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How to redeem your Qantas Points for flights to the USA

Discover how your Qantas Points can take you to the land of stars and stripes.

Jonathan Choi
Jonathan Choi

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While Qantas and its partner airlines offer direct flights to the US, redeeming your points to book a flight might mean you need to look outside the usual route options. Due to high demand and limited options, finding the right flight for you may take some research.
We’ve compared flight paths leaving from Australia to destinations across the US to help you find your next trip to America.

Using Qantas Points to fly with Qantas and Jetstar to the US

If you’re planning on flying with Qantas or Jetstar, here are some of the options you can consider and the amount of points you can expect to fork out. These are best-case scenarios; depending on flight availability in the US, you flights might take longer. You always have to clear US customs at your first landing point, so don't try and book a connecting flight that leaves close to when you land.

East coast route

A direct flight may be the quickest route, but we’ve also compared some connecting flight alternatives. Flight costs are based upon an Economy Saver seat.

  • Sydney to Los Angeles
DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Direct Sydney to Los AngelesIf you’re lucky enough to find a direct route, you’ll be looking at a 14-hour flight costing 144,200 Qantas Points for an Economy Saver seat.
Sydney – Melbourne - Los AngelesFor this route, you will be flying for close to 17 hours and will need 180,200 Points.
Sydney – Brisbane – Los AngelesFlying via Brisbane will take just over 16 hours and require 180,600 Qantas Points.
Sydney – Perth – Brisbane – Los AngelesWith two stopovers, your total flight time will be close to 30 hours. You would need 191,500 Qantas Points to cover the cost of the flight.
  • Sydney to New York
DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Direct Sydney to New YorkA direct flight taking 21 hours (with one stop in Los Angeles but no plane change) will set you back 172,300 Qantas Points.
Sydney - San Francisco - New YorkFor a 22-hour flight stopping over in San Francisco, you will need 175,100 Qantas Points.
Sydney - Dallas Fort Worth - New YorkTo fly via Dallas, 186,700 Qantas Points are needed to cover the cost of the flight, which takes 20 hours and 29 minutes.
Sydney - Los Angeles - New YorkFor the same amount of Qantas Points as a stopover in San Francisco (175,100), you could be in New York in 23 hours after a short stop in Los Angeles. Unlike the direct Sydney to New York option, this will cost more points because of the stopover in San Francisco.

West coast route

Flyers based in Western Australia usually have fewer options than those flying from the east coast of Australia. The Qantas Points total for each of the flights are based on the Economy Saver fare. Most flights to Los Angeles include stopovers to one of the cities on the east coast.

  • Western Australia to Los Angeles
DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Perth - Melbourne - Los AngelesWith a flight time of 20 hours and 55 minutes, you will need 143,200 Qantas Points to fly from Perth to Los Angeles via Melbourne.
Perth - Brisbane - Los AngelesTo stop over in the sunshine state, 144,100 Qantas Points are needed and a spare 23 hours.
Perth - Sydney - Los AngelesThe longest flight of the three, with a total travel time of 23 hours and 30 minutes, flying via Sydney requires 144,600 Qantas Points.
  • Western Australia to New York
DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Perth - Sydney - New YorkRedeeming 175,500 Qantas Points will get you to New York in just over 30 hours.
Perth - Sydney - Dallas Fort Worth - New YorkAlthough there is an extra stopover in Dallas Fort Worth, the flying time is only 27 hours. The number of points required (175,500) is the same as a flight stopping in Sydney.
Perth - Sydney - San Francisco - New YorkA flight stopping over in Sydney and San Francisco will take 28 hours and 17 minutes and cost 175,500 Qantas Points.
Perth - Melbourne - Los Angeles - New YorkFor a 29-hour flight stopping over in Melbourne and Los Angeles, you will need to fork out 174,200 Qantas Points.
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Using Qantas Points to fly with Qantas’ airline partners to the USA

If you have time and points to burn, you could opt for flying with one of Qantas’ airline partners.

East coast route

DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Sydney - Dubai - Los AngelesEmirates offers flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to the US via Dubai. From Sydney to Los Angeles, the flight duration is around 34 hours, which would be okay if you were flying in business or first class. If you were to take this option, the total mileage flown would be just over 15,000. Therefore, as Qantas has a cap of 15,000 miles, you would need to use your points in two payments. For a business class flights, that would be 96,000 Qantas Points for each leg (Sydney to Dubai, Dubai to Los Angeles), taking the total points required to 192,000.
Sydney - Brisbane - Nadi - Los AngelesWith two stops, you can fly with Fiji Airlines from Sydney to Los Angeles in 22 hours. A business class seat would require 96,000 Qantas Points.
Sydney - Dubai - New YorkEmirates also offers flights from Sydney to New York via Dubai for a total flight time of just over 30 hours. A minimum of 128,000 Qantas Points is required to book a business class seat.
Sydney - Nadi - Los Angeles - New YorkTwo stopovers with Fiji Airways will take you just over 25 hours to get from Sydney to New York. For a business class seat on this flight, 128,00 Qantas Points would be needed.
Sydney - Kuala Lumpur - London - New YorkIf you have a whole day to spare, you could fly with Malaysia Airlines from Sydney to Los Angeles. You would need 128,000 points available in your Qantas account to purchase a business class seat.

West coast route

DestinationTravel duration and required Qantas Points
Perth - Dubai - Los AngelesFlying with Emirates from Perth to Los Angeles via Dubai will take you a little over 30 hours. A total of 128,000 Qantas Points would cover the cost of a business class seat on this route.
Perth - Sydney - Nadi - Los AngelesWith a flight duration of 29 hours, you can fly from Perth to Los Angeles with Fiji Airlines. For a total of 9,541 miles flown, 112,000 Qantas Points would be required to redeem a business class flight.
Perth - Dubai - New YorkA 28-hour flight with Emirates will get you from Perth to New York. For a business class seat on this route, you would need 128,000 Qantas Points.
Perth - Kuala Lumpur - London - New YorkA flight with Malaysia Airlines flying from Perth via Kuala Lumpur and London to New York will take a whopping one day and nine hours. Flying for a total 12,619 miles, 128,000 Qantas Points would book you a business class seat.
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Other factors to considerqantas-points

Here are some of the extra things you need to consider when redeeming your points for flights.

  • Missing out on good deals. The flights you can redeem your flights for are subject to availability. If you don’t want to miss the deal, a $25 deposit will hold a booking for you so you can pay at a later date.
  • Points plus Pay. If you don’t have enough points or don’t want to use them all on the one flight, you can opt for the Points plus Pay option. This allows you to pay for a percentage of the flight and cover the rest with Points.
  • Bookings. Flights will open up 353 days in advance. They will close up to 24 hours before the flight is scheduled. If you are booking via qantas.com, flights can be secured up to two hours before departure for domestic flights or up to four hours before departure for international flights.
  • Stopovers. When booking flights, check the conditions on the length of the stopover. Most stopovers will have a limit of 24 hours before the follow-on flight is termed as being broken up and you will be charged fees on both flights.

Redeeming your points for a trip to the US could be a great way to maximise your rewards and avoid what would otherwise be hefty costs. As there are many ways you can use your points to get to America, start comparing your options to make an informed decision and secure the flights that will let you get the most out of your hard-earned rewards.

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