If you’ve been dreaming of surfing in Sydney or hiking the fjords of New Zealand but haven’t booked a flight yet, there’s a new points offer that can make your decision a lot easier.
For a limited time, members of American Airlines AAdvantage Program You can earn up to 25,000 bonus miles on eligible flights to Australia and New Zealand operated by American or its partner Qantas.
You’ll earn 1 bonus mile for every base mile flown on eligible fares, capped at 25,000 miles. So, for example, if you earned 2,500 miles on a base rate of $500, you’d earn another 2,500 bonus miles through the promotion and take home a total of 5,000 AAdvantage miles.
For a real-life example of what this could really mean for your mileage balance, we looked at the flights Lyndsey Matthews, TPG’s points and loyalty editor-in-chief, recently took to New Zealand.
For your flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Auckland Airport (AKL) on American Airlines, you earned 13,075 base miles and another 10,720 base miles for your return flight from AKL to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Qantas. So if you rebooked these flights during this promotion, you’d earn 23,795 bonus miles for a total of 47,590 AAdvantage miles for round-trip travel from the US to New Zealand.
Related: Airline award unicorn: How I booked Qantas first class (and what it was like)
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How to reserve
It couldn’t be easier to take advantage of this deal. First, make sure you are an AAdvantage member and log in to your account. You’ll see the offer under the “Promotions” tab, along with a button to sign up. Click to register and book flights by May 31. You must travel by March 31, 2027 to earn bonus miles.
Note: This offer only applies to non-stop flights between the continental United States and Australia or New Zealand marketed by American Airlines, so the flight you book must have an AA flight number, even if operated by Qantas. Additionally, basic economy tickets and tickets booked through award redemptions are excluded from this promotion.
Related: Las Vegas lands first non-stop flight to Australia
Potential routes
There are many eligible nonstop flights to the region from major US hubs. Here are some nonstop options that will qualify for this promotion:
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Sydney Airport (SYD), Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Auckland Airport (AKL)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to SYD, MEL, AKL and Brisbane Airport (BNE)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to AKL
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to SYD
If you don’t live near one of these centers but still want to take advantage of this deal, consider purchasing a cheap positioning flight to a departure airport.
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