Here's How I'm Using My Points To Fly From Australia To Europe

July and August are the peak months for travel to Europe. Most frequent flyers aim to redeem award seats in Business or First at least a year in advance. Usually, I’m more organised, but this year I waited until May to lock in a trip. So, I wanted to share how I’m travelling from Perth to Europe in a mix of Business and First Class, with a few stops along the way.

For me, the journey is just as important as the destination, so getting there fast or direct isn’t exactly my priority. I seek out certain aviation experiences, as well as stopovers I enjoy.

To start, I’m based in WA, so getting from Perth to Asia is pretty easy.
Singapore Airlines is my go-to, as there’s usually a lot of award space available.

Perth to Singapore: Singapore Airlines Business Class

For just 40,500 KrisFlyer miles and AU$96 in taxes and fees, you can hop over to Singapore in Business. Transferring these from Amex happens at a 3:1 ratio, but you can also opt to use 65,000 Velocity Points directly via Virgin Australia.

In my case, I used the Singapore Airlines waitlist feature for the specific flight time I wanted. After waiting nine days, the seat was released, allowing me to lock it in.

Singapore to Dubai: Singapore Airlines B777 First Class

With Singapore Airlines, you can actually do a mixed-class redemption. These tickets can only be booked over the phone and only work on routes where SQ doesn’t operate a First Class cabin (such as Perth). The total miles required follow the highest cabin award chart (First), but it still works out cheaper than booking separate itineraries.

I’m doing a two-night stopover in Singapore to try out the Mandarin Oriental, so First Class from Singapore to Dubai is a separate cost. I paid just 86,500 KrisFlyer miles per person and SG$134 in fees for two seats – incredible value.

The flight to Dubai also departs at the perfect time of 15:10, which gives me ample time to enjoy the outstanding The Private Room before departure.

Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam: Etihad A350 Business Class

From Dubai, I’m heading straight to Abu Dhabi, as I’ve yet to experience the new airport. The new Etihad First Class Lounge is high on my list. Being Velocity Platinum (for likely the last year) gives me access, since I’ve booked Etihad’s new-ish A350 Business Class to Amsterdam (they start flying the A350 there in June).

For this redemption, I couldn’t find award space via Velocity, so I transferred 140,000 Amex Membership Rewards points, which convert to 70,000 Etihad Guest Miles. This itinerary only costs 70,000 Etihad Guest Miles, but the taxes are a bit steep – just over AU$500 per person.

What About the Return?

I haven’t booked anything for the return yet, as I’m hoping to grab a last-minute award seat on Japan Airlines’ new A350 in First Class out of London.

My wife, however, has work commitments. To my surprise, I found a Vietnam Airlines award seat out of Frankfurt to Perth with a stop in Ho Chi Minh City. Since Vietnam Airlines is part of SkyTeam, it’s fairly easy to redeem through your SkyTeam loyalty program of choice. I used Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles, which transfer from American Express Membership Rewards at a 2:1 ratio.

With a total of 9,010 miles, the route falls into the highest redemption band on the Virgin Atlantic award chart, which means 140,000 Flying Club Miles are required. Taxes and fees came in at around AU$700. It’s not an ideal redemption in my opinion, but considering it’s peak travel season, it’s not a bad result either.

Summing Up

As you can see, if you’re flexible with your routing and have access to versatile points like Amex Membership Rewards, it’s not too hard to find premium cabin seats without planning a year in advance.

In total, I redeemed 127,000 KrisFlyer miles and 70,000 Etihad Guest Miles, which gives me a few enjoyable stops along the way – including two nights in Singapore and one night in Abu Dhabi.