Avios bookings US/Australia/Asia

[CPMaverick]

My sister has 48,500 Avios and she would like to visit Australia as well as Singapore or HKG. I have some miles to book a one-way flight for her, she wants to book the other half with Avios if possible.

I see it is straightforward to book a flight from her airport to SYD/MEL for 60k Avios or 48,500+some $$$ on AA and QF (or all AA to SYD).

I am curious if there are any tricks or tips to use Avios between Australia and Asia, or if there would be a way to book a one-way ticket with a stopover in a oneworld hub like HKG? I don't see any options like that online, but would love to make the most out of these Avios. Thanks for your help.

 

[andye]

Some thoughts. I'm assuming she is Uk (or EU) based.

BA redemptions are priced per sector so a stopover will turn a one-way into 2 separate redemptions.

Qantas and BA fly direct to SYD on a single flight number(via DXB and SIN) so these require the fewest Avios for a UK-Au trip
Note that redemptions on BA flights are now cheaper than other OW if you book for an 'off-peak' date

However, there are low taxes on Cathay flights and I suspect you will get the best value using the Avios on them via HKG on this (or part of this) route.
You will get the option of reducing the number of points required by increasing the cash payment

The booking engine on BA is pretty good for redemptions

Avios also offer good value on intra-Au flights on QF with lowish taxes

PS: You may not wish to complicate a trip for someone else but there have been some good cash fares recently on BA and QR if you leave ex-EU.

 

[CPMaverick]

Thank you andye. I neglected to mention her location, sorry- she is in the USA.

Will Cathay options show on the BA booking engine for awards? They don't show on AA, and I haven't seen any pop up on BA.