Looking at the Qantas Aussie AirPass for our 3rd Oz trip next August. We'll be visiting Sydney, Brissie & Cairns. Our plans are flexible, the only thing set in stone is our travel dates of July 28 to August 19.

Qantas is offering a deal where we can fly LAX -> Sydney -> Brisbane -> Cairns -> Sydney -> LAX for $1399. I think this is a fair deal, especially since I can transfer the Qantas FF miles to American. Any thoughts from the experts out there?

Depends on the time you are actually here because there are some fantastic deals that offer fares like $49.00 one way with Jetstar domestic. Also, be a little careful with planning Frequent Flyer - Qantas has been sold and there are no guarantees at all at the moment!

We used the Qantas Airpass a couple of years ago to fly to and within Australia and found it to be both easy and cost-effective. (Of course, it was $200 cheaper then too.) Since 3 domestic flights are included in the price of the Airpass, you might want to look at flying from LAX to Brisbane directly (which is what we did). Then you could add another city to your itinerary.

Doesn't American Airlines only give 1/2 the miles? when flying coach?

Yes, the Airpass books into "S" class, the lowest of Qantas' qualifying flights for earning AA miles. You'll get 50% of the miles flown; however you'll get a minimum of 500 miles for any flight, even short hops (ha ha.)

ttt for Leeann