weekdays (AEST).
If you’re a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity Frequent Flyer program, you also have the option of converting your CommBank Awards points into frequent flyer points. The amount of points you get varies depending on the CommBank Awards credit card you have and the frequent flyer program, as detailed below.
To earn Qantas Points through a CommBank Awards credit card, you need to opt in to the CommBank Awards Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct program. This attracts an annual fee of $30. Once enrolled, your points are automatically transferred to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account at the end of each statement period at the following rate:
2.5 CommBank Awards points = 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point
If you chose this option, you’d need 112,500 CommBank Awards points for a one-way economy Classic Flight Reward from Sydney to LAX (45,000 Qantas Points), or 225,000 CommBank Awards points for a return economy Classic Flight Reward (90,000 Qantas Points).
If you’re a member of the Velocity program, you can transfer a minimum of 3,600 CommBank Awards points at any time. The amount of Velocity Points you’ll receive varies depending on your CommBank Awards account level, with the following transfer rates:
Awards and Gold: 2.5 CommBank Awards points = 1 Velocity Point
Platinum and Diamond: 2 CommBank Awards points = 1 Velocity Point
If you had an Awards or Awards Gold credit card, you’d need to transfer at least 112,000 points to get the Velocity Points needed for a one-way economy Reward Seat (44,800 points plus fees and taxes). If you had a Platinum or Diamond CommBank Awards card, you’d need at least 89,600 points for the same Velocity reward.
Following are the key factors to weigh up when you’re planning to use your CommBank Awards points for flights to the US.
You can use NAB Rewards points to book flights to the US directly through Webjet, or transfer them to frequent flyer points with Velocity, Asia Miles or Air New Zealand Airpoints.
This option gives you the flexibility of comparing flights from a variety of airlines through the Webjet online travel website before using your points to book. The amount of NAB Rewards points you need is shown during the booking process; there is no fixed value listed.
To give you an idea of the potential cost, a $500 Webjet Gift Card costs 96,150 NAB Reward Points. Based on this point value, here are some examples of the points you’d need for a flight to the US:
| Fare cost | NAB Rewards points needed |
|---|---|
| $1,000 | 192,300 points |
| $1,500 | 288,450 points |
| $2,000 | 384,600 points |
Costs are accurate as of 18 April 2018.
If you’re a frequent flyer member of the Velocity, Asia Miles or Air New Zealand Airpoints program, you can transfer your NAB Rewards points to your account. You need a minimum of 3,000 NAB Rewards points for this option, and will receive the following transfer rates:
Velocity: 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 1,500 Velocity Points
Asia Miles: 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 1,000 Asia Miles
Air New Zealand Airpoints: 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 45 Airpoints Dollars
With these rates in mind, you’d need around 89,600 NAB Rewards points for a one-way economy Reward Seat flight from Melbourne to LAX with Velocity, which start from 44,800 Velocity Points. For a return economy flight through Velocity, you’d need to transfer 179,200 NAB Rewards points.
Keep the following details in mind so you can make the most of your NAB Rewards points when you want to travel to the US:
If you’re a flybuys member, you can use your points to pay for flights to the US when you book directly through flybuys travel. You can also transfer your points to your Velocity frequent flyer account.
The flybuys travel online booking service offers flights to the US with a range of airlines including Qantas, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Delta Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. This means you have the flexibility to compare options and choose flights that suit your travel plans.
If you redeem flybuys points through flybuys travel, each point is worth 0.5 cents towards the dollar value of your flight booking. As the retail cost of flights to Los Angeles varies depending on when you book, among other things, here are some examples of the points you’d need for different one-way fares.
| Fare cost | flybuys points needed |
|---|---|
| $1,000 | 200,000 points |
| $1,500 | 300,000 points |
| $2,000 | 400,000 points |
Another option is to transfer your flybuys points to Velocity, with a minimum transfer of 2,000 flybuys points equalling 870 Velocity Points. Based on this transfer rate, you’d need around 102,989 flybuys points for a one-way economy Velocity Reward Seat from Sydney to LAX. For a return flight, you’d need to transfer 205,978 flybuys points to your Velocity account.
As long as you meet the minimum points requirement, you can transfer your flybuys points to your Velocity frequent flyer account at any time using the following steps:
If you haven’t redeemed flybuys points for frequent flyer rewards, you will also be prompted to link your accounts by entering your frequent flyer membership details.
If you’re planning to use flybuys points to get to the US, here are the key factors to keep in mind:
As well as earning points for your everyday spending, many reward and frequent flyer credit cards offer thousands of bonus points to new customers. If you’re saving up for a big reward, such as a trip to the US, this type of introductory deal could really speed up the process.
As an example, if you got a credit card offering a bonus 100,000 Qantas or Velocity Points, you’d have enough points for a return economy flight from Sydney or Melbourne to LAX.
These bonus point offers are only available for a limited time and usually have a minimum-spending requirement before you get the points. It’s also important to weigh up other features such as the annual fee and interest rates, so you can find a card that offers benefits beyond the introductory period.
Reward and frequent flyer programs give you the chance to fly to the US without paying in cash for your tickets. But remember to weigh up your options for using points, and factor in additional fees and charges so that you can make your points work for your trip. You can also check out this guide to Los Angeles for inspiration on what to see and do when you land.
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