UPDATE (06/17/2022) This deal is now dead.
I’m always ambivalent about reporting about these things, but United just added their new San Francisco to Brisbane to their booking tool and I am seeing upto 4 award seats on certain days this coming winter in business class:
The award availability is pretty spread out, but is available using Aeroplan points, LifeMiles, and United miles. Virgin Australia has a bunch of saver availbility onward to other Oceanic destinations so connecting through Brisbane on a ticket shouldn’t be an issue.
As a reminder:
- United charges 80,000 miles for North America to Oceania
- Air Canada charges 85,000 miles for North America to Oceania
- LifeMiles charges 80,000 miles for North America to Oceania
If you book using Aeroplan and United, it will be fairly easy to get those Virgin Australia connections onward.