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.

If you’ve ever been frustrated trying to figure out the best ways to search for awards on Oneworld airlines, keep reading for some guidance and tips. We’ll address approaches to make searching easier and find good uses for your points and miles.

Oneworld Alliance Overview

The Oneworld Alliance, along with SkyTeam and Star Alliance, make up the world’s three major airline alliances. Travelers have much to gain from understanding how these alliances function since they provide a global network of flights, allow passengers to earn and redeem miles across member airlines and provide elite benefits across the network.

Many airline and hotel loyalty programs allow you to purchase their points or miles currency. As a member of that particular loyalty program, you can go online and buy points or miles with a few clicks. Many of these programs even have high purchase limits, meaning that you can buy a six-figure amount every calendar year. 

Let’s say that you have 40,000 points in your Marriott Bonvoy account and you want to purchase a hotel stay that costs 100,000 points.

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.

Cathay Pacific will begin a new route between Vancouver and Hong Kong on March 28, 2017 flying an Airbus A350. The A350 will depart Vancouver and Hong Kong on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays mornings.

These are not Cathay Pacific's only flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong, but the first on the airline's new A350 (and the airline's first A350 flight to North America to boot). The A350 features 38 fully flat bed Business Class, 28 premium economy, and 214 economy seats.

Here is the layout of Business Class. As you can see, every seat has aisle access.

“Redeeming American Airlines Miles” Series Index

Part 1 — 5 Ways to Stretch American Airlines Miles on Economy Redemptions
Part 2 — 6 Ultra-Luxurious First Classes to Book with American Airlines Miles (this post)
Part 3 — Where to Search Award Space for All Partners
Part 4 — Award Rules and How Many Miles You Need
Part 5 — Taxes, Fees, and Fuel Surcharges
Part 6 — Redeeming for Domestic Awards
Part 7 — Redeeming for Hawaii
Part 8 — Redeeming for East and Southeast Asia
Part 9 — Redeeming for Middle East and Indian Subcontinent
Part 10 — Redeeming

You can now redeem American Airlines miles to the Indian Subcontinent via Cathay Pacific or American Airlines flights that connect in Hong Kong.

Until today, you could only connect in Europe or the Middle East. Routing via Asia would break your trip into two awards--USA to East Asia + East Asia to Indian Subcontinent.

Cathay Pacific First Class is one of the nicest in the world.

The service is amazingly attentive, including a hand-written note to go with your meal.

The food is amazing and completely made to your specifications like when I asked for every breakfast side and nothing else on one plate.

The bed is my favorite in the air for how much longer and wider it is than most flying beds.

Not only is Cathay Pacific First Class great, but historically it has been very easy and cheap to book with American Airlines miles.

American Airlines charges only 67,500 miles