Deal Alert: Flights to Australia From $618 Round-Trip — Including East Coast

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.      

Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.

Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking. However, if you’re using The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll need to book directly with the airline or through the Amex Travel portal to get 5x MR points. Remember: Fares may disappear quickly, so book right away and take advantage of Orbitz or Expedia’s courtesy cancellation if you’re unable to get the time away from work or family.

United and American are attacking each other’s hubs. And, as I love to say: when airlines compete, passengers win. There’s some excellent fares from American Airlines and United hubs all the way across the world to Australian cities like Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL). Delta also is showing some cheap fares to Australia.

In case you need more convincing, here’s our trip-spiration video about the state of Victoria. I can tell you from personal experience having traveled to Australia last December that Melbourne and the surrounding area are worth the trip:

To search, head to Google Flights and enter your origin and destination cities. Scroll through the calendar function to find dates and prices that work for you. Finally, click through to book directly with the airline or through an OTA like Priceline or Expedia.

Airlines: United, American, Delta
Routes: PHX/ZFV/IAH/DEN/LAX/MIA/DFW to MEL/SYD
Cost: $618+ Round-Trip
Travel Dates: January-June 2019
Pay With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Citi Premier Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Prestige Card (3x on airfare plus excellent trip delay insurance) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)

Here are a few examples of what you can book:

Phoenix (PHX) to Melbourne (MEL) for $618 round-trip 1-stop on United:

Train and Plane: Philadelphia (ZFV) to Melbourne (MEL) for $618 round-trip on Amtrak/United:

Houston (IAH) to Sydney (SYD) for $630 round-trip on American Airlines:

Denver (DEN) to Sydney (SYD) for $630 round-trip on American Airlines:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL) for $657 round-trip nonstop on United:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) for $669 round-trip nonstop on Delta:

Miami (MIA) to Sydney (SYD) for $684 round-trip 1-stop on United:

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Sydney (SYD) for $684 round-trip 1-stop on United:

Maximize Your Purchase

Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier Card, Citi Prestige Card (3x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

Featured image by Christopher Chan via Getty Images