(EXPIRED) Qantas Premium Economy to Australia starting at 47.5K miles

Update 3/6 – Western Australia is now open to vaccinated tourists, making the Perth option discussed below viable.  Availability has lessened quite a bit in the two weeks since we first posted this, but I’m still able to find decent availability on the non-stops from LAX to both Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia is reopening!  Starting February 21st, vaccinated travelers are able to enter the country without having to quarantine.  As a result, there are currently massive amounts of availability in economy, from almost very US gateway on multiple airlines, through mid-December.  There are non-stops on Qantas and Virgin Australia as well connecting options using Singapore, Korean, JAL and Fiji Airways.

There’s a problem though.  15+ hours in economy is no-one’s idea of a good time and while there’s smatterings of business availability, it’s extremely date-specific.  There is another very good option that IS available and offers value: Qantas Premium Economy

Qantas Premium Economy

Qantas is one of the better Premium Economy seats and is a distinct step up from domestic first class recliners.  It has a 2-3-2 layout in a separate, upper deck cabin with only 35 seats, making it feel very private. The seats are 19.5 inches wide and each seat has its own armrest. The recline of 9 inches with 42 inches of pitch makes them feel much roomier than economy.  With the leg-rest, if you close your eyes and have a drink (or four) you might be able to trick yourself into thinking you have an angled-lie flat.

Qantas recently updated the some of the premium economy cabins across the fleet with 10% wider seats and increased recline.  To my knowledge, there is still a mixture of the old and new cabins flying into the various US gateways, but the updated cabins in the A380 have 60 seats, so you should be able to tell from the seatmap which one you have.  This post by Upgraded Points has a great explanation of the different layouts.

The Deal

• Qantas Premium Economy availability from the US to Australia with 2+ seats.  Can be booked for 47,500 miles each way using Alaska Mileage Plan, 65,000 each way using American AAdvantage or British Airways Avios

There is more availability in Premium Economy than Business, but it is somewhat more limited than regular economy.  Availability is best over June-August, but there is still some to be found March-May and September-November.  Non-stops are widely available from both LAX to Melbourne and and Sydney (note that the calendars are from AA, but availability lines up well with BA and AS):

There is also non-stop availability from DFW and JFK, but some of the saver awards showing in the calendar are connecting flights.  Most major US airports are showing saver availability connecting through California or DFW during the same general time-period

How to Book

This is where Alaska Mileage Plan shines, for now at least.  You could certainly book using AAdvantage or Avios for 65,000 miles and indeed if you’re of the SimplyMiles nouveau riche, you almost certainly should.  If so, you can book directly through their websites with free cancellation.

But Alaska sells QF premium economy for only 5,000 miles more than regular QF coach.  Add to that the stopover feature that Greg talked about on the most recent FM on the Air and there’s some fun stuff available.

How about LAX-SYD in Premium Economy and then onto Perth a week later?  47,500 miles.

On the way back, I’d like to go all the way from Perth to LAX and then go to Maui for Labor Day.  47,500 miles.

As an asterisk, you can also book Qantas Business via Mileage Plan for 55K each way, but availability is usually limited to 2-3 months out and very difficult to find.  It’s worth keeping an eye out if you have Alaska miles though…when you get it it’s one of the best deals in points and miles.

Quick Thoughts

Premium Economy is often relegated to the purgatory of points and miles.  It’s can be too much more expensive than economy for the budgeteers and doesn’t lay flat like the business cabin we all long for.  Don’t “sleep” on transpacifc premium economy flights though.  Qantas has one of the best PE cabins in the world and it’s a no-brainer value with Alaska miles…and maybe even worth the splurge if you’re an AAdvantage millionaire.

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