Deal Alert: Award Flights Nationwide to Australia From 48,000 Miles Round-Trip
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
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TPG's Richard Kerr wrote back in April why he retired 'SkyPesos' from his vocabulary — and these amazing Delta SkyMiles deals have certainly reinforced his point. The airline has introduced more award sales and extended others for destinations worldwide, now lowering the price to Australia to just 48,000 SkyMiles round-trip (last week it was on sale for 50,000 miles round-trip).
Every city that I plugged in seemed to have dates available at 48,000 miles round-trip, so just head over to Delta.com and enter your preferred departure city and destination as Sydney (SYD). For reference, both American and United charge 80,000 miles for a round-trip economy award between the US to Australia.
If you’re short on miles, remember that you can instantly transfer American Express Membership Rewards points into your SkyMiles account at a 1:1 ratio.
Airline: Delta
Routes: US Cities (ATL/BOS/SEA/JFK/PDX/SFO/SLC/DTW/MSP/MIA/BNA/IAH and likely others) to SYD
Cost: 48,000+ SkyMiles and $110+ round-trip in economy
Dates: September 13 through December 5
Booking Link: Directly with Delta
Purchase by: September 12
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, (3x on travel), Citi Prestige (5x 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:
Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) for 48,000 SkyMiles + $110 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop in September:
Atlanta (ATL) to Sydney (SYD) for 48,000 SkyMiles + $116 in taxes and fees round-trip in September:
San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD) for 48,000 SkyMiles + $116 in taxes and fees round-trip in November:
Salt Lake City (SLC) to Sydney (SYD) for 48,000 SkyMiles + $116 in taxes and fees round-trip in November:
New York Kennedy (JFK) to Sydney (SYD) for 48,000 SkyMiles + $116 in taxes and fees round-trip in October:
Portland (PDX) to Sydney (SYD) for 40,000 SkyMiles + $116 in taxes and fees round-trip in October:
Maximize Your Purchase
Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases to pay the taxes and fees, such as the Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on travel), Citi Prestige (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
If you don’t have enough SkyMiles in your account, consider signing up for one of the Delta credit cards to ensure you’re able to take advantage of a deal next time one pops up. For example, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express currently comes with a bonus of 30,000 bonus miles after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases within your first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. Terms Apply.
