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As we start to spread our wings once more, thoughts turn to catch-ups with long-lost friends and families overseas. The United States is one of the most popular international destinations from Australia. Your Qantas Points unlock travel on Qantas, American Airlines, Fiji Airways – and a host of other partners.
For this guide, we’re looking at travel to three popular destinations: Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York.
How many Qantas Points will I need to fly to the US?
You’ll need anywhere from 51,300 to 227,500 Qantas Points to fly in comfort to the US, in Business or First Class. Of course, it depends on the airline and the cabin you choose. While we don’t imagine many of you will fly the ‘long’ way eastwards to the US, we’ve included the figures here for comparison.
| Route (one way) | Airline / Cabin | Qantas Points needed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Honolulu | Jetstar Business Class | 51,300 |
| Melbourne / Sydney | Honolulu | Jetstar Business Class | 61,500 |
| East Coast | Honolulu | Qantas Business Class | 82,000 |
| East Coast | Los Angeles | Qantas Business Class | 108,400 |
| East Coast | Los Angeles | Qantas First Class | 162,800 |
| East Coast | New York | Qantas Business Class | 144,600 |
| East Coast via Nadi | Honolulu | Fiji Airways Business Class | 82,000 |
| East Coast via Nadi | Los Angeles | Fiji Airways Business Class | 108,400 |
| All Australian ports via Hong Kong | New York | Cathay Pacific Business Class | 159,000 |
| Sydney via Tokyo | New York | Japan Airlines Business Class | 159,000 |
| East Coast via Qatar | New York | Qatar Airways Business Class | 159,000 |
| East Coast via Dubai | New York | Emirates Business Class | 159,000 |
| East Coast via Dubai | New York | Emirates First Class | 227,500 |
Using Qantas Points for direct flights to the US
1. Qantas
Qantas’ main flights to Los Angeles are available from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. From Sydney, you can also hop on non-stop services to San Francisco, Dallas Fort Worth and Honolulu. Up in Canada, Vancouver is also now a permanent three-weekly flight out of Sydney in 2022.
Pre-COVID, the Red Roo also operated from Los Angeles to New York for connecting passengers, though this isn’t set to return for a while. Qantas is also planning to launch Brisbane-Chicago flights with Boeing 787s sometime in the future, which we’ve included in the map below. Both routes are in white.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Sydney-Honolulu: 82,000 Qantas Points
- East Coast-Los Angeles | Sydney-Vancouver: 108,400 Qantas Points (or 162,800 points in First Class)
- Sydney-Dallas Fort Worth | Brisbane-Chicago: 126,500 Qantas Points
- East Coast-New York: 144,600 Qantas Points
2. Jetstar
Low-cost airline Jetstar flies from Melbourne and Sydney to Honolulu, which is another way to use your Qantas Points to fly to the US. These flights even have a small Business Class cabin (akin to International Premium Economy), which is comfortable enough for these flights.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Sydney/Melbourne-Honolulu: 61,500 Qantas Points
3. American Airlines
Finally, we have American Airlines flying daily from Sydney to Los Angeles. It costs the same points-wise as if you were flying Qantas. However, the carrier charges are significantly reduced, saving you cash.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Sydney-Los Angeles: 108,400 Qantas Points
Finding availability on Qantas-operated flights to the US
Seeking out Business or First reward seats on Qantas flights to the US – especially for multiple passengers – is sometimes like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But they do exist. You just need to be diligent with how you search for reward seats.
From our years of experience, here are some tips to help your search:
- Look when the booking calendar first opens up at 353 days from your day of travel – this is a useful time to find available seats. Look around midnight GMT, or mid-morning AEST each day.
- If you don’t have Qantas Frequent Flyer elite status, see if you have an eligible family member who does have status and would be happy to book on your behalf. More seats can be made available to elite members, and you can Family Transfer them your own Qantas Points to use.
- If someone cancels their Qantas Points booking, the availability usually goes back for rebooking by others within around 24 hours. It’s worth monitoring award availability (I prefer awardnexus.com or ExpertFlyer.com for this).
- The likelihood of cancellations increases the closer you get to the flight, so keep checking back last-minute to see if availability has opened up.
- If you have Qantas Gold status or higher, then you may stand a chance in the points upgrade lottery. Otherwise it’s probably not even worth considering.
- When new routes are announced (e.g. Brisbane-Chicago), these may have a little more availability.
- Qantas Business Class availability to Honolulu is very limited. You’ll have better luck with Jetstar, instead.
- Remember to check availability out of alternate cities to home (i.e. check Brisbane if you’re Sydney-based).
Using Qantas Points for other partner flights to the US
There are a number of Qantas partner airlines that will also get you to the US indirectly when using your Qantas Points. If you’re flush with Qantas Points and don’t mind flying a long way, these options could certainly tick the box:
- Fiji Airways: to Los Angeles and Honolulu via Nadi. Read this guide for more info on why this is a good-value option.
- Cathay Pacific: via Hong Kong
- Japan Airlines: via Tokyo
- Emirates: flying eastwards via Dubai when heading to the US
- Qatar Airways: flying eastwards via Doha when heading to the US
1. Fiji Airways via Nadi
At first glance, adding an extra stop in Nadi doesn’t sound like a great option. But Fiji Airways’ Business Class cabin (if you can snag an Airbus A350 flight) is modern and fairly comfortable.
If you don’t have many other options, you may want to consider a transit in Nadi to work on your tan. Geographically-speaking, the route via Nadi to LA isn’t too indirect.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- East Coast AU-Nadi-Los Angeles: 108,400 Qantas Points
2. Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific is a good option for flights to East Coast US (and Chicago), as the connection in Hong Kong only adds a few hours to the overall flight time. You’ll get to travel in one of the world’s best and most consistent Business Class products on Cathay’s Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 fleet.
To Los Angeles and the West Coast US, Cathay Pacific is less practical since there’s a significant amount of extra travel time from the east of Australia. Cathay Pacific flies from all major Australian capitals via Hong Kong to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark, JFK (New York), Boston and Chicago.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Australia-Hong Kong-US: 159,000 Qantas Points
3. Japan Airlines via Tokyo
Japan Airlines flies to Tokyo from Sydney and Melbourne, with connections to many US cities. But be careful of which airport in Tokyo your flight departs from. Melbourne-Tokyo flights arrive at Narita, while Sydney-Tokyo flights use Haneda, which is closer to the city. You don’t want to end up with a connection spanning both airports.
Again, this is most practical for connections to the East Coast (Boston and New York) in terms of total travel time.
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Australia-Tokyo-US: 159,000 Qantas Points
4. Emirates via Dubai
So far, we’ve mostly looked at travel options from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But if you’re flying to the East Coast US from Perth, it’s worth considering the Middle East. The travel time isn’t that much more.
Alternatively, if you enjoy spending hours in Business or First Class and want to travel from East Coast Australia to East Coast US, you can still transit the Middle East to really stretch out the value of your Qantas Points.
Qantas has a maximum upper limit of 15,000 flown miles for a partner reward booking. Sydney–Dubai–New York, for example, comes in at just under that limit.
Emirates flies to the US via Dubai from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. You could pick up an Emirates A380 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth and connect to another in Dubai. This would be very tolerable in either Business or First Class!
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Australia-Dubai-US: 159,000 Qantas Points (or 227,500 points for First Class)
Qatar Airways via Qatar
Qatar Airways usually flies from Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra. Brisbane is slated to be added to the list if the airline can expand its capacity in Australia. Use Doha as a connecting port to East Coast US in the same way as Emirates. Most flights will feature the latest Qsuites in Business Class – luxury indeed!
Points needed in Business Class (+ taxes):
- Australia-Doha-US: 159,000 Qantas Points
Summing up: using Qantas Points to fly to the US
While Qantas and American Airlines are your best direct options to the US, Qantas has many other partners that you might be able to use points with. The direct flights have very limited availability, simply because they’re convenient and popular. For good reason, too – the transit requirements for many countries are constantly changing in the face of COVID-19.
Also, Qantas mainly releases international premium reward seats to Gold and Platinum Frequent Flyers first. Without status, you’ll find it harder to secure that Business Class reward seat early on – unless of course there’s a Points Plane. Platinum Frequent Flyers and higher can request extra reward seats to be released though, which is certainly a handy perk of elite status.
Fly to the States in style with a new Qantas Points sign-up bonus.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points¹
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 1.25 Qantas Points earned per $1 on eligible everyday purchases. 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on selected Qantas products and services in Australia. 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 at government bodies in Australia. After a total of 100,000 Qantas Points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate will change from 1.25 to 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent.
- Annual Fee:
- $450 p.a.
- Offer expires
- 5 May 2026
- Earn 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional 30,000 Qantas Points when you spend a minimum of $1 on your Card within 90 days of paying your second year annual Card Fee¹. (Offer ends 5 May 2026. New Amex Card Members only. T&Cs apply.) This card includes an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit, two Qantas Club Complimentary Lounge Invitations each year, complimentary international travel insurance, and Qantas Wine Premium Membership (valued at $99). Earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday spend, 2.25 on Qantas purchases, and 0.5 on government payments. The annual fee is $450.
Live outside of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane – or just can’t find availability on Qantas for your dates? Then knowing about the other options and partner airlines gives you a head start in finding alternative uses for your points.
The options begin to open up if you’re travelling further afield, with flights to the US East Coast quite easily done via Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. Just allow for additional travel time and check the transit requirements beforehand.
The good news? The number of points needed remains capped at up to 15,000 flown miles, which covers most conceivable routings. So you shouldn’t need more than 159,000 Qantas Points for a Business Class reward.
If you’re willing to be more flexible about your routes and travel time, then there should be some availability with one or more partner airlines on indirect routes. Happy hunting!
What's your preferred airline for flying to the US?
This guide was originally written by Matt Moffit.
Nice summary.
There’s another bookable on QF points: Air Tahiti Nui – OZ (QF)-AKL-PPT-LAX.
Comfy 787s…;)
Don’t waste your points on QF First!
We took it to SIN in April and were completely disappointed.
While the massage before takeoff and the hard product were good, both of our meat meals were lukewarm (unforgivable in First) and the flight was nearly 2 hours late, causing us to miss our connection (which they wouldn’t cover because it was on another airline).
Disappointed just tried to book June 2019 and only one day with premium seat avail. Checked the flight itself qf93 and no first and 1 business sold seats sold so far. Do they put sears on sale later on also? This is no inventory not someone else has already booked it
It might have something to do with the dates and your status—see this guide and read the note for Qantas. Also, here are our top tips for securing an award seat to the US—read under Get Qantas elite status.
Thanks. Long term subscriber already and had read those posts before commenting. I’m Platinum and neither Qantas site nor Expert flyer sees any inventory on weekends (use say inventory not availability as the cabins have not had reward seats made available and yet are empty. Qantas has many many options with availability just not the direct flight. Additionally tried Mel-Sfo and saw no NO ff availability but tried mel-lax and the mel-sfo leg was avail in business on same flight/date. Changed back to mel-sfo no availability again. It is almost like they’re saying we’ll make a reward seat available if you go further or choose a route with competiton.
Hi Keith
Your articles are amazing! I’m a real rookie at redeeming frequent flyers. Wonder if you can help me. We are planning a trip to Orlando & New York from Adelaide in Nov/Dec this year. Between me and my husband we have a total of 204539 QFF points & AMEX platinum edge 37449 points (I assume I can transfer this to QFF). My question is can I book economy cathay pacific seats to USA via HKG and upgrade the return leg to business? There’s 5 of us in the family so I assume theres not enough points to upgrade all of us but I’m confused as to how this all works. I thought you can only upgrade QFF with qantas flights and not CX flights.
Sounds like an exciting trip! Due to you travelling to a popular place at peak periods, I would suggest having a couple of you fly Business and the rest in Economy or on a separate flight.
We have just returned from NYC and traveled using QFF points for a family of four. Over we flew CX to JFK via HKG and returned to MEL via LAX with QAN. The long hop from HKG is significant but considering the fuel surcharges are almost half of QAN it’s definitely worth it. There was a good availability traveling over with other carriers bar QAN, and we were able to secure one ticket with CX with a sector in business and one sector in first.
Gave up getting 2 x OW award seats OZ direct to US and being in CNS does not help either, find it just as quick and miss LAX by going via HKG direct into to numerous US cities, Some times we go get a CNS or SYD flight to HKG then use award points and fees are near zilch.
Thank you so much for this! Great article Keith! 🙂
Quote…”All redemptions with Qantas and its partners attract a fuel surcharge, which start from $335 per person one-way”
Hmmm..try routing through HKG!
The fuel (oops “carrier”) charges on QF to USA are monstrous, especially in business or first which is where you’ll want to be using your points up! These can be substantial eliminated by routing through HKG.
Yep – you’ll use up some more points, but likely be well ahead on the cash component.
For the best of both worlds stop loyalty to QF FF – for example Alaska Airlines currently does not levy those carrier charges for rewards on QF metal.
Or simply ditch QF for Virgin for that matter. Saves use cash and more reward availability.
JAL are now also flying MEL-NRT.
Hi Keith. Great work! Is Qantas still releasing Honolulu to Sydney Business Reward seats? I have been looking for the past month at the magic time, 353 days ahead and can see economy seats only. I understand that this route is one of Qantas’ busiest, and that any available Business Reward seat would be snapped up extremely quickly. Any suggestion would be appreciated.
As you’ve seen, I think there is minimal availability at best. Anecdotally I’ve been told upgrades aren’t too tricky on this route from paid Economy fares if you have some form of status, but StarClass availability isn’t too bad on Jetstar either – along with options to BNE and MEL as well.
Great article, would love to see one of these for Europe (before end of November if possible!) just done the Phuket to Syd red eye in economy and I was reminded that I cannot sleep on planes and 24 hrs without sleep is a form of torture. Looking for other options on how to do Syd to Europe for Christmas 2016 – destination and dates flexible.
Thanks, it’s on the list!
Hi Keith, great work as per always. I’m looking at the Sydney via Singapore & London – New York leg as I would like to stop in both singapore and london to visit friends.
Is it possible to add a Adelaide to Sydney leg on in the same booking online? My question is because if i look at Syd-NY, the option is there, but if I look Adl-NY, that option disappears.
Thanks,
Matt
Have you tried using the multi-city tool to force the itinerary you want?
Thanks Keith, that did work, but ups the price of points. Also didn’t realise that if you are spending more than 24 hours in a stopover, there is an increase in points as well.
Thanks for your help and keep up the good work!!
Right, that increase would probably be because the total distance increases. But at least it works.
With Qantas, yes, they do charge for the extra flight for a stopover >24 hours – it’s as if you’re making two bookings. That seems to be the norm with most programs now.
Thanks once again Keith!
Just a quick question. What happens if I find an award flight on a oneworld airline (e.g. Qatar) that shows up on a search using the BA Executive Club search engine – but does not show up on the Qantas website? Is it possible to call Qantas (or Qatar Airways?) and use QFF to make the booking? Or can I only use QFF points on award flights that can be found on the Qantas website?
Hey Scott – great question. In theory they should be bookable using Qantas Points by calling the Qantas Frequent Flyer centre. You can push for the booking fee to be waived if Qantas.com is not showing the availability, but this may not be doable. Depends on who you talk to. If they say they can’t find availability and you’re sure it should be there, you can try to hang up and call back to talk to someone else and/or use a line like ‘your colleague just found space on xyz flight on abc date’ which might prompt them to dig and look a bit further. I found this was especially the case when booking Japan Airlines awards.
Thanks for the response. I always seem to be able to find availability using BA that I can never find on Qantas. Fingers crossed the phone agent finds it!