Fly like a superstar to Los Angeles with PayRewards Points

Planning an adventure to the home of Hollywood? Your PayRewards Points unlock a wide array of travel options, including coveted journeys in Business Class and First Class. We’ve combed through the numbers to find you the very best deals using PayRewards Points. Now, you can enjoy the best part: travelling in style for less.

Did you know that just 80,000 airline miles – convertible from PayRewards Points – could get you into Business Class? Or that choosing one airline over another can save you almost $900 in fees on a single return trip to Tinseltown? Read on!

Business Class and First Class for the fewest PayRewards Points

For the best Business Class deal to Los Angeles, PayRewards’ partner Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (JMB) is an unexpected winner. Through JMB, members can redeem miles for Qantas Business Class and First Class flights to LAX at great value.

Just 80,000 JMB miles covers a one-way Business Class ticket on routes like Sydney to Los Angeles. As PayRewards Points convert into JMB miles at a 3:1 rate, these could be yours by transferring 240,000 PayRewards Points to JAL Mileage Bank. First Class is also bookable for 120,000 JMB miles (360,000 PayRewards Points), one-way. There’s ¥69,910 to pay in taxes, fees and charges to redeem (about $661 AUD, at the time of writing).

*In all tables in this article, co-payments reflect Sydney-Los Angeles. Similar amounts are payable on other routes.
^First Class only on selected flights, and not from Brisbane.

But before diving in with JMB, there’s a catch. JAL Mileage Bank only allows travellers to spend miles after being a JMB member for at least 60 days. If you’re not already signed up and are trying to book a flight now, the smarter play is to use Qantas Points – even though the overall reward rates are slightly higher when starting with PayRewards Points.

Using Qantas Points to Los Angeles

If you don’t have the luxury of time, using Qantas Points to book the Roo’s own flights is still a good way to go. From Sydney to LA, Qantas charges 130,100 Qantas Points in Business Class – or 194,400 Qantas Points for First Class. You’ll also pay $640 in taxes, fees and charges one-way: similar to JMB.

You can convert PayRewards Points to Qantas Business Rewards at a 2:1 rate, and onward to any personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account at a 1:1 rate. On paper, that 2:1 conversion is more favourable than the 3:1 rate to JAL. But it balances Qantas’ comparatively higher redemption rates, costing you 260,200 PayRewards Points for a one-way Business Class hop or 388,800 PayRewards Points for First Class.

Fortunately, Qantas doesn’t have the same 60-day membership requirement: and chances are, you’re already signed up anyway. Qantas Frequent Flyer also makes more reward seats available to its own members versus those booking via partner programs like JAL. That’s especially true for Qantas members with shiny status.

The takeaway: If you’ve been a member of JAL Mileage Bank for 60+ days and find a suitable reward seat online, it’s the best deal to LAX. But using Qantas Points to book Qantas itself can provide greater choice and flexibility, without requiring considerably more PayRewards Points.

Fly in Premium Economy comfort for less

Business Class is a great way to fly. But on long flights to Los Angeles, everybody wants a bed – so there’s a lot of competition for the best seats in the house. If you can’t find the perfect flatbed, the alternative doesn’t have to be Economy. Premium Economy is a comfortable alternative, and there’s a lot more availability to go around.

We’ve done the number crunching for you, to reveal that Cathay Pacific Asia Miles has the best Premium Economy reward rates from Australia to Los Angeles. For just 55,000 Asia Miles one-way, jet from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to LAX on Qantas – or on American Airlines from Sydney, too.

PayRewards Points convert into Asia Miles at a 3:1 rate, so this move requires 165,000 PayRewards Points each way. For Sydney-LAX, the co-payment is $1,744 HKD (around $333 AUD) on Qantas.

JAL Mileage Bank is also a solid backup, and handy to keep in mind if you’ve already converted PayRewards Points. The same flight costs 59,000 JMB miles (177,000 PayRewards Points). Alternatively, you could spend 97,600 Qantas Points on the same routes – akin to 195,200 PayRewards Points. Again, Qantas has the advantage of sometimes having more seats open to its own members, but it doesn’t hurt to check these great-value partners first.

Even more Premium Economy to Los Angeles

The options above mostly rely on Qantas reward seats, so when you need more choice, look to United Airlines. Also consider Air Canada (via Vancouver). Naturally, both are bookable by transferring PayRewards Points.

United Airlines presents the most convenient option, with direct flights from both Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles, on which a one-way Premium Economy seat requires 70,000 United miles. You can convert PayRewards Points to United MileagePlus at a 3:1 rate, so that’s 210,000 PayRewards Points.

United’s advantage is its sheer availability, both at short notice and many months down the track. United also tends to keep these seats for its own members – they’re never available through Velocity, for instance. Co-payments on these tickets are very low as well: around $142 one-way to Los Angeles from either Sydney or Melbourne.

Also consider Air Canada from Sydney or Brisbane to Los Angeles via Vancouver as a backup. Reward seats start at 70,000 Aeroplan points, and you can convert from PayRewards to Air Canada Aeroplan at a 2.5:1 rate (175,000 PayRewards Points). This includes flying Premium Economy on the longest leg from Australia to Canada. Then, you’ll clear US passport control on the ground in Vancouver before your short connection to LA, which will be in Economy Class.

Aeroplan uses dynamic reward pricing on Air Canada flights, so the asking price can be higher than 70,000 points. In fact, for Business Class on the same route, Aeroplan often charges 400,000+ Aeroplan points, which isn’t the greatest value when converting from PayRewards. For that reason, we suggest searching on the Aeroplan website for the flight you want to see the latest reward seat pricing.

Minimising co-payments on reward flights to Los Angeles

Have stacks of points up your sleeve and want to keep the co-payments to a minimum? No worries, we’ve got your back!

Look, for First Class, there’s no real way around it. Qantas levies a total of $639.29 in taxes, fees and carrier charges to fly one-way from Sydney to Los Angeles – and that’s the cheapest cash cost from PayRewards’ partners. By comparison, it’s $3,440 HKD (~$659 AUD) through Cathay Asia Miles and ¥69,910 in costs (~$661 AUD) via JAL Mileage Bank.

But think about that as an hourly rate. The flight is over 13 hours, so you’re paying less than $50 per hour in taxes and charges to fly between continents in the best available seat.

In Business Class, though, using Qantas Points on Fiji Airways can bring great savings. You’ll spend the same 130,100 Qantas Points as for booking Qantas’ own Sydney-LA flights, but by flying Fiji Airways to Los Angeles via Nadi, the co-payments drop to $191. That’s about $448 cheaper than flying Qantas, and the same number of points. On a return trip, that’s almost $900 saved in cold hard cash.

For a money saver in Premium Economy, leveraging United MileagePlus to book United comes out ahead. You’ll pay only $141.59 from Sydney to LA, or $141.65 from Melbourne. Costs are even lower returning from the US: just $42.15 from LA to Melbourne, for instance.

In Economy Class, it’s a tie. United’s co-payments for Premium Economy also apply for Economy. But Economy seats are even more competitive through Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Fly United Economy for 48,000 Velocity Points plus same co-payment as United MileagePlus (<$142). As you can convert PayRewards Points into Velocity Points at a 2:1 rate via Virgin Australia Business Flyer, you’ll get there for 96,000 PayRewards Points.

Why not Velocity for Business Class?

In the past, United’s Business Class flights from Australia were readily available using Velocity Points – especially when travelling at short notice. But now, United is being more guarded with its Business Class reward seats.

Members of United MileagePlus generally need to have a United co-branded credit card in the United States to get its best Business Class points deals (100,000 miles for Sydney or Melbourne to LAX, one-way). This tightening of access has impacted United’s own members – making the default pricing 200,000+ miles for most – as well as travellers using United’s partner programs, like Velocity.

According to seats.aero data, United Business Class hasn’t been available for Velocity redemption from Australia to Los Angeles since March 2025, aside from a very small release around Christmas. We even crawled the calendar for an entire year and couldn’t locate a single United Business Class flight from Australia to LAX using Velocity Points. For this reason, we haven’t considered Velocity in our rankings above, as these seats just aren’t available right now.

Tips and tricks for your Los Angeles adventure

Still haven’t found the perfect flight to Los Angeles? Widen the net with these final helpful hints.

• Try San Francisco instead: Qantas offers direct Sydney-San Francisco flights, and United serves SFO from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – and seasonally, from Adelaide. More flights bring more opportunities for travelling using points, and Los Angeles is just a quick hop from San Francisco.
• Have Qantas Platinum status? Top-tier frequent flyers can call and ask for a reward seat to be made available. This isn’t just a myth: I’ve done it myself. In one phone call, I’ve had a reward seat secured from Melbourne to Los Angeles in First Class, with the additional choice of Sydney-Los Angeles in Business Class… during school holidays to boot.
• Fly the long way to LA: Have more time up your sleeve? More circuitous journeys could plug the gap. Velocity sometimes has Business Class reward seats from Australia to Tokyo and onwards to Los Angeles on its partner All Nippon Airways (ANA) when booking within about two weeks of departure. Similar options include China Airlines via Taipei using Qantas Points, and Singapore Airlines via Singapore using KrisFlyer miles or Velocity Points. These are big detours, but some might prefer the extra flatbed hours if the alternative is flying Economy on a direct flight.

Written by Chris Chamberlin

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About the author

Chris enjoys making the most of frequent flyer points, which have taken him around the world – usually, at the front of the plane. He’s travelled over 1.5 million miles sampling the best in Business Class and First Class. That’s further than three return trips to the moon! Chris is based at Point Hacks' Melbourne office as News Editor, and shares his experiences via @chris_chamberlin on Instagram. When he’s not travelling, he enjoys tennis, keeping fit, and discovering new gins.