Delta deal alert: Australia as low as 60,000 SkyMiles
Quick summary
In a year where many travelers finally feel confident booking bucket list-type trips that might not have been feasible over the last couple of years, we've got a great deal to put on your radar…but you'll want to act fast.
Delta Air Lines has some great mileage deals available right now on flights to Sydney Airport (SYD). While the best deals involve flights out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) — the only airport with direct Delta flights to Australia — right now, no matter your home city, it appears you can get a pretty good deal on a flight Down Under.
At the moment, Delta's sale involves round trips from LAX to Sydney for 60,000 SkyMiles throughout much of late 2022 and the first few months of 2023. Compare that to mileage fares out of LAX that can routinely cost well north of 100,000 — sometimes closer to 200,000 — SkyMiles for the round trip.
While you won't find the same 60,000-mile fare from anywhere other than LAX, travelers leaving from an extensive list of U.S. airports should be able to get the round trip for 70,000 to 80,000 miles — still significant savings from what you'd typically see.
Related: Project Sunrise: Qantas announces plane purchase for NY-Australia nonstop flights
In keeping with the 2022 tradition, good deals (even with miles) often don't last long, so if you think this might be an option for you, you should book right away.
One of the best parts of this deal is that it will allow you to get Australia right as the continent is heading into its summer months, since it's in the Southern Hemisphere. Whether you want to stick to sightseeing in Sydney itself, or make your way to other parts of the country, this could be the opportunity you've been waiting for to get to the other side of the world.
Deal Basics
Airline: Delta Air Lines
Routes: LAX to SYD for the best deal, but many U.S. airports have strong options to Sydney as well
How to book: Directly through the airline.
Travel dates: August 2022 through spring 2023, excluding the holidays
Sample fares
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney for 60,000 miles
- Seattle (SEA) to Sydney for 70,000 miles
- Phoenix (PHX) to Sydney for 75,000 miles
- New York-Kennedy (JFK) to Sydney for 80,000 miles
One of the things that struck me about these flights out of LAX was that month by month, they had a similar look to the awards calendar below.
Looking to book on a particular week in the fall? There's a good chance it's available as part of this deal. Already know the dates for your 2023 spring vacation? You may be in luck.
Let's first look at the strongest 60,000-mile, Main Cabin round-trip itinerary out of LAX, which TPG values at about $846 — cheaper than the cash price you'll generally pay to get to Sydney. These are nonstop, long-haul flights between Los Angeles and Sydney aboard an Airbus A350-900. The outbound flight is the longest — close to 15 hours. On the way back, it's a bit shorter, about 13 and a half hours. On top of the mileage fare, you pay $108 in fees which, considering it's a trip to Australia, really isn't bad. For perspective, I paid quite a bit more than that just this month for a short flight to the Caribbean on another legacy carrier.
Because Delta's flights to Sydney are out of LAX, as part of this deal you're going to end up there during your trip regardless of your origin airport. Those wanting to leave from New York can take a transcontinental flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK); they'll have a short layover at LAX before the long-haul flight. It's the same story on the return. The round trip goes for 80,000 miles, as is the case for many non-western U.S. cities.
Plugging in a whole bunch of U.S. cities throughout the eastern U.S. and Midwest, I found nearly every one had the 80,000-mile round trip available. You can even get the fare on departures out of the smallest of airports. Take the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport CHO) in my Virginia hometown, which has Delta flights to just two destinations in all. You can get the 80k deal. But you'll end up with double connections (Atlanta and then Los Angeles) but, hey, you can get to Australia for a round trip mileage fare that TPG values at a little over $1,100.
Related: How to book a trip to Sydney with points and miles
Bottom line
If you've long wanted to travel to Australia but have never found the cash or mileage fares to be approachable, this could be a game changer. Whether you've accrued a bunch of SkyMiles through a Delta co-branded credit card or have, say, a haul of American Express points you've been thinking about redeeming, this deal is a good opportunity for travelers both in southern California and across the country to get to Sydney at a fraction of the cost typically available.