Australia is high on every traveler’s bucket list. And it’s hardly a wonder why—world-class beaches, tropical rainforests, the Great Barrier Reef, the Outback and more make Australia a dream come true for all travelers alike.

Yet, while Australia has much to offer, the one thing it doesn’t is proximity to other continents. A trip to Australia from the United States is a long journey whatever way you cut it, and cash prices for flights typically run high.

Note: All information about the American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card and The Amex EveryDay® Card has been collected independently by MileValue.

Out of the four most popular transferable currencies in the points and miles industry, Membership Rewards might just be the most powerful.

Have you ever wondered whether you can upgrade your United Airlines flight cabin to premium economy or business class? Perhaps you want to enjoy its premium perks, such as extra legroom and comfort topped with complimentary beverages? You'll be surprised to know that you can get all these benefits using your United PlusPoints.

United modified its elite upgrade system to let you upgrade your cabin to premium economy, business or first class.

If you’re looking for a solid, do it all travel card, then American Express Platinum Card® should be on your radar. This one card brings you great airport lounge access, hotel status, and more.

Let’s keep it short, because there’s a lot to get into with this great card and we’re going to take a deep dive into everything you need to know about the Platinum Card®.

The Basics of The Platinum Card from American Express

Before we dive deep into the perks of the Platinum Card®, we need to go over all the basics.

The American Express® Gold Card, with its high reward rate in certain spending categories, is one of the best rewards cards to hold for dining and travel lovers.

The card’s elevated welcome bonus is enough to book a flight in business class on multiple airlines.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has reduced fuel surcharges drastically on awards that travel to or from Japan. Now you can fly to Tokyo from the United States for 75,000 miles in flat bed Business Class roundtrip plus low taxes plus a $4--yes four dollar--fuel surcharge. That's tens of thousands of miles fewer than competitors charge.

The above screenshot is of a roundtrip Business Class award flying ANA between Los Angeles and Tokyo in February 2017.
Routing Rules
ANA has two award charts.

I use united.com for most of my award searches when redeeming Star Alliance miles because it shows most Star Alliance partners' award availability, but it does have some drawbacks. Namely, it doesn't show all partners and it sometimes displays phantom award space--award space will show as available but in reality, it doesn't exist.

Star Alliance Airlines Whose Award Space I Want to Search

The best way to confirm Star Alliance award space is using the All Nippon Airways (ANA) search tool. ANA's tool is trickier to use, but it's the most reliable.

Updated 1/29/16 to reflect new Aeroplan award prices effective for awards booked 12/15/15 or later.
Updated 10/6/15 to reflect new ANA award prices effective for awards booked 10/15/15 or later.

In the last few weeks, I have published some comparative charts of Star Alliance award charts. I'm putting all of those charts into this post for easier reference.

You can use any type of Star Alliance miles to book almost any Star Alliance flight. (Swiss, Lufthansa, and Singapore hold back some premium cabin award space for their own members.

ANA is devaluing its award charts for bookings made October 15, 2015 or later. This is all the notice they've given. (Hat tip @saianel on Twitter.) To beat the devaluation, book by October 14 for travel through mid-September 2016.

This devaluation affects you because you "have" ANA miles in the form of Membership Rewards and SPG Starpoints, both of which can be transferred to ANA miles.

ANA's "First Square" is one of the nicest First Classes in the world.

The fully enclosed suite featured on ANA's 777-300ERs is a top of the line hard product, including a fully flat bed.

In addition, it comes with--from the reports I've read--typical, excellent service you would expect from a top Asian airline and fancy touches like caviar.

ANA has announced schedule changes that put the 777-300ER on new routes this year.

Tokyo-Narita to Houston starting June 12
Tokyo-Narita to Singapore starting March 29
Tokyo-Narita to Seattle starting May 6
Tokyo-Narita to Frankfurt starting May 7

The only one of