How to fly to London on points
London is a vibrant and diverse city with something for everyone. It is home to iconic landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye, and Buckingham Palace, as well as world-class museums and galleries, such as the British Museum and the Tate Modern. With its rich history, vibrant culture, and abundance of things to see and do, London is a must-visit destination for Australian travellers.
The cost of flying to London from Australia can range from $1,500 to $5,500 return in Economy, and north of $12,000 in Business Class. Sometimes as high as $18,000 per person!
Using points is the cheapest way to fly Business Class to London. In this guide, you’ll learn how many points you need to fly and how to redeem a points seat to London, England.
How many points do I need to fly to London?
From Sydney or Melbourne, you’ll need 55,200 points to fly one-way in Economy or 130,500 points to fly one-way in Business Class.
Points quoted as one-way, per person. SYD/MEL to London:
Flying Economy:
Qantas Points (QF planes): 55,200
Qantas Points (on Emirates/Oneworld partner airlines): 66,200
Virgin Velocity (on Eithad/Qatar/Singapore Airlines): 75,000
Krisflyer Miles (Singapore Airlines): 58,500
American Express MR Points: 2 AMEX points = 1 airline point conversion
Flying Business Class:
Qantas Points (QF planes): 144,600
Qantas Points (on Emirates/Oneworld partner airlines): 159,000
Virgin Velocity (on Eithad/Qatar/Singapore Airlines): 139,000
Krisflyer Miles (Singapore Airlines): 130,500
American Express MR Points: 2 AMEX points = 1 airline point conversion
For more detailed points info, check out our Points Calculator app
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If you are a Star Alliance Gold member, such as Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa?
Heathrow Express' Business First class carriage can be upgraded for free with your Gold frequent flyer card.
The Heathrow Express connects Heathrow Airport with Paddington Station every 15 minutes and takes only 15 minutes from start to finish.
How do I book a points seat to London?
Here is an overview of how to book a points seat with Qantas airways. Each airline’s process will be slightly different.
1. Login to your Qantas account
Go to Qantas.com and login to your Qantas account.
2. Search for a flight and tick ‘Use Points’
When entering your trip information, tick the ‘Use Points’ box and also tick ‘Flexible with Dates’ to give you a monthly view of what seats are available.
3. Look for Classic Reward seats
Qantas will show you a range of seat options, including cash fares and Points+Pay fares. What you’re looking for is ‘Classic Reward’ fares. These are the best value and are a fixed points price. Look for the golden icon in month or week calendar view.
4. Keep searching daily
Finding points reward seats are like fishing. There are always seats out there, but you have to be at the right place at the right time to ‘catch’ one. Sometimes seats are not available on the dates you selected, but fresh seats could be available tomorrow. The best seats are found by searching every day.
Points rewards seats open up for booking 353 days (Qantas)/350 days (Velocity)/355 days (Singapore Airlines) in advance, but it doesn’t mean seats are always available on opening day. Often, you can find seats last minute too, but for popular destinations, your best chances are to book ahead by 6 to 12 months. There is no hard or strict rule, the key is to start searching as soon as your dates are ready.
Hence why we use the fishing analogy as the best way to describe finding points reward seats.
5. Tired of searching? Use iFLYflat’s Flight Concierge
If you have trouble finding the points reward seats you desire, or don’t understand the process, or just don’t have the time or patience to ‘fish’ for your ideal points reward seats. Our Points Flight Concierge can help, a specialised service that has the experience of booking nearly 1 Billion points helping client fly in the pointy-end with their points. The team seeks out how to find the best seats for the lowest points and charges a booking fee on a success basis.
Find out more at the Points Flight Concierge page.
15 things to see and do in London
Visit Buckingham Palace and watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony.
Explore the British Museum, which has a vast collection of art and artifacts from around the world.
Take a ride on the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel with views of the city.
Walk along the South Bank of the Thames and see iconic landmarks such as the Tower Bridge and Tower of London.
Visit the Tate Modern, a contemporary art museum located in a former power station.
Go shopping in Oxford Street, one of the busiest shopping districts in the world.
Take a tour of the Houses of Parliament and see the debating chambers.
Visit St. Paul's Cathedral, a beautiful and historic church in the heart of the city.
Explore the vibrant neighborhoods of Camden and Notting Hill.
Visit the Tower Bridge Exhibition, which offers views of the city from the top of the bridge.
See a show in the West End, London's theater district.
Take a leisurely stroll through one of London's many beautiful parks, such as Hyde Park or Regent's Park.
Visit the Natural History Museum, which has a vast collection of natural history specimens.
Take a boat tour along the Thames to see the city from a different perspective.
Visit the Royal Opera House and see a performance of classical music or ballet.
Written by Steve Hui
Steve Hui, known as ‘The Points Whisperer’ is the founder and CEO of iFLYflat — Australia’s leading reward travel team and advisors.
Connect with Steve on Linkedin.
Points quoted and prices are subject to change.
