How to fly to the USA on points from Australia
Last updated
Flying from Australia to the United States is one of the longest hauls in the network, and award seats in the pointy end can cost a serious slice of your balance. The good news for Australian flyers is that there are several sensible paths to LAX, SFO and JFK — through Qantas, through Velocity's partners, and (with more effort) through US programs. This guide maps the realistic options and the trade-offs, and points you to the live route pages for the current points-by-cabin figures.
The lay of the land
Australia to the US west coast (LAX, SFO) is a single long-haul hop of roughly 12–15 hours non-stop from the eastern capitals. The east coast (JFK, plus the rest of the US beyond California) almost always means a connection — typically through the west coast or via a hub in Asia, the Middle East or the Pacific. As a rule of thumb:
- West coast (LAX, SFO) is the cheapest US redemption in points and the most likely to have a non-stop option.
- East coast (JFK) usually costs more, because the journey is longer and most routings add a domestic US segment. Exactly how much more depends on the program — a fixed distance-band chart and a partner award can price the extra distance very differently — so check the live figure rather than assume a simple add-on.
Whichever route you choose, taxes, fees and any carrier/fuel surcharges are paid in cash on top of the points, and on long-haul premium awards the real constraint is almost never the price — it's whether an award seat is actually open on the date you want.
Booking with Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qantas Frequent Flyer is a oneworld program, and its standout feature is the fixed Classic Flight Reward chart: the points price for a given distance band and cabin is published and doesn't move with the cash fare. That predictability is exactly what you want for an expensive long-haul redemption.
- Own metal: Qantas flies non-stop to LAX from Sydney and Melbourne, and to SFO from Sydney (plus seasonal Brisbane services). When Classic award space is open on those routes, you can book a non-stop trans-Pacific Classic Reward in economy, premium economy or business — but premium non-stop space is genuinely scarce, so treat availability, not price, as the deciding factor.
- Partners: because Qantas sits in oneworld, you can also use Qantas Points on partners such as American Airlines for onward US domestic legs — handy for reaching the east coast or interior cities. American's domestic network is what turns a west-coast arrival into a JFK, Miami or other east-coast finish.
- Watch the fine print: Qantas also sells Classic Plus, which is dynamically priced — the points number moves with demand, so we never publish a static figure for it. Target the fixed Classic chart where you can. See fixed vs dynamic award pricing and our Qantas Classic sweet spots guide.
Because the trans-Pacific routes sit in the upper distance zones, business and first cost a lot of points — that's the nature of long-haul. Rather than hardcode a number that could drift when the chart is revised, check the current cost on the live route page for your city pair.
Booking with Velocity and its partners
Velocity is not in an alliance. It redeems on Virgin Australia plus a set of bilateral partners, and for the US the relevant one is United Airlines (Star Alliance). United's main Australian non-stops run to its San Francisco hub from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; its Los Angeles flying has been seasonal and route-dependent rather than an everyday east-coast option. From SFO, United connects onward across its huge US domestic network — including to the east coast.
- Velocity partner redemptions use partner-specific reward tables, so the points cost differs from Virgin's own Reward Seat tables.
- Velocity's value comes from these partnerships rather than a single alliance, so it's worth studying the partner list before you commit. Compare the two main Australian programs in Qantas vs Velocity.
A quick note on "Delta-adjacent" options: Virgin Australia's commercial partnerships shift over time, and Delta SkyMiles is fully dynamic with no published chart, so we don't quote a fixed Delta number. Treat any Delta or SkyTeam routing as estimate-only and confirm pricing live at the time of booking.
The reality of US programs
US frequent-flyer programs — United MileagePlus, Delta SkyMiles, American AAdvantage — can unlock excellent seats, but there's a catch for Australians: they're hard to earn locally. There's no easy direct credit-card earn into these programs from Australia, and:
- United MileagePlus, Delta and American all price awards dynamically — there's no published award chart, so the points cost varies with demand and we never publish a static figure for them. Think "from / estimate only".
- Earning them here usually means transferring from a flexible currency where a partnership exists, or crediting flown miles — neither is as frictionless as topping up Qantas or Velocity from an Australian card.
So while a US program can occasionally beat the home-team programs on a specific seat, for most Australian flyers Qantas or Velocity will be the practical starting point. Use the transfer index to see which flexible currencies feed which programs before you move any points.
Non-stop vs one-stop
A non-stop saves hours and the hassle of a connection, but it's also where premium award space dries up first. A one-stop routing — west coast then a domestic leg, or via an Asian or Middle Eastern hub — often opens up award space (or a cheaper cabin) when the non-stop is sold out for points. For premium cabins especially, flexibility on dates and routing is what gets you the seat: lock in the long trans-Pacific leg first, then build the connection around it.
Putting it together
- Pick your gateway. From MEL/SYD/BNE you have the most non-stop choice; PER/ADL/OOL/CNS flyers will usually connect through an eastern capital first.
- Decide west coast or east coast — west coast is the cheaper, simpler award; the east coast trades points and a connection for the destination.
- Check the live points-by-cabin figures for your exact route, then chase availability:
- Browse all award flights from Australia for other city pairs.
Programs, charts, ratios and partners change. Confirm current details with each program before you rely on them — see our methodology.