Mixing classic rewards and paid fares

There are many reward flights out of Australia in November, December, January & February, but there are few return flights. We've explored coming home the other way, coming home via Bangalore and coming home via hong kong to maximise the chances of a full reward ticket, but sometimes the stars need to align. If none of these options works for you and you want to get back the quickest, fastest way, you may need to pay for the return leg and run the valuation to make sure it's a good use of points.

First class to Dubai

Use a regular search to find an outbound classic reward to your destination.

Select the classic reward and then select a sale or saver cash fare for the return.

This combination gets one person to Dubai and back in First Class for $9,339 and 170,800 points. The same First saver fare is retailing for $16,282. The points deliver $6,943 worth of value ($16,282 - $9,339), giving 4.1 cents per point.

Business class to Paris

Use a regular search to find an outbound classic reward to your destination. Select the classic reward and select a sale or saver fare for the return.

Select the classic reward and select a sale or saver fare for the return.

This combination gets one person to Europe for $7,348 and 159,000. The same Saver fare class ticket is retailing for $11,025. The points deliver $3,677 worth of value ($11,025 - $7,348), giving 2.3 cents per point.

If you're looking to return to Australia from a Reward flight destination in November, December, January or February, be sure to do your research and run the calculations. Purchasing a return ticket and getting 4+ cents of value out of the outbound flight could be the way to go. There are a few options for reward flights out there. With some planning and creative searching, you should be able to find a way home. Subscribe to our site for regular availability updates

Happy searching.