Australia's flag airline Qantas is celebrating its 100th birthday in the best possible way: Selling off $200 round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Australia this week.

The doors on this sale aren't wide open – you'll have to be strategic and fast to a dirt-cheap ticket to Australia. Just 100 lucky travelers snagged tickets from Los Angeles (LAX) to Australia on Monday, with another 100 up for grabs from San Francisco (SFO) on Tuesday and tickets from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) on Wednesday. But the airline has one last hurrah Thursday: Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Brisbane (BNE).

You'll need to be both lightning-fast, patient and lucky to score a ticket. Here's how it works.

Every day from Monday, Nov. 18, through Thursday, Nov. 21, Qantas will sell one-way tickets between select U.S. cities and Australia for $100 each way when you book a round-trip fare. Each day, 100 tickets will go on sale starting at 5 p.m. EST/2 p.m. PST. When they sell out, they're gone.

And you can only book through Qantas' Birthday Sale page. So be sure to check the page right at 5 p.m. EST for your chance at a cheap trip to Australia. Only a handful of dates are available at this dirt-cheap rate, so watch that page when the sale begins for details on availability.

The rush of visitors appeared to crash Qantas' search engine multiple times this week. If you want the chance at a deal of a lifetime, be patient and keep trying.

Needless to say, a $200 round-trip flight to Australia is a steal. We found some cheap fares to Australia last year through our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal notification service, but booking one of these fares would take the cake.

 

Bottom Line

With a lot of speed and even more luck, you could fly down under and back for $200. Make sure to watch the Qantas Birthday Sale page like a hawk!