Trip motivation
Australia has been on our wish list for a while. For this big trip, we knew we needed to wait until our youngest, Ellie (4) reached an age where we wouldn’t need to worry about nap schedules or meltdowns. Minus a few jetlag BIG FEELINGS moments, we had a wonderful time! This was Ben and my first time to Australia as well and it was fantastic. It makes me feel so excited to get to to show the kids the world and how alike and different places 9,000 miles can be.
In this post, we’ll go over all the details about our flights to and from Australia, including how we used miles to fly for free, packing details, and how we conquered jetlag with kids!
Read all of our Australia posts at the following links:
Part 1: Southwest Points for Nashville (BNA) to Honolulu (HNL)
Getting There: BNA to HNL Fri 9a- 5:45p (6h+2h layover OAK+5h)
TOTAL: 52k points + $22.80
We love flying Southwest. We had double companion passes from credit card sign-ups. This meant that we used points for Ben and I to fly and the kids flew for free all the way to Honolulu. We had points left over from our credit card sign-ups and the total cost was 52k points and $22.80 for all 4 of us combined.
We spent a few weeks here which I realize is not something others will be able to do. However, I think this stopover was vital to surviving the time change. We’ve made this trip to Hawaii numerous times and adjusting 5 hours is difficult but doable after a few days.
You can earn Southwest points from Southwest Credit Cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal. See more tips on using points and miles here.
For more tips on flying with kids, see this post here. See this post here if you need tips for putting together a packing list.
Part 2: Gambling on a JetStar Flight HNL to SYD
Ben + Jenn + Carter + Ellie: Sun HNL to SYD 8:30a-2:45 (10 hr)
TOTAL: $1500 😮
This was a huge cash deal for this budget airline. Base rates of $300 per person. We had to buy seats and luggage and knew we would need to pack our own food and drink but we couldn’t pass up this deal. Originally we were looking at flying to Japan but due to travel restrictions, we looked at new destinations. We used Google Explore and found this deal on Jetstar. It is still available on certain dates.
We did experience some trouble with this portion of the flight but I don’t think it was specific to Jetstar. Two days before our flight, we received an email while out at dinner that all our flights were canceled. What do you do when flights are canceled?
- Take a deep breath and assume everyone is trying their best
- Get on the phone and while on hold, look up other options
- Know your rights and be firm.
I set up the kids with TV and started calling airlines and searching options while on hold with the airlines. After a while, we were eventually set up with a flight the next day on Qantas. At one point, I had to call an Australian phone number. If you find yourself in a similar situation, be sure to prepay AT&T for an international pass in case the calls went long. We ended up on a Qantas flight for the next day. We missed a day in Sydney but we were fortunate to still have a place to stay in Hawaii and didn’t have any big plans that we missed out on.
The Qantas flight was great. We flew economy and the flight was nonstop 10 hours with meal and snack service and nice screens in the seats for the kids to play games and watch movies. See below for more tips on activities.
Part 3: United points for SYD to BNA
Ben + Jenn + Carter + Ellie: Sun SYD to BNA 10:20a-5:41p (13 hr+ 4 hr SFO + 4 hr)
TOTAL: 176k miles + $444
This was a huge redemption of points! Flights to Australia can easily cost over a thousand dollars. Multiplied by 4, this trip would be out of reach if we didn’t use miles and points. While there are many options for transferring points, we are a fan of United. The trip cost 44k +$111 in taxes per person for the one-way trip.
We used points accumulated from Chase United card sign-ups and spending on our numerous Chase cards. We found and booked our flights on the United website using United Miles. Currently, both the United Explorer and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are offering great sign-up bonuses. You can transfer Chase points to United using the Chase portal. We waited until we found the flights we wanted before transferring as Chase points can be used for a variety of partners while United points can only be used for United flights.
See more detailed tips on using points and miles here.
Priority Pass Lounges
When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the website of the airport and the Priority Pass Lounge website prior to the trip. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass, which gives you access to lounges at various airports. Often, it is more common internationally. An awesome perk also offered by this lounge benefit is meals covered at some restaurants. In the Sydney international and domestic airports, there were multiple choices, including a lounge that had a kid’s play room! We had some second breakfast, packed some sodas for the flight and enjoyed some time away from the hustle and bustle of people.
In San Francisco on the way back, we had our lunch covered by the $28/person benefit at the Yankee Pier restaurant. A fantastic deal. We currently get this benefit from the Chase Reserve card but other cards offer this benefit as well.
Flying with Kids-How to Beat Jet lag
Airplane masks
Melatonin
Airplane pillows
West to East:
- Prepare and plan: For the long flight, we set limits of 2 hours of screen time in a row and then a break. The break could be snacks, coloring, clay, reading, or some other activity but had to be at least 30 minutes so screen time wasn’t continuous.
- We also made the kids nap for 3 hours towards the end of the flight when it would have been 8pm in Sydney and 3am in San Fran. We had the kids go potty and change into PJs and then try to go to sleep. Sleep is such an important priority as Ben and I don’t sleep well on planes and we didn’t need everyone to be short tempered and grumpy.
- Patience pants for everyone. Nobody likes a grumpy pants.
East to West:
- On the long flight, the kids were happy playing with the personal screen and alternating between coloring, reading, tv, games, and snacks. Carter has been loving the Magic Treehouse books and Ellie loves activities in the Magic Ink and small play pack coloring books (Amazon links). We have one iPad that the family shares and we use this case to protect it.
- For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here.
Airplane masks
Connecting Headphones
Magic Treehouse
Packing Light
For Paris, we purposefully packed in carry-on size suitcases because we knew there might be public transport. For our Sydney flight, we had a large checked bag with clothes from Hawaii and for Australia. Because of the season change, we had to be extra cautious about space. We fit everything in one big suitcase! I’m really proud of us. See this post here if you need tips for putting together a packing list. Don’t forget an extra battery!
Suitcase
Backpack
Extra Battery
Pre-Check and Global Entry
Another perk we get from several credit cards is Global Entry/PreCheck. Domestically, PreCheck benefits include separate shorter lines for PreCheck travelers, and the ability to not have to remove shoes, laptops, liquids, etc. It is amazing and has saved us so much time.
Global Entry offers time-saving when entering the US. On this trip, this benefit saved us hours and ensured we would make our connection. Note that for PreCheck, kids don’t require their own number, but for Global Entry, they do. All 4 of us have Global Entry that was reimbursed by various credit card sign-ups. For more on this benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, see here.
Documents for Return to the US
We didn’t need any covid testing in either direction for this trip. The United app made it very easy to see what information we needed and gave me peace of mind knowing that we wouldn’t run into problems at the airport. Our passports were already uploaded from our previous trip and it was straightforward to upload an image of our negative result.
More Australia Posts
Read all of our Australia posts at the following links:
