United,Cheap Flight,Virgin Australia,Qantas
$619 Roundtrip West Coast to New Zealand & Australia
March 8, 2017
I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account. I tweet from @MileValueAlerts only a few times a month because it is designed to be used only for the best and most limited-time deals–like mistake fares–so that you aren’t bombarded by text messages.
Qantas, Virgin Australia, and United are offering cheap roundtrip flights between San Francisco/Los Angeles and Australia/New Zealand.
Virgin America,SPG,Virgin Australia
Current State of Virgin Australia Flat Bed Award Space (40k One Way to Australia)
April 20, 2016
Last week I wrote about SPG's newest airline transfer partner. You can now transfer Starpoints 1:1 to Virgin America Elevate points and get 5,000 bonus Virgin America points for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred. That's particularly amazing because Virgin America is a 2:1 transfer partner of American Express and Citi (eg 20k Membership Rewards = 10k Virgin America points.)
One of the best deals with Virgin America points is flying Virgin Australia from Los Angeles to Sydney or Brisbane.
The Best Award Space Option to Australia Has Completely Dried Up
August 19, 2015
For a few years, Virgin Australia Business Class award space to Australia has been a gimme. I would often find 12 Award Seats (half of which were Business) to Australia over Christmas and New Year's on Virgin Australia flights.
I GOT IT WRONG: Virgin Australia Miles and Singapore Miles Don’t Transfer Freely Back and Forth
August 4, 2015
Update 8/5/15 at noon ET:
I totally messed this one up. Transfers are 1.35 Singapore miles to 1 Virgin Australia point or 1.35 Virgin Australia points to 1 Singapore mile. In both directions you lose about a quarter of your miles, so this is a terrible deal.
I GOT IT WRONG: Virgin Australia Miles and Singapore Miles Don’t Transfer Freely Back and Forth
August 4, 2015
Update 8/5/15 at noon ET:
I totally messed this one up. Transfers are 1.35 Singapore miles to 1 Virgin Australia point or 1.35 Virgin Australia points to 1 Singapore mile. In both directions you lose about a quarter of your miles, so this is a terrible deal.
Virgin America,Award Booking,Virgin Australia
Virgin America Eliminates Fuel Surcharges on Virgin Australia Flights
March 25, 2015
Virgin America no longer collects fuel surcharges on redemptions that fly Virgin Australia.
That means you can fly Virgin Australia's flat bed Business Class from Los Angeles to Sydney or Brisbane for only 80,000 Virgin America points + $130 in taxes roundtrip.
Award Booking,SkyMiles,Virgin Australia
Award Space for 12 to Australia over Christmas and New Year
February 3, 2015
There are five Business Class saver award seats and seven economy saver award seats between Los Angeles and Sydney for much of late December.
The space is on the direct Virgin Australia flight and bookable with Delta miles on delta.com. Connecting from anywhere else in the United States and to anywhere else in Australia/New Zealand is possible for zero extra miles, award space permitting.
This is the ideal way to book what should be a very tough ticket: a trip to Australia over Christmas and New Year.
Flat Bed Award Space to Australia Every Day Next Summer
January 11, 2015
Booking First Class or Business to Australia can be extremely challenging.
United doesn't release Business Class Saver space on its 787-9 from Los Angeles to Melbourne and doesn't have First Class on the flight.
United does release some First and Business Class on its 777s from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sydney. It has released none for November or December 2015.
Air Canada (bookable with United miles) releases some Business Class on its 777 from Vancouver to Sydney. It has released one day in December 2015.
Award Booking,Virgin Australia,Air Tahiti Nui,SkyMiles,Anatomy of an Award
Anatomy of an Award: Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia with SkyMiles
November 6, 2014
I asked longtime award booker and occasional blog contributor JB to write about a very interesting Delta award he just booked.
A lot of people think Delta miles are worthless, but there are no other miles that could book a single convenient award with long stops in Tahiti and Sydney plus an overnight in Auckland.
A client contacted the MileValue Award Booking Service requesting a slightly modified version a MileValue classic: Tahiti, New Zealand & Australia on One Trip Using Delta Skymiles.
She had tried another award booking service that failed to convince Delta to book the award.
Alaska,SkyMiles,Virgin Australia
Delta.com No Longer Displaying Alaska and Virgin Australia Award Space
October 30, 2014
Update 11/6/14: Delta.com is again displaying Alaska Airlines and Virgin Australia award space. The disappearance must have been a glitch. Bookmark this post in case the glitch recurs!
Delta.com is no longer displaying award space on Alaska Airlines or Virgin Australia. You can search for award space on both airlines on other websites and book it by phone with Delta.
Virgin Australia Business ClassDelta.com is pretty terrible.
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