You’ll be able to already use American Airways miles to improve American flights. You can even redeem American miles to improve British Airways and Iberia flights booked into some high-fare courses.
However American Airways promised earlier this yr to introduce the flexibility to improve flights on different companions utilizing AAdvantage miles in 2024. Now, it is beginning to make good on this promise by introducing the flexibility to improve Qantas flights utilizing American miles. This is what you have to know.
Upgrading Qantas flights with American miles
As soon as you have booked your Qantas-operated flight, you’ll be able to verify whether or not your flight is eligible and the improve charges by heading to the Plusgrade web site. As soon as there, you could enter your Qantas affirmation code and final identify.
You could improve every section individually when you’ve got a number of Qantas-operated flights in your ticket. Assuming your fare is eligible, you may initially see an choice to bid for a money improve. Utilizing the slider, you’ll be able to select a certain amount to bid in your improve.
This is the default bid for me to maneuver from Qantas premium financial system to enterprise class on a long-haul flight from Sydney Airport (SYD) to Santiago Airport (SCL) this summer season. For my flight, the potential bids vary from $585 to $3,490 per particular person.
You can even toggle from money to miles to see the variety of American miles required for an improve. You’ll be able to’t change the variety of miles you bid for the improve, as it’s static in your particular flight and date.
You may even see a number of improve choices relying on the category you have booked and the cabins provided in your flight. You probably have a number of passengers in your reservation, you could request to improve all the passengers. Should you solely need to improve some passengers, you might be able to contact the company or airline you booked with and ask to separate the vacationers you do not need to improve out of your reservation.
When you submit an improve request, you may get a affirmation e mail from Qantas. Nonetheless, upgrades will not be confirmed till 24 hours or much less earlier than departure. So, you will not know till shortly earlier than your flight whether or not your improve bid was profitable.
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You’ll be able to cancel your request anytime earlier than Qantas confirms your improve. Should you requested an improve with money, you’ll be able to change your bid anytime earlier than your improve is confirmed. You’ll be able to solely submit new improve requests as much as 5 hours earlier than departure for home flights and 10 hours earlier than departure for worldwide flights.
Associated: The best way to earn miles within the American Airways AAdvantage program
Is utilizing American miles to improve your Qantas flight a very good deal?
The brief reply isn’t any. Utilizing American miles to improve Qantas flights often will not be a good suggestion. Let us take a look at a couple of real-life examples that will provide you with an thought of what worth you’ll be able to anticipate to get when redeeming American miles to improve your Qantas flight.
For my premium financial system flight from Sydney to Santiago this summer season, I may request an improve for 64,400 American miles per particular person. However I would solely discover out inside 24 hours of my flight whether or not my improve cleared, and the improve value can be on prime of the 70,000 American miles and $72 I already paid per particular person for my fare.
The improve charges are fairly unimpressive when you think about you would redeem 82,500 miles per particular person — simply 12,500 miles per particular person greater than I paid for my premium financial system award ticket — to e book into the Qantas business-class cabin on this flight. After all, there wasn’t award availability after I booked (and there nonetheless is not), however the improve nonetheless comes at a hefty premium over the usual award pricing.
However maybe the extra damning side is that I may outright purchase a one-way, business-class ticket by Qantas’ codeshare accomplice LATAM on the identical flight for $2,309.50 per particular person. Not solely would my business-class seat be assured then, however I would additionally save the miles I redeemed for my premium financial system flight and earn rewards on my fare and bank card spending.
However let’s verify one other flight to get a second knowledge level. Primarily based on the American AAdvantage accomplice award chart, I can fly from the continental U.S. to the Asia Pacific area for 40,000 miles per particular person in financial system, 65,000 miles in premium financial system, 80,000 miles in enterprise or 110,000 miles in first (assuming award availability permits).
For a one-way financial system award flight from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) to Sydney, Plusgrade quoted me a charge of 66,900 miles or between $800 and $3,625 for an improve to premium financial system. However, if I discovered premium financial system award availability on this flight, I would solely must redeem 25,000 extra miles primarily based on American Airways’ accomplice award chart to e book a confirmed premium financial system award.
In the meantime, I may request an improve from financial system to enterprise class on this flight for 95,500 miles or between $1,215 and $5,165. Keep in mind that if I discovered business-class award availability on this flight, I would solely must redeem 40,000 extra miles than I would redeemed for my financial system fare to e book a confirmed business-class award.
You’ll be able to usually discover premium financial system tickets for round $3,000 round-trip on the Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, so you might discover higher worth by both shopping for a paid premium financial system fare or establishing award availability alerts in your dates for those who do not need to fly in financial system on this long-haul flight.
Particularly contemplating the huge distinction between the award charges you would e book by way of the AAdvantage accomplice award chart (for those who discover award availability) and the improve charges, I can not say it is a good worth to redeem American miles to improve your Qantas flight.
Associated: Greatest makes use of of American Airways miles
Backside line
Extra choices to improve flights utilizing miles are all the time welcome. Nonetheless, contemplate whether or not you may get good worth earlier than utilizing money or American miles to improve Qantas flights. In lots of circumstances, you might be higher off redeeming for a premium-cabin award (if there’s availability) or reserving a paid fare within the greater cabin — assuming you have not booked your flight but otherwise you’ve booked a fare you’ll be able to freely cancel.
