New York awaits with PayRewards Points

When mapping out an adventure to New York, it pays to have the flexibility of PayRewards Points. With multiple airline transfer partners up your sleeve, you can move quickly to nab the best available reward seats to suit your journey each time.

Naturally, you can use Qantas Points to book the airline’s own New York flights. But did you know that Qantas has a new partner that flies one-stop to The Big Apple – and that partner is releasing plenty of Business Class reward seats to Qantas members?

If you’re strategic, you could also fly to New York for less than $200 out of pocket in taxes, fees and charges from Australia – and in Business Class to boot. Perhaps, you’d rather keep as many points in your pocket as possible and book a flatbed from just 115,000 airline miles – another of the many options available through PayRewards.

Here are the best and most affordable ways to travel from Australia to New York in Business Class comfort by using your hard-earned PayRewards Points.

Fly flat for the fewest PayRewards Points

Want to keep as many PayRewards Points in your pocket as possible? We’ve scoured the many tables and flight paths of our partners to find you the best deal. It’s a little unconventional, but you’ll spend the fewest PayRewards Points to fly Business Class aboard the partner airlines of Air Canada’s Aeroplan program – although not Air Canada itself.

From Sydney or Melbourne to New York, 115,000 Aeroplan points is all it takes to fly flat. As PayRewards Points can convert into Aeroplan points at a 2.5:1 rate, your one-way journey is covered with 287,500 PayRewards Points.

If you were to fly with Air Canada itself, the number of points needed is typically much higher. But with selected partners, such as Air India one-stop via Delhi, this favourable rate applies, and with a minimal co-payment amount.

*Rates given are one-way from Sydney. Similar rates apply from Melbourne.

An alternative route to boost inflight comfort

Want to keep your points cost down but fly in even greater style? Take yourself to New York in Qatar Airways’ lauded Qsuite Business Class from just 317,000 PayRewards Points, one-way.

For these bookings, the play is to convert from PayRewards to Virgin Australia Business Flyer (not to Qatar Airways Privilege Club, which sets different rates for redemption flights). These points transfers to Virgin Australia Business Flyer occur at a 2:1 rate, and from Business Flyer, Velocity Points can be converted onwards to a personal Velocity account at a 1:1 rate.

*Rates given are one-way from Sydney. Similar rates apply from other cities.

This option allows you to mix Virgin Australia’s ‘wet lease’ flights to Doha with Qatar Airways’ own services onwards from Doha to New York. In fact, this booking is only possible with Velocity Points – not using Avios from Qatar Airways’ own Privilege Club program – as Privilege Club doesn’t allow two airlines to be booked on a single connecting ticket.

Velocity, on the other hand, can pair up reward seats on those Australia-Doha ‘wet lease’ flights together with connections on Qatar Airways itself, at one combined reward rate. Availability into New York can be tight, but it’s a great way to fly when the stars align.

Save more of your spending money for The Big Apple

Some airlines apply hefty carrier charges, fuel charges and other levies on points-based bookings – so why not avoid them if you can? Your PayRewards Points are flexible, so if you’re strategic about how you redeem them, the cash cost of booking a flight can be minimal.

From Australia to New York, Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program shines with minimal cash co-payments. For instance, no matter where you fly from in Australia, you’ll spend less than $200 in taxes, fees and charges to jet to New York in Business Class.

PayRewards Points convert to KrisFlyer at a 2.5:1 rate – here’s what that looks like on a journey to New York.

*Cash figures above reflect Saver rates from Sydney and Perth, as applicable. Similar charges are payable from other cities. Economy flights require an additional connection via Frankfurt.
~Premium Economy only on selected flights and aircraft.

Note that on non-stop flights from Singapore to New York (JFK and Newark), Singapore Airlines only offers Premium Economy and Business Class. Economy Class on Singapore Airlines is only available from Singapore to New York via Frankfurt – requiring a two-stop journey from Australia.

Singapore Airlines will also serve the new Western Sydney Airport (airport code: WSI), in addition to Sydney Airport (SYD) in Mascot. This creates additional opportunities for flying Business Class using your PayRewards Points.

There’s a great opportunity for Premium Economy travel, too

Don’t mind flying Premium Economy if the price is right? You could fly one-stop to New York aboard United Airlines for only 70,000 United MileagePlus miles, one-way.

That’s from any of United’s Australian ports, via Los Angeles or San Francisco, into United’s Newark (New York) hub. You can convert PayRewards Points into United miles at a 3:1 rate.

*Cash figures above reflect Sydney to New York via Los Angeles. Similar charges are payable from other cities.

As you can see, Premium Economy is the sweet spot through United MileagePlus. The cost in miles is only marginally more than Economy, and significantly less than Business Class.

If you’re wondering why Business Class is so high, United recently made changes to MileagePlus that restrict it’s best-priced reward seats (those at 100,000 miles) to travellers holding an eligible credit card in the United States. In turn, those enviable reward seats now rarely appear to partners like Velocity, too. But for Premium Economy, MileagePlus can be a power play: even for travellers living Down Under.

Honourable mention: Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles

Getting flights to New York on points can be trickier than some other destinations. That’s because you’re hunting for not one, but two flights in each direction. With that in mind, it’s handy to have Asia Miles up your sleeve with Cathay Pacific: another PayRewards transfer partner.

Convert your PayRewards Points into Asia Miles at a 3:1 rate and travel from cities across Australia to The Big Apple at very reasonable rates.

*Cash figures above reflect Sydney to New York via Hong Kong. Similar charges are payable from other cities.

Another path worth exploring: Qantas Business Rewards

So far, we’ve highlighted the frequent flyer programs with the savviest cost in points and the lowest price in cash co-payments. These options are great if you can use them, but finding available reward seats can be tough – especially at those most advantageous rates.

That’s where Qantas Frequent Flyer comes in: particularly thanks to its new partnership with Philippine Airlines. Fly from cities across Australia to New York in one stop via Manila in Business Class comfort, and with a reasonable volume of reward seats available to book.

Add to that, Qantas has its own Auckland-New York flights. The route starts in Sydney, but can also be joined from multiple other Australian cities as part of a one-stop journey. Reward seats on this service are much tighter than with Philippine Airlines via Manila, but it’s one of the most convenient ways to fly, if you can get yourself aboard.

You can convert PayRewards Points across to Qantas Business Rewards at a 2:1 rate. From there, transfer onwards into individual Qantas Points at a 1:1 rate – to any personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account.

*Cash figures above reflect Sydney departures. Similar charges are payable from other cities.
^During our research, we couldn’t locate any connecting availability in Premium Economy from Sydney on Philippine Airlines.

Tips and tricks for securing New York on points

Still on the lookout for reward seats to New York? Here are a few final hints to get your trip on-track.

• Use Velocity Points for Singapore Airlines Premium Economy. We mentioned Velocity’s key route via Doha in partnership with Qatar Airways, but Singapore Airlines releases a reasonable chunk of Premium Economy reward seats to Velocity. You could fly from Sydney to New York via Singapore for 142,000 Velocity Points (284,000 PayRewards Points) plus $498.02 in taxes, fees and charges, one-way.
• Consider alternative airports. New York has two major airports – JFK and Newark – along with LaGuardia, home to shorter flights such as from US domestic ports and Canada. Try searching for flights into all three to boost your chances of success. While you’re at it, also try searching from Western Sydney Airport (WSI), not just Sydney Airport (SYD).
• Stuck? Look for somewhere close by. Sure, flying straight into New York is the easiest option. But if that just doesn’t work, use points to get somewhere close. For instance, to Dallas/Fort Worth, Toronto, or even just into the likes of Los Angeles or San Francisco. Once you’ve crossed the Pacific Ocean, getting onwards to New York is an easier feat.
• Are you a Qantas Platinum, Platinum One or Chairman’s Lounge member? This could be your gamechanger. If you can’t find something that fits your plans online, give Qantas a call and ask if a reward seat can be made available for you. Who knows, you might just find yourself aboard Qantas’ elusive flight to New York on a Classic Reward seat.
• Consider a stopover. Remember, for New York, you’re trying to get two flights at once. If you can’t get flights that connect closely with each other, breaking up the journey at a midway point – whether in Asia, the Middle East, New Zealand, or a different city in North America – could get you there without paying full fare.

Remember, being flexible and considering all your options can open doors when spending points. With a stash of PayRewards Points to spend and a little determination, you’ll be in New York in no time.

Written by Chris Chamberlin

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About the author

Chris Chamberlin is a journalist and points coach who has spent years maximizing rewards to travel the world in style and helping others do the same. From showering at 35,000 feet to stretching out in a lie-flat bed, Chris knows every tip and trick to fly in comfort without breaking the bank. With over 900 flights and nearly 80 airlines under his belt, he's earned lifetime frequent flyer status along the way. Follow him on Instagram @chris_chamberlin