award ticket to sydney australia

[HSK]

i'm looking to book 4 tickets on delta/virgin australia flight to sydney australia in december. delta is 45k miles one way and it looks like its the lowest number of miles during peak season. if i transfer amex membership reward points i have to pay the transfer fee of $99 (since I'm transferring 180k miles and its more than $99). i can't find the same tickets on air france or korean air. does anyone else have a better idea to save miles or fee? tia!

 

[dukerau]

Air France and Korean can't book Virgin Australia as Virgin Australia is a non-alliance partner of Delta. Another option with Amex MR would be Aeroplan (45k one way, flying on United, Air Canada, and/or Air New Zealand). $25 per passenger isn't really that big of a deal. Aeroplan often collects more taxes than U.S.-based airlines do (I often see about $20 in fees for US-Europe vs $6 using United miles). Personally, I'd rather fly Virgin Australia over the water over United or Air Canada. Air NZ is good, but it probably would mean an extra stop for you. I'd go with Delta even with the transfer fee.

 

[HSK]

Air France and Korean can't book Virgin Australia as Virgin Australia is a non-alliance partner of Delta. Another option with Amex MR would be Aeroplan (45k one way, flying on United, Air Canada, and/or Air New Zealand). $25 per passenger isn't really that big of a deal. Aeroplan often collects more taxes than U.S.-based airlines do (I often see about $20 in fees for US-Europe vs $6 using United miles). Personally, I'd rather fly Virgin Australia over the water over United or Air Canada. Air NZ is good, but it probably would mean an extra stop for you. I'd go with Delta even with the transfer fee.

Thanks for that!