Due to popular demand from our readers in Western and South Australia, we have created this supplementary guide to help you plan your next RTW trip using Qantas Points!
But first things first: in order to avoid repeating information, we strongly suggest you have a read of our main guide to Qantas RTW redemptions before delving into this more specific guide.
If you are from NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, ACT or NT, then the main guide is your best source of information as this WA and SA guide won’t apply to you.
Comparing the different long-haul Qantas Point redemption options
If you analyse the table below, you can see that tacking on a significant amount of extra flying comes with only minimal additional points cost, especially from Adelaide.
| Cabin | Perth to London return on Qantas/Emirates | Perth to London return on oneworld partner (Qatar) | Adelaide to London return on Qantas/Emirates | Adelaide to London return with oneworld partner (Qatar) | oneworld Classic Flight Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 110,000 | 130,000 | 120,000 | 150,000 | 140,000 |
| Premium Economy | 168,000 | 195,000 | 192,000 | 225,000 | 210,000 |
| Business Class | 224,000 | 242,000 | 256,000 | 278,000 | 280,000 |
| First Class | 336,000 | 354,000 | 384,000 | 406,000 | 420,000 |
| Miles travelled | 18,060 | 18,100 | 20,654 | 20,582 | Up to 35,000 |
Say you want to fly return to Europe on Qantas or Emirates (which is a preferred partner). From Perth/Adelaide, you’ll be up for 224,000/256,000 points in Business Class and 336,000/392,000 points in First Class, plus taxes and fees of $500-1000.
Or you could fly one of their non-preferred oneworld partners like Qatar Airways or Cathay Pacific, from Adelaide for 242,000/278,000 points in Business or 354,000/406,000 points in First.
By comparison, departing from Adelaide, you could fly almost double the distance (up to 35,000 miles) and have stopovers in five cities for just 2,000 points more in Business Class or 14,000 more in First Class.
Departing from Perth, the value of the RTW award compared to a simple return is more diminished. This is because Perth is closer to Europe than Adelaide and therefore falls into a lower distance bracket. However, if you still wanted to fly RTW, it will only cost you an extra 56,000 points compared to flying Qantas/Emirates return to Europe, which is still good value.
Why you should aim to fly Business instead of First Class
From Perth and Adelaide, the only airline operating a First Class cabin is Emirates and as we’ve mentioned in the main guide, you can’t include Emirates in this award as it’s not part of oneworld.
If you did want to pursue a First Class award though, then the best way to get value out of that is to fly in and out of Australia from Sydney or Melbourne on Qatar Airways (both cities) or British Airways (Sydney only) and tack on a domestic Qantas Business Class flight to get there.
You can fly Qatar Airways A380 First Class out of Sydney or Melbourne
For most people, my recommendation would be to fly Qatar Airways to Doha from Adelaide on the way out (Perth residents can connect on Qantas)—this is because it’s on the modern A350 Business Class product and award availability is generally good.
Qatar runs its fantastic A350 Business Class to Adelaide (pictured) but Perth gets the older 777
Qantas’ new direct Perth – London 787 Dreamliner service from late March 2018 offers a great product too, but award availability is hard to come by and you would probably want to stop over in the Middle East or Asia as this is a RTW itinerary after all. They are your points, though, and you are free to use them as you choose.
Qantas 787 Business Class
On the way back, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong direct to either Perth or Adelaide in a lie-flat, direct-aisle access seat is a good way to go.
If you’re in Perth, you have the added option of flying Qantas direct from Singapore or Qatar Aiirways from Doha.
You won’t be as comfortable in Qantas’ 737 recliner seats for the five-hour trek to/from Singapore
Of course, you could switch the order and fly out to Asia and back through the Middle East.
In my own experience, there might be times that award availability to/from Perth/Adelaide on international flights cannot be found, so do be open to flying Qantas Business Class to Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane and commencing/returning through there—try to get on an A330 or 787 service for those transcontinental flights.
Example 1 (Perth): 34,000 miles in Business Class for 280,000 Qantas Points
The following itinerary totals 34,631 miles flown, just under the 35,000-mile maximum:
- Perth to London with Qantas (first stopover in London)
- London to New York with British Airways or American Airlines (second stopover in New York)
- New York to São Paulo with American Airlines or LATAM (third stopover in Sao Paulo)
- São Paulo to Los Angeles with American Airlines or LATAM (Transit)
- Los Angeles to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific or American Airlines (fourth stopover in Hong Kong)
- Hong Kong to Singapore with Cathay Pacific (fifth stopover in Singapore)
- Singapore to Perth with Qantas
Example 2 (Adelaide): 28,000 miles in Business Class for 280,000 Qantas Points
The following itinerary totals 28,505 miles flown, well within the 35,000-mile maximum:
- Adelaide to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific (first stopover in Hong Kong)
- Hong Kong to Malé, Maldives with Cathay Pacific (second stopover in Malé)
- Malé to Colombo, Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan Airlines (transit)
- Colombo to Delhi with Sri Lankan Airlines (transit)
- Delhi to London with British Airways (third stopover in London)
- London to Vancouver with British Airways (fourth stopover in Vancouver)
- Vancouver to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific (fifth stopover in Hong Kong)
- Hong Kong to Adelaide with Cathay Pacific
Research, booking & FAQs
Summing up
With fewer frequencies and products to enjoy compared to their East Coast counterparts, we hope to have shed some light on how readers in WA and SA can still make a RTW trip the most comfortable and enjoyable possible.
So start planning your next holiday, Perth and Adelaide residents!
Have you successfully redeemed your Qantas Points for a RTW award and, if so, where did you go?
Route as follows: PER – LHR – EDI (surface sector return to London)
LHR – ANU (surface sector to Miami) (Antigua is tricky because any onward flights west appear to require a back-via-London sector)
MIA – LAX – AKL – CHC – PER (return is via Melbourne).
Have I broken some sort of rule here by either choosing surface sectors, or is it that I re-enter Australia on the return to Perth (as there appear to be no direct flights)?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
* SYD-EZE (stop) and got a LAN airpass around South America for 3 weeks;
* GIG-MIA-ORD (stop) my sister was in Norfolk and then did a 3 week road trip around North America;
* ORD-LHR-ARN (stop) A few cheap flights around some Scandinavian countries and bus ride down to Berlin;
* TXL-LHR-FCO (stop) look around Rome (these were part of a 3 week hop around Europe);
* NAP-MAD-BCN-MAD-JNB (stop) this part I really got hung up on trying to find availability from Europe down to South Africa because originally a BA flight from LHR I was looking at fell through so next looking at an IB flight from MAD-JNB had no direct availability, but i guess as part of a married segment, i could get a seat on the exact same MAD-JNB flight if i started in Barcelona so in quite a convoluted arrangement I had to fly from Napoli to Madrid to Barcelona do get back immediately on the next flight back to Madrid and then down to Joburg… So 2 weeks in Africa using some cheap local airlines;
* JNB-SYD (and then a cheap flight back to Perth)
So used the OW 140k award as the intercontinental backbone of the 2.5 month RTW trip and then used local cheap travel arrangements to see parts of each continent…
6 RTW – trip of a lifetime
Perth- Zurich via Hong Kong
Rome to Berlin
London to New York
New York to Vancouver
Vancouver to Dallas
Dallas to Perth via Doha
Only had to jump in economy for the Van to Dallas leg
One for the memory books !
No – not 6 RTW trips – a RTW trip for 6 people !
I struggle to find more than 2 seats per flight, so to get 6 people on the same flight is an amazing feat.