How I saved thousands of dollars on a trip to Australia with credit card points and miles

I love to travel in style. But I can’t afford to travel like the rich and famous, at least not by paying cash. That’s where my expertise in maximizing credit card rewards comes in. With careful points and miles redemptions and travel partner transfers, I can fly first class and stay in some of the best hotels in the world, saving thousands of dollars. Here’s how I redeemed my points and miles for my recent trip to Australia.

Finding a deal

It’s important to note that while points and miles can save you significant money, they’re not always the best or most convenient deal. I’ll often look for destinations in an off-peak time of year; I’m much more likely to find a great deal that way. That led me to Australia this summer, although it was winter there.

I received a flight deal alert for first-class availability on Qantas Airways Limited for several summer dates from the West Coast. I live in Las Vegas, but I chose Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as my airport to search from since it’s the largest West Coast airport for international travel. I can easily get to LAX from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas with several options, so I’d save that part for later. The most important part of an international trip is arranging your flights across the ocean in both directions.

Using Membership Rewards points for first-class travel

My goal was to visit two cities in Australia. I knew I wanted to go to Sydney, and my best bet would be to search from LAX. Once I found dates available for two first-class seats, I looked at options from a few cities I was interested in visiting to find a first-class return flight approximately 10 to 12 days later. Once I found a flight that worked for me, I settled on a return flight from Melbourne.

To book the flight, I needed 90,000 Qantas points per person for each leg — 360,000 Qantas points total. Thankfully, I had a ton of American Express Membership Rewards points, and transferring to partners like Qantas is a great way to use them. According to Bankrate’s valuations, Membership Rewards points are worth around 2.0 cents per point and potentially more with the right transfer partner and redemption.

My 360,000 Qantas points for the trip were worth roughly $7,200. Based on searching several dates in the calendar, the same ticket booked with cash would cost an average of $12,670 per person per direction on the lower end of Qantas’ pricing. Altogether, I secured two roundtrip first-class tickets worth $50,000 for 360,000 points, around 14 cents per point in approximate value.

To earn all these points, I have several of the best American Express cards. Each card has a substantial welcome offer that quickly boosts my balance and provides solid ongoing reward value for my everyday spending. While many of these cards come with annual fees, the value I get from each card more than justifies the cost.

Positioning flights

Now that I had booked my main flights, I had to get from Las Vegas and Los Angeles and from Sydney to Melbourne. These flights were much more straightforward to book.

I had several options to compare for the flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. I went with a cheap Delta flight that cost 4,200 miles (originally $150) per person. We value Delta SkyMiles at around 1.2 cents per mile, but my miles were worth roughly 7.1 cents when I redeemed them. As a Delta credit cardholder, I also saved 15 percent on the award cost.

Be careful when booking positioning flights with a different airline. Make sure you build in more time than you need to make your connection. If you have baggage, you’ll need to retrieve and recheck it at your connecting airport and go through security again, which can take longer in an international terminal. If you miss your connecting flight, you are out of luck since your reservations aren’t on the same itinerary.

I gave myself six hours and was glad I did. A mechanical issue, an unruly guest and an unannounced presidential visit caused our flight to be stuck on the tarmac for an extra two hours. While I was stressed waiting for the flight to leave, my planning ensured I had plenty of time. Once I arrived at LAX, I sped through security with CLEAR and still had time to enjoy the Qantas first-class airport lounge to relax before the 14-hour flight to Sydney.

Thankfully, booking from Sydney to Melbourne was a much less stressful situation. I used 6,400 Qantas points each to book with Jetstar, an Australian domestic airline. I have always enjoyed flying domestically in a different country and comparing it to how United States airlines operate. The cash price averaged around $150 per ticket. While I didn’t get the outsized value of my first-class flight, I still came out ahead, earning around 2.3 cents per point. 

Hotels

Now that airfare was booked, it was time to find places to stay. I knew I wanted to stay near Sydney’s main Circular Quay area, while I was more flexible with Melbourne. I had several free night certificates from various hotel programs and World of Hyatt Globalist status to help inform my choices.

I chose the Park Hyatt Sydney in Sydney and couldn’t have picked a better place. As a Globalist, I was upgraded to a room with a view directly overlooking Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Opera House. Watching the sunrise and sunset on our balcony (even if it was a little chilly) was stunning.

We stayed for five nights at an average cost of 37,000 points per night. While this is a bit high compared to other top-level Hyatt properties, we wanted to splurge a bit, and it more than lived up to our expectations. We estimated that World of Hyatt points are worth around 2.3 cents per point, and with average cash rates of more than $1,200 per night, it was well worth it. I used points earned from my World of Hyatt Credit Card and also transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points from my many Chase cards.

I wasn’t as particular about our location in Melbourne. I aimed to find as much value as possible from the three IHG One Rewards free night certificates we earned from our IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the now-discontinued IHG® One Rewards Select Credit Card. These certificates are capped at 40,000 points, but the certificate from the IHG Premier can be topped off with additional points for nights exceeding 40,000 points. 

However, you can often find much better redemption rates with IHG Rewards outside of the U.S. for much better properties. I spent all three free nights at Intercontinental Melbourne, a beautiful property and one of IHG’s top brands. Point rates were different for each night, so I had to monitor rates to make sure I applied the correct certificates for each night to minimize additional points needed. I added another night with points for the cheapest night of our stay.

The cash rates for our stay were $300 to $400 per night. The annual fees for our two IHG Select cards are $49 each and $99 for our IHG Premier. IHG points are valued at around 0.7 cents per point. I spent 20,000 points for the additional night (worth around $140). Since the cash rates were all higher than the cost of my annual fees and the points night, this worked out in my favor again, and we enjoyed the property.

The bottom line

I’m so grateful for the ability to travel the world and enjoy luxury accommodations without breaking the bank. My knowledge of maximizing credit card rewards has saved me thousands of dollars over the years, especially on this trip. I could never afford to fly first class on a great airline or stay in the beautiful hotels we selected. While I used many moving parts and have a vast credit card portfolio, it doesn’t always require in-depth planning to have a great trip and save significant money.