The 10 Best Ways to Fly Business Class to Australia on Points

Given the vast distance between North America and Australia, flying in comfort makes a world of difference on these ultra-long-haul routes.

Fortunately, many North American airlines have non-stop flights to Australia, and there are also plenty of other single-connection options via Asia and the Middle East if you’re not opposed to taking the long way around.

Without further ado, here are the 10 best ways to get to Australia in business class on points, listed alphabetically.

1. Air Canada

Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, operates non-stop flights to Australia from its West Coast hub in Vancouver.

Presently, Air Canada is offering service to Sydney and Brisbane. The airline has previously also flown to Melbourne, but that service has yet to resume since the pandemic.

With Aeroplan, pricing for these flights is subject to the distance bands on the “Between North America and Pacific zones” section of the Flight Reward Chart.

Flights from Vancouver to Brisbane measure 7,351 miles, placing them in the second distance-based tier. At the “Starting at” prices, you can expect to pay around 75,000 points for a one-way flight in business class.

Flights from Vancouver to Sydney measure around 7,757 miles, placing them in the third distance band. At the “Starting at” prices, you can expect to pay around 87,500 points for a one-way flight in business class.

Adding a connecting flight from almost anywhere in Canada to Australia will keep the distance below 11,000 miles, so if you plan your trip out far enough in advance, you can theoretically expect to pay around 87,500 points.

In reality, you can expect to find business class prices well above the “Starting at” and Median values listed, given how hotly contested these seats are.

Even with preferred pricing from an Aeroplan co-branded credit card, you’re not likely to come across pricing close to 75,000 or 87,500 points very often, and you’ll typically find flight prices upwards of 300,000 Aeroplan points.

That’s not to say that Air Canada business class flights at the “Starting at” prices are never available – they’re just comparatively rare.

Your best bet is to look for flights as soon as they become available on Aeroplan, at 355 days prior to departure. You’ll also find last-minute availability with better pricing, too, so keep an eye on prices for flights in the days and weeks leading up to your trip.

There have also been other times when a number of seats suddenly become available at around 75,000 or 87,500 points, but those instances difficult to keep track of. These are typically during shoulder seasons when flight loads aren’t as likely to be full as they are during the Australian summer or on North American holidays.

If you happen to have Aeroplan Elite Status and, therefore, eUpgrades, at your disposal, the “Latitude Attitude” can score you an outstanding deal on flights to Australia.

While eUpgrade availability is also very scarce on these routes, you might be able to find some space and score a deal. Be sure to look far in advance and close to the date of departure, and you can also set up an ExpertFlyer alert for “R” fares, too.

If you’re not able to, keep in mind that if you book in premium economy to begin with, you’ll be near the top of the waitlist for an upgrade at the gate.

While it’s a bit of a gamble, it could very well be a nice way to save points on a hotly contested route, especially if direct flights are important to you.

Keep in mind that Air Canada also operates a flight from Auckland to Vancouver, so make sure to keep an eye out for award and eUpgrade availability on that route, too.

2. Air New Zealand

New Zealand’s flag carrier, Air New Zealand, operates a number of flights from its hub in Auckland to major gateways in North America.

With service to Vancouver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), and San Francisco, as well as Adelaide, Hobart, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth in Australia, Air New Zealand can indeed be an excellent way to access both New Zealand and Australia.

Flying from Vancouver to any Australian hub via Auckland would theoretically fall in the third distance band on the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart. Since it is a Star Alliance partner airline, the cost is fixed at 87,500 points per direction, although you could add a stopover in New Zealand for an additional 5,000 points.

Unfortunately, award space can be notoriously difficult to find for flights to or from North America. Sometimes, Air New Zealand will release a number of award seats, but there’s no predictable pattern.

There tends to be more award availability from hubs in Asia, so if trying out Air New Zealand is on your bucket list, consider looking for flights to Auckland from Asia as an option, too.

3. All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways (ANA) operates flights to a host of cities in North America, as well as to two cities in Australia: Sydney and Perth.

The airline has earned a reputation for outstanding hard- and soft-product offerings onboard its aircraft. If flying direct isn’t imperative for you, you could enjoy a world-class business class product on both legs, in addition to a potential stopover in Japan.

ANA offers flights from Vancouver and a number of American hubs to Tokyo. From there, both Sydney and Perth are serviced by the airline.

Canadian travellers flying from Winnipeg or farther west can expect to pay around 87,500 points with Aeroplan for a one-way booking in business class to or from Australia. If you add a stopover in Japan, the cost rises to a very reasonable 92,500 points.

Anyone east of Winnipeg could consider buying a separate positioning flight to another hub to avoid the jump to 115,000 points in the fourth distance band on the Flight Reward Chart.

Award space between North America and Tokyo, as well as between Tokyo and Australia can be pretty sparse. ANA typically releases one seat between Tokyo and its Australian destinations far in advance, so securing seats for two may be difficult if you’re travelling as a couple.

You may have to hold out until the last-minute to find the best award availability. Consider booking backup flights first, and then make a change to ANA if you can find availability.

4. American Airlines

While it’s not necessarily known for having the best on-board experience, American Airlines offers a fairly reliable way to score a deal on business class between North America and Australia.

It flies from Los Angeles to Brisbane and Sydney, and also operates a route to Brisbane from Dallas. Finding a connection from Canada is also reasonable, and you could also consider a positioning flight.

When it comes to booking, you’re likely limited to last-minute awards that become available within a month of departure.

Fortunately, it’s easy to spot these deals by using the calendar search feature on the American Airlines AAdvantage website.

If you can find an award for anything less than 100,000 AAdvantage miles, consider it a good deal. 

As a reminder, RBC Avion is the only points currency in Canada that transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage (at a 1:0.7) ratio.

If you can find Saver-level flights, you could also book with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for 89,000 miles…

Or via Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for 85,000 miles…

5. Cathay Pacific

As the second oneworld airline on this list, Cathay Pacific is known for an excellent in-flight experience.

The Hong Kong-based carrier offers flights to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns via Hong Kong. In North America, Cathay Pacific operates flights to Vancouver, Toronto, Boston, New York (JFK), Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

In theory, there are a number of programs to book business class flights on Cathay Pacific through: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, The British Airways Club, FinnAir Plus, or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. However, Cathay Pacific premium cabin awards haven’t been reliably accessible through partner programs for years, and your best option is to look to Asia Miles.

For Canadians, earning Asia Miles is relatively easy, as it’s a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards at a transfer ratio of 1:0.75 and RBC Avion points at a 1:1 ratio. Neo also offers the co-branded Cathay World Elite Mastercard – powered by Neo.

Redeeming Asia Miles for Cathay Pacific flights is subject to a distance-based award chart; however, all flights between North America and Australia via Hong Kong would fall under the Ultra-Long category, pricing at 115,000 miles in business class.

If you can’t find space from your hometown, consider looking for flights from any of the other Canadian or American hub cities as an alternative option.

6. Emirates

With a strong network that connects many North American cities to Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane via its hub in Dubai, and a reputation for a rather ostentatious in-flight experience, consider flying with Emirates to get to Australia.

With Aeroplan, Emirates is one of the “Select Partners” that’s subject to dynamic pricing, which means there will be a range of prices that you can expect to pay. It’s important to mention that it’s going to cost you more than booking with other partner airlines.

Flights from North America to Australia via Dubai will all fall in the 12,001+ distance band, and you can expect to redeem anywhere from 200,000–400,000+ points for a one-way flight in business class. Indeed, that’s a tidy sum to pay for just a pair of flights.

If you’re looking to burn some of your points for an aspirational experience, be sure to keep an eye out for routes with the behemoth Airbus A380. You’ll be treated to Emirates’s top-notch business class experience, including access to the unique onboard bar.

If you happen to have Aeroplan Super Elite status, using a Priority Reward for an ultra-long-haul booking with Emirates could be a great way to reduce the cost to a more manageable level. For Super Elites, a Priority Reward cuts the cost of any business class flight in half.

7. Fiji Airways

A very honourable mention here goes to Fiji Airways, a carrier based in beautiful Fiji.

This airline operates flights to Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu in the United States, and to Vancouver in Canada. A stopover in Fiji could therefore be something to consider as part of a larger Oceania holiday.

The best way to book flights with Fiji Airways is with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. A one-way flight in business class from North America to Australia would cost 75,000 miles.

You can add a free stopover in Fiji on your booking, so if you’ve ever dreamed of exploring the South Pacific and Australia, be sure to search for availability on Fiji Airways.

Alternatively, you can book Fiji Airways with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, which are easier to come by than Alaska miles. A one-way flight from North America to Australia via Fiji prices out at 89,000 Asia Miles, which is indeed a competitive price.

Business class award space between to Nadi from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver can be difficult to come by, so be sure to snag the space if you can find any.

8. Qatar Airways

Doha-based Qatar Airways is known for its extensive network and its world-class business class product, Qatar Airways Qsuites.

With destinations in Canada (Toronto and Montreal) and throughout the United States , as well as five in Australia, there should be many ways for travellers in all parts of the continent to fly the long way to Australia. 

As a oneworld airline, in theory, it should be possible to fly between North America and Australia on award redemptions. Doing so, though, isn’t as straightforward as one would hope.

Your best bet is to book through Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

While many transferrable points currencies don’t partner directly with Privilege Club, keep in mind that you can freely and instantly transfer British Airways Avios to Qatar Airways Avios, which opens up some very interesting possibilities.

This means that it’s easy to access Qatar Airways Privilege Club, since The British Airways Club is accessible through American Express Membership Rewards, RBC Avion, and the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite^†. Keep an eye out for a transfer bonus to sweeten the deal even more.

For example, you could fly from Toronto to Doha in Qsuites, and then onward to Sydney in Qsuites for 120,000 Avios and around $700 in taxes and fees.

You can find Qsuites on other routes to Australia, so be sure to check out availability to Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne, too.

While the cost may be higher than other airlines, Qatar Airways offers an outstanding business class product with Qsuites. It’s arguably the best business class in the world, so the cost could easily be justified.

9. Singapore Airlines

Next on this list is Singapore Airlines. Known as one of the best airlines in the world, any flight with Singapore Airlines is sure to be memorable.

Flying to Australia via Singapore would be ideal, both for its relatively direct routing and the excellent product.

Singapore Airlines operates flights to US hubs, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, and New York (JFK). There’s also a fifth freedom flight from New York (JFK) to Singapore via Frankfurt.

In Australia, Singapore Airlines flies to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, and Darwin.

The most accessible loyalty program to use for booking Singapore Airlines business class is Aeroplan. There are so many ways to earn Aeroplan points, including through co-branded credit cards and transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards.

Flying to Australia via Singapore from North America almost always prices out in the fourth distance band on the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart, as the cumulative distance is greater than 11,001 miles.

This means that you’ll have to pay 115,000 Aeroplan points per person for the privilege.

If you’d like to save a few points by remaining in the third distance band, you can fly from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Darwin via Singapore for just 87,500 points.

Otherwise, if you’d like to fly Singapore Airlines business class to Australia, you can look into earning KrisFlyer miles, which would likely mean dabbling with US credit cards.