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FAQ: The Complete Newbie Guide/FAQ to the Air Canada Aeroplan Mini-RTW

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Old May 30, 2013, 9:55 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: jerryhung
New List of Mini-RTW 2.0 version after Oct 29th, 2014 "enhancement" (i.e. less MPM)

FAQ: List of valid and booked mini-RTW itineraries version 2.0 (post-"enhancement&quot

INTRO

This wiki is taken from the excellent overview in the first post of this thread by FrequentFlyer9000 and is meant as a guide to the Aeroplan "Mini-RTW" for the uninformed newbie flyer. This is a no judgment zone and newbies are welcome. In this thread, the usage of scary acronyms and complicated FlyerTalk insider-speak will be minimized.

Also, this wiki is a work in progress so please provide feedback or make wiki edits if you think something warrants it.

INFO & COMMON QUESTIONS

What is the "Mini-RTW"?

The Mini-RTW is a name given to a type of reward booking using Air Canada's Aeroplan miles. It is actually not a "round-the-world" ticket at all - it is a regular award redemption. Just as you would use 75K frequent flyer miles to go to Japan on another airline, you can use 75K to do so using Aeroplan miles. The difference is that Aeroplan allows you to "stopover" in multiple cities at no extra mileage cost, making it very attractive compared to other reward travel. It should be noted that this isn't really that much better than some other airlines. For example, Delta offers one stopover + open jaw, which is only one stopover worse than Aeroplan's deal. But many of the airlines only offer one stopover and no open jaw. So there is definitely value here.

In addition to your final destination (in which you can stay for days/weeks/months), you are allowed:

•Two stopovers in other cities (stay for days/weeks/months). You are allowed to trade one of these stopovers for an open jaw (where you land in one city, but take the next flight out of another city)
•10 segments (layovers during which you spend less than 24 hours in a given city) <-- this limit may be gone as of 2014/2015

So, disregarding the additional 10 segments, an award trip for Japan could actually look like this:

NYC > Tokyo (destination - one week) > Paris (stopover - one week) > London (stopover - one week) > NYC

You basically get three times the world exploration for the price of one. If you add on the extra layovers allowed, you can turn it into:

NYC > Los Angeles (one day) > Hawaii (one day) > Tokyo (one week) > Seoul (one day) > Hong Kong (one day) > Paris (one week) > Munich (one day) > London (one week) > Washington DC (one day) > NYC

Of course, you don't have to do the above. Spending so much time in airports can be exhausting. But the option is there for you if you want it.


How many miles is this going to cost me?

See the Award Travel chart here.

From North America to "Asia 1" countries: (effective Jan 1, 2014)
•75K in Economy
•150K in Business
•210K in First

From North America to "Europe 1" countries:
•60K in Economy
•90K in Business
•125K in First

...and so on. Check the link for other combinations. Assuming you are stopping in three cities, the city in the most "expensive" redemption zone is the zone you will have to pay for. So if you are visiting two Asia1 zone cities and one Middle East city, you will pay 80K miles rather than 75K miles since that is what the Middle East trip costs (numbers assume Economy class travel).

Which miles do I need to use? Can I use miles from other Star Alliance airlines?

You need to use Aeroplan miles. You cannot use miles from other Star Alliance members, such as United, to book this mini-RTW. However, you can book flights for the mini-RTW on any airline that is in the alliance and has the desired award seating available. You technically do not have to fly any segments on Air Canada at all.

So, what's the catch? What are the restrictions?

There is no catch. However, there are some restrictions on your itinerary. This is where things get a bit more complicated.

Want to find the new MPM after 10/29/2014?
Aeroplan City Pair mileage (new pseudo-MPM) - FlyerTalk Forums

This is no longer valid after 10/29/2014
1) Your itinerary must be within 5% of the total "Maximum Permitted Mileage" (MPM) for the route from the origin to the destination. Even though you are stopping in three cities by using your two stopovers and a final destination, you can define the destination as the stop city furthest away from the origin. Although certain flyers have gotten away with telling an inattentive phone rep that their final destination / "turnaround city" is one of their layover cities to increase their MPM, this does not always work. Sticking with one of your three stop cities is a safe bet.

MPM exist so that you cannot repeatedly fly around the world 10 times on your 10 segments. There is a limit to how many miles you can fly on the reward ticket. MPM guidelines can be found by using the KVS tool or by using Expert Flyer. MPM is calculated between your origin and your destination, one-way. The trips to and from your destination are calculated separately. You are allowed to overshoot this number by 5% ("MPM5"). If you can find a bookable itinerary online that has a mileage longer than the published MPM, this is a "published routing" and can be used even if it exceeds the MPM5. In KVS, navigate to the "Reference" tab, select "MPM" from the dropdown menu, and enter your city pair. MPM information is available under the Travel Information section of ExpertFlyer. It is available to all subscribers, Basic or Premium, and there is a 5-day free trial to ExpertFlyer.com that can be used.

To see if your itinerary fits your MPM limit, you can use the site here to see your total miles traveled: www.gcmap.com. Enter your airport codes separated by dashes to see the itinerary and get the total mileage (e.g. NYC - LHR - NYC). Example here.

TO READ MORE ABOUT MPM: Read this (short) document
2) If you do elect to use an open jaw instead of one of your stopovers, you must schedule the open jaw so that it is in the same "IATA zone" as either the origin or the destination city. So if you are going from NY to Japan to Europe and back to NY, the open jaw cannot be scheduled in Europe, since it is neither the origin zone or the destination zone. The open jaw also cannot be a larger distance than any two legs you are actually flying. In case you are wondering, IATA zones are as follows:

IATA 1 - The Americas (incl. Caribbean, Hawaii)
IATA 2 - Europe as far as the Ural Mountain range, Middle East & Africa
IATA 3 - Oceania, SE Asia, Far East, Sub-Continent.

Remember that if you use your open jaw at the turnaround/destination point, you will only have one stopover to use left. So you would be able to do NYC > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. This has one destination, one open jaw (at turnaround point), and one stopover. However, you would not be able to do this: NYC > Madrid (stop) > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. Because your 2 stops + 1 open jaw would be more than the two allowed.

3) You cannot land in the same city twice in any one direction. This means that on my way from NY to, let's say, Cairo, I cannot do New York > London > Paris > London > Cairo on the way there, since I would be stopping in London twice in one direction. However, I can stop in London on the way to Cairo and then again on the way back from Cairo.

4) The actual trip needs to be "bookable". It needs to follow certain rules. I won't get into too many details, but anything completely nonsensical in terms of routing is generally not going to fly. But most routes will not fall into this category. Just something to keep in mind.


Do I have to go in the same direction for every leg of the flight?

No. As an example, you can cross the Atlantic twice or cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific once (more like a real RTW trip).


How do I book this?

Assuming you have already planned out your entire itinerary to the dot and have made sure your trip is in accordance with the above restrictions, call Aeroplan and speak with a representative. Alternatively, you can try to book online for free. However, this is not always possible with more complicated routings.


What will this cost me in real cash? How can I minimize fees?
It depends on the region you travel to and which airline you fly on. In general, the more Air Canada segments you fly the more fees/taxes you will pay. Aeroplan does not collect surcharges on non-Air Canada-operated flights. So flying Air Canada internationally will cost you extra. If you use a lot of Air Canada flights in your mini-RTW, your fees could be anywhere from $150 to $400, even sometimes creeping up above $600. Lesson is to avoid AC "metal" (airplanes) if possible.

Every trip will have a $30 cost per person for booking on the phone, regardless of the itinerary.


What are the change fees if I want to change a leg or multiple legs of the trip later?

$90 for changes after original booking. If there is an involuntary change because of flight schedules changing, there is no fee charged. Note that when you make a change, the taxes/fees associated with fuel, etc. may change. They may decrease or increase depending on the previous flight and the new flight. This is independent of the $90 rebooking fee. The $90 is flat regardless of how many of the segments you change. It is not $90 per changed segment.


How do I plan this trip out? Even finding a simple award ticket can be difficult online, let alone one with 10 segments!

Good question. It is recommended that you use either the All-Nippon Airways (ANA) website (guide on how here), the KVS tool (costs money) or ExpertFlyer (costs money), or http://FliSea.com. I personally like to use KVS, but it is not newbie-friendly. It is $20 for 2 months for the "diamond" level service, and $75 for a year. Small price to pay for saving a lot of time, if you can handle the learning curve. ANA is a good free method of finding segments and many people have had plenty of success with it; FliSea is a metasearch tool that uses all of the sites above.

The trick is to do this one segment at a time. So first find NYC > LONDON for the date you want and make sure that the award class you are looking for is available (e.g. Economy low fare). Then do the next leg: LONDON > ROME. Repeat for every segment. Write down the details of each flight, calculate the mileage using the www.gcmap.com resource, and call up Aeroplan to book.

One of our Flyertalk members has built a database with all the Mini-RTW routes that have been flown in the various threads in one simple place: http://www.turnleftat.com/mini-rtw-list/
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FAQ: The Complete Newbie Guide/FAQ to the Air Canada Aeroplan Mini-RTW

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Old Jun 15, 2017, 12:46 pm
  #1561  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by Cerenity
Just to add, you should be able to just re-order the stops and still fly long hauls on NH and BR to save fees/surcharges

YYZ-YVR-HND
HND-ICN
ICN-TPE-HKG or ICN-HKG direct
HKG-TPE-YYZ

the surcharges for shorter inter-Asia flights on OZ should be much more tolerable than NA-Asia on OZ
Sorry if I'm being a newb, so I can have 2 stopovers (HND/ICN) in the same direction to the destination (HKG)? Just want to confirm because I thought it was one stopover per direction.
tsangbar is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 9:49 am
  #1562  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 1
I'm wondering if someone can help me with an upcoming booking I'm looking to make - I'd call in and work this out, but still waiting for some points to come in.
The missus and I are looking to do a trip from Toronto -> Sydney (we’ll probably go to New Zealand separately during the trip) -> Hong Kong -> Guangzhou -> Tokyo -> Toronto
Based on my understanding of Aeroplan, I was hoping I could do something like this:
YYZ -> SYD (stopover)
SYD -> HKG (main destination)
NRT -> YYZ (open jaw)
We’ll pay our own way to get to AKL, CAN and from HKG to NRT as unfortunately I won’t be able to take advantage of any layovers as the time I’d like to spend at each location will have to be longer than a day.
I understand that if this trip were valid, it would cost the 90,000 (the greater amount that it takes to get to Sydney).

Does anyone know if this is valid routing? Am I in violation of any routing or MPM rules? Is there anyway to use my points to get to any of the destinations as well?

Thanks in advance!
Eymber is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 9:50 am
  #1563  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by tsangbar
Sorry if I'm being a newb, so I can have 2 stopovers (HND/ICN) in the same direction to the destination (HKG)? Just want to confirm because I thought it was one stopover per direction.
So I booked my trip. Surprised I pulled it off given such short notice (flying out on Aug. 10)!

YYZ-TPE (BR)
TPE-OKA (EVA)
OKA-NRT (ANA) - stop
NRT-ICN (UA) - stop
ICN-HK (AI) - destination
HK-TPE (BR)
TPE-LAX (BR)
LAX-YYZ (AC)

My wallet thanks you all since there was ZERO scam charges. Total taxes and fees were $191.06 per person ($382.12) in total.

I had a choice between Air India and Thai Airlines for ICN-HK. Chose AI because THAI would add an extra $150 per person

Now I don't have to bang my knees on the seats on the long hauls!

BTW - 5% over MPM is valid since my yyz-tpe-oka-NRT-icn-hkg (http://www.gcmap.com/dist?P=yyz-tpe-oka-NRT-icn-hkg) is 10,995 miles and the MPM thread reported YYZ-HKG - 10957.
tsangbar is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 2:57 pm
  #1564  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: YVR to SEA
Posts: 2,535
Gcmap isn't 100 percent reflective of actual mpm. Can only test using expert flyer to calculate actual distance, and use the Flyertalk thread to get the budgeted amount
crimsona is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 3:45 pm
  #1565  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
Newbie to Aeroplan, so try not to attack. Yes, I did read the Wiki!

Anyway, I was looking to convert a bunch of Amex Points to United Miles, but I saw on many forums that Air Canada charges a lot fewer miles than UA, so they suggest I convert my Amex points to Aeroplan miles instead.

I'm aiming to go from LAX to FCO in J. In looking at this fall, I find UA J tickets as low as 70K miles each way. And the Aeroplan tickets are 110K miles each way. Am I missing something? Looks like UA is the better option.
cheaptom is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 3:57 pm
  #1566  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: YEG
Programs: TK*G, AC
Posts: 345
Originally Posted by cheaptom
Newbie to Aeroplan, so try not to attack. Yes, I did read the Wiki!

Anyway, I was looking to convert a bunch of Amex Points to United Miles, but I saw on many forums that Air Canada charges a lot fewer miles than UA, so they suggest I convert my Amex points to Aeroplan miles instead.

I'm aiming to go from LAX to FCO in J. In looking at this fall, I find UA J tickets as low as 70K miles each way. And the Aeroplan tickets are 110K miles each way. Am I missing something? Looks like UA is the better option.
Aeroplan charges 110k miles for a round trip from LAX-FCO in J as long as it's a "Fixed Mileage Flight Reward". See the reward chart here.

Looks like UA charges 70k miles each way for *A flights and 57,500 each way for UA flights in J, as per the info on their award chart here.

Note: "Saver Awards" are the equivalent of the "Fixed Mileage Flight Reward"
Tifosi is offline  
Old Jun 16, 2017, 4:17 pm
  #1567  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
Originally Posted by Tifosi
Aeroplan charges 110k miles for a round trip from LAX-FCO in J as long as it's a "Fixed Mileage Flight Reward".
Tifosi, thank you. I mis-read the Aeroplan chart, I thought 110K miles was each way, but it is round trip. So embarrassing. Now I see!
cheaptom is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2017, 12:41 am
  #1568  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 625
Originally Posted by Eymber
I'm wondering if someone can help me with an upcoming booking I'm looking to make - I'd call in and work this out, but still waiting for some points to come in.
The missus and I are looking to do a trip from Toronto -> Sydney (we’ll probably go to New Zealand separately during the trip) -> Hong Kong -> Guangzhou -> Tokyo -> Toronto
Based on my understanding of Aeroplan, I was hoping I could do something like this:
YYZ -> SYD (stopover)
SYD -> HKG (main destination)
NRT -> YYZ (open jaw)
We’ll pay our own way to get to AKL, CAN and from HKG to NRT as unfortunately I won’t be able to take advantage of any layovers as the time I’d like to spend at each location will have to be longer than a day.
I understand that if this trip were valid, it would cost the 90,000 (the greater amount that it takes to get to Sydney).

Does anyone know if this is valid routing? Am I in violation of any routing or MPM rules? Is there anyway to use my points to get to any of the destinations as well?

Thanks in advance!
You should only be able to use an open jaw at your destination (or origin which is not in play here) , which would be your furthest location in Sydney. I've read people get approved a few times when it is just a stopover location, so you could try.
joeags is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2017, 7:26 am
  #1569  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Alaska, Marriott
Posts: 435
Originally Posted by Eymber
I'm wondering if someone can help me with an upcoming booking I'm looking to make - I'd call in and work this out, but still waiting for some points to come in.
The missus and I are looking to do a trip from Toronto -> Sydney (we’ll probably go to New Zealand separately during the trip) -> Hong Kong -> Guangzhou -> Tokyo -> Toronto
Based on my understanding of Aeroplan, I was hoping I could do something like this:
YYZ -> SYD (stopover)
SYD -> HKG (main destination)
NRT -> YYZ (open jaw)
We’ll pay our own way to get to AKL, CAN and from HKG to NRT as unfortunately I won’t be able to take advantage of any layovers as the time I’d like to spend at each location will have to be longer than a day.
I understand that if this trip were valid, it would cost the 90,000 (the greater amount that it takes to get to Sydney).

Does anyone know if this is valid routing? Am I in violation of any routing or MPM rules? Is there anyway to use my points to get to any of the destinations as well?

Thanks in advance!
Mileage should be ok, but OJ HKG-NRT is not valid , but some have reported it being accepted/booked but I would plan a back up option, like just going back from Guangzhou to HKG (its not that far, should be easy?) and continuing to NRT/HND from HKG

Something like this should be quite low in terms of surcharge/fees.
YYZ-TPE-SIN-SYD on BR, BR/SQ, SQ
SYD-SIN-HKG on SQ, SQ
HKG-NRT/HND on NH
NRT/HND-YYZ on NH
Cerenity is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2017, 8:43 am
  #1570  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 742
Originally Posted by canadiancow
No, Aeroplan changed their fee structure.

Ok, but is it possible to pay to change legs after say, half of the segments have been used?
moops380 is offline  
Old Jul 1, 2017, 8:58 am
  #1571  
exc
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC*E75k
Posts: 90
Does the destination need to be the furthest point in your intinary?
e.g. Can I do:

yyz-hnd stop
hnd-hkg destination
hkg-bkk
bkk-tpe
tpe-lax stop
lax-yyz

I dont mind if i need to pay the asia 2 (it's only 5k more for J) but just wanted to see if thats allowed
exc is offline  
Old Jul 1, 2017, 11:21 am
  #1572  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Canada
Programs: Marriott LT Gold, IHG Club, Hertz Gold, Aeroplan, Avios, SkyMiles, Thrifty, AMEX
Posts: 985
Originally Posted by exc
Does the destination need to be the furthest point in your intinary?
No. I have at least twice flown via IST - Europe 2 - to/from a destination in Europe 1, and been charged the Europe 1 miles. Just booked YQB=YYZ-WAW-BRU, and again charged Europe 1 miles even though WAW is in Europe 2.

Now, as pertaining to your specific itinerary, I can't say for sure, but at a glance it looks like it should be OK.
Twickenham is offline  
Old Jul 1, 2017, 6:57 pm
  #1573  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
Originally Posted by exc
Does the destination need to be the furthest point in your intinary?
e.g. Can I do:

yyz-hnd stop
hnd-hkg destination
hkg-bkk
bkk-tpe
tpe-lax stop
lax-yyz

I dont mind if i need to pay the asia 2 (it's only 5k more for J) but just wanted to see if thats allowed
YES = you'll pay for BKK miles if you're stopping in BKK > 24 hrs (=Destination, furthest point from home)


The other NA-IST-Europe 1 example is only because IST is transfer only
If he/she stopped in IST>24 hrs, you bet you'll pay IST miles
jerryhung is offline  
Old Jul 1, 2017, 8:22 pm
  #1574  
exc
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC*E75k
Posts: 90
Not expecting to stay there - just transit. Stopping in HND / HKG / LAX
exc is offline  
Old Jul 2, 2017, 12:22 am
  #1575  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
Originally Posted by exc
Not expecting to stay there - just transit. Stopping in HND / HKG / LAX
you're saying your ONLY option between HKG and TPE is via BKK?
hkg-bkk
bkk-tpe

If website offers that, it may probably work (many published routings go via IST); but it's very over & LONG IMO

500 m vs. 2600 miles
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=HKG-TPE,+HKG-BKK-TPE

anyway, call Aeroplan is your best answer, and sadly I think it won't work
jerryhung is offline  


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