Your Guide to get to London using Points

From the buzz of Oxford Street to the charm of Coventry Garden, it’s no surprise that London is a favourite destination for many Australians.  

And if you’re a member of PayRewards or American Express Membership Rewards (“Amex Rewards”) you have many options to get to London using your Points.  

This guide will run through the following: 

• Your flight options include both direct and connecting flights.  

• How PayRewards and Amex Rewards members can capitalise on using their Points by choosing the lowest cost option to book a seat on two of the most popular flight routes between Sydney and London. We review all cabins, including Economy, Premium Economy, Business and First.  

• The lowest cost option to get to London from any of the most viable flight options, for all four cabin classes available. 

• How to book a reward seat to London, including how our PayTravel service can help 

How you can use your PayRewards or Amex Rewards Points to maximise value

The table above shows the many different options to get from Australia to London. And not just options for routes, but also for which frequent flyer program you can use.  

 This point is important. Many people don’t know that the same reward seat can be offered by multiple reward programs. As such, opportunities are created to book the reward seat for less using one frequent flyer over another.  

This is a benefit of flexible rewards programs like PayRewards and Amex Membership Rewards, which allow members to transfer their Rewards Points to a member airline that will offer them the best deal for a particular reward seat.  

The table above shows that, for various travel options to London, there are at least five different frequent flyer programs available, each with distinct flight durations and prices. So why not choose the best one for your travel preferences?     

To illustrate the above point, let’s take a look at two popular ways to get to London: 

1. Perth to London direct flying Qantas 
2. Sydney to London via Singapore flying Singapore Airlines 

Perth to London (Direct) – Flying Qantas  

The direct Perth to London flight has proved to be incredibly popular. Many people looking to book a Reward Seat on QF9 to London or on the return flight QF10 assume that Qantas Points are the only points you can use to make the booking.  

 But in theory, you can use any frequent flyer program of a oneworld airline to book this Reward Seat, as Qantas is a member of the oneworld alliance.  

Theory is one thing, but practicality is another. As we conducted our searches for Reward Seats, we found that only some of the airline partners of Qantas offered Reward Seats for this flight. These frequent flyer programs are:  

• Qantas Frequent Flyer 

• Cathay Asia Miles 

• JAL Mileage Bank 

• The British Airways Club 

The table below shows the cost in Points and cash co-payment for QF9 from Perth to London for the above frequent flyer programs based on cabin class.  

Table 1 

Given the popularity of this particular flight, it sells very well with cash-paying customers. As such, Reward Seats are quite limited, especially in premium cabin classes. In fact, only Qantas makes premium seats available for Classic Reward Seat bookings. So naturally, the most cost-effective option for Premium Economy, Business and First Class is Qantas, by default that they are the only options available.   

What about Economy Class? There are four programs vying for the most cost-effective option. But how we determine the best option given that the pricing contains a combination of Points and a cash co-payment? To answer, we need to determine a single Standardised Cost for each program so we can easily compare the costs.  

To get a single Standardised Cost for an airline program, we need to standardise the points and cash components. This can be done by using the following formula:

Standardised Cost = Point Cost + (Cash co-payment/Est. value of redemption point) 

An estimate for the value of a redemption point should be based on what value you think you can redeem your point for. We assume the following in our calculations below: 

• Economy – 1.0 cents 

• Premium Economy – 1.8 cents 

• Business – 3.5 cents 

• First – 4.5 cents 

Therefore, using the above formula, we have the following for the Standardised Cost of the QF9 Economy Reward Seat: 

Table 2 

With the Standardised Cost under our belt, it’s now time to determine which Economy Class option is best when transferring PayRewards and which is best when transferring Amex Membership Rewards. 

To do this, we need to identify the transfer rates available for the above programs.  

PayRewards 

Starting with PayRewards, the transfer rates between PayRewards and the above four programs are as follows: 

Table 3

As such, the number of PayRewards Points required to be transferred for each program are as follows: 

Table 4 

Given the transfer rates available, PayRewards members will get the best value by transferring their Points to Qantas Business Rewards, and then onto Qantas Frequent Flyer (which transfers at a 1:1 rate) for all four cabin classes.  

We define ‘value’ as being realistically able to find a reward seat at the lowest cost.  

Note: The Points values shown in Table 4 do not represent the actual number of Points needed to be transferred to the airline partner. The actual number of Points required to be transferred is equal to the Points values shown in Table 1 multiplied by the transfer rates shown in Table 3. 

Amex Membership Rewards

When it comes to Amex Membership Rewards, please note that from 15 December 2025, there are changes to the Membership Rewards Points transfer rewards for a number of airlines, including Cathay Asia Miles and The British Airways Club Avios.  

As such, we have split this section into Before 15 December 2025 and After 15 December 2025 changes.  

Before 15 December 2025 

The transfer rates between Amex Membership Rewards and the above four programs are as follows: 

Table 5 

As such, the number of Amex Membership Rewards Points required to be transferred for each program as follows: 

Table 6 

With the above transfer rates that apply until 15 December 2025, transferring your Amex Membership Rewards Points to The British Airways Club Avios program for Economy Class and to Qantas Frequent Flyer for premium travel classes is the most cost-effective option.  

Note: The Points values shown in Table 6 do not represent the actual number of Points needed to be transferred to the airline partner. The actual number of Points required to be transferred is equal to the Points values shown in Table 1 multiplied by the transfer rates shown in Table 5. 

After 15 December 2025 

The transfer rates between Amex Membership Rewards and the above four programs are as follows: 

Table 7 

As such, the number of Amex Membership Rewards Points required to be transferred for each program as follows: 

Table 8 

When the new transfer rates kick on from 15 December 2025, transferring your Amex Membership Rewards Points to Qantas Frequent Flyer for all travel classes is the most cost-effective option.  

Note: The Points values shown in Table 8 do not represent the actual number of Points needed to be transferred to the airline partner. The actual number of Points required to be transferred is equal to the Points values shown in Table 1 multiplied by the transfer rates shown in Table 7. 

Sydney to London (via Singapore) – Flying Singapore Airlines 

Let’s take a look at another popular flight route from Sydney to London. That is, Singapore Airlines flight via Singapore.  

Like the Qantas Perth to London example above, while in theory there a large number of frequent flyer programs that you can use to book reward seats on this flight, in practice, only a subset will offer reward seats.  

Based on our research, only two programs were offering reward seats on a frequent basis. These frequent flyer programs are:  

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 

• Velocity Frequent Flyer 

The table below shows the cost in Points and cash co-payment for this flight route for the above frequent flyer programs based on cabin class. 

Table 9 

We run into the same issue as the Qantas example above in that it is difficult to determine the most cost-effective option given differing Points and cash co-payment requirements.  

To get around this issue, we need to find a single Standardised Cost in order to compare the above options, given differing Points and cash co-payment requirements. 

As a reminder, to calculate the Standardised Cost, we use the following: 

Standardised Cost = Point Cost + (Cash co-payment/Est. value of redemption point) 

Again we assume the following estimated value redemptions for each cabin class:  

• Economy – 1.0 cents 

• Premium Economy – 1.8 cents 

• Business – 3.5 cents 

• First – 4.5 cents 

Therefore, using the above formula, we have the following for the Standardised Cost of the QF9 Economy Reward Seat: 

Table 10 

With the Standardised Cost calculated, it’s again time to determine which option is best when transferring PayRewards and which is best when transferring Amex Membership Rewards. 

To do this, we need to identify the transfer rates available for the above programs.  

PayRewards 

Starting with PayRewards, the transfer rates between PayRewards and the above four programs are as follows: 

Table 11 

As such, the number of PayRewards Points required to be transferred for each program are as follows: 

Table 12 

Given the transfer rates available, PayRewards members will get the best value by transferring their Points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer for all cabin classes.   

Note: The Points values shown in Table 12 do not represent the actual number of Points needed to be transferred to the airline partner. The actual number of Points required to be transferred is equal to the Points values shown in Table 9 multiplied by the transfer rates shown in Table 11. 

Amex Membership Rewards 

When it comes to Amex Membership Rewards, please note that from 15 December 2025, there are changes to the Membership Rewards Points transfer rewards for a number of airlines, including Cathay Asia Miles and The British Airways Club Avios.  

However, the transfer rates for KrisFlyer and Velocity Frequent Flyer will not be changing from their current rates. As such, we only need to perform one calculation.  

The transfer rates between Amex Membership Rewards and the above four programs are as follows: 

Table 13

As such, the number of Amex Membership Rewards Points required to be transferred for each program as follows: 

Table 14 

The results above are quite interesting, especially for Business Class. Looking solely at the Points and cash co-payment requirements for the above Reward Seats, you would be forgiven for thinking that KrisFlyer would be the most cost-effective option, given that the Points and cash required are less than those for Velocity in each cabin class. 

However, this is not the case for Business Class. While the Points and cash co-payment for Velocity is greater than for KrisFlyer, the overall cost for Velocity is cheaper. This is solely due to the favourable 2:1 transfer ratio that Velocity has compared to KrisFlyer’s 3:1.    

 From the above, you can see that it’s not just the Points and cash co-payment that you need to look at, but also the applicable transfer rates.  

Note: The Points values shown in Table 14 do not represent the actual number of Points needed to be transferred to the airline partner. The actual number of Points required to be transferred is equal to the Points values shown in Table 9 multiplied by the transfer rates shown in Table 13. 

What are the best overall flight options

What is considered the ‘best’ flight option is subjective, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. For some flyers, the best option is the one with the lowest cost. As such, we have included the lowest cost option for each cabin class below. 

For others, however, multiple variables may be at play. Some look at the ‘hard product’, such as seat comfort or design, or the level of catering that is provided. For others, it’s more about the ‘soft product’, such as the quality of customer service or on-time departures and arrivals.  

We’ve crunched the numbers for the various connecting flight options available between Sydney and London, as well as the direct flight from Perth to London, to determine the best overall flights to consider.  We have used the same methodology above to determine the best options.  

The lowest cost option 

The lowest cost option for each cabin class based on whether you are using PayRewards Points or Amex Membership Rewards Points is as follows: 

Direct Flight: Perth to London using PayRewards 

Table 15 

Direct Flight: Perth to London using Amex Membership Rewards 

Connecting Flight: Sydney to London using PayRewards 

Table 16 

Connecting Flight: Sydney to London using Amex Membership Rewards 

The best value options 

 As stated above, the best value can be quite a broad and subjective concept. We outlined some of the variables considered above, including both hard and soft products.  

Taking the above into account, we have identified some of the best options that skew less towards price, albeit still being price competitive, and more towards the hard and soft variables shown above.   

Before we delve into the flight options worthy of consideration, our friends at Point Hacks conduct an annual review of Business and First Class products and publish their Top 5 listing. Here are their current articles: 

The five best Business Class seats flying from Australia 

The five best First Class suites flying from Australia  

And here is a list of the top 3 flight routes to consider for all four cabin classes available on this route: 

 Note: The above suggestions factor in a combination of pricing, quality of hard and soft product, and the ease of finding Reward Seats.   

Don’t forget about PayTravel 

As a final note, remember that the PayTravel service is available to all PayRewards members. PayTravel is a team of experts that can help you with finding Reward Seats to London (and elsewhere), including those flights mentioned above, as well as other Reward Seats with other airlines.  

And it’s not just flights that the team can help you with. Other travel needs, including assistance with accommodations, car rentals, optional activities, and travel insurance, are just a click away.   

So, what are you waiting for? Get booking and before you know it, you’ll be sipping a spot of tea, near the River Thames, looking at the Big Ben. Or whatever else is on your wishlist to do in the this wonderfully historic, yet modern metropolis.  

Written by Daniel Sciberras

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About the author

Daniel lives and breathes loyalty programs, and has spent over two decades researching the best ways to earn and redeem loyalty points for maximum value. He travels for both business and leisure and is a frequent traveller to Europe and the US. In his downtime, he enjoys CrossFit, hitting the beach and playing tennis.