Originally Posted by
imagineertobe
From the LA website: "As a LANPASS member, you must fly at least 30 segments on LAN flights that allow for the earning of kilometers to qualify for tier status."
Or 80K Km for Sapphire with 4 segs; the OP's itinerary would basically get there.
Originally Posted by
imagineertobe
...You'll earn 125% redeemable miles (RDM) and 125% elite qualifying miles (EQM) and 150% elite qualifying points (EQP)...
100% EQM, not 125%. 150% RDM when in AA 2-class domestic flights (e.g. HNL-DFW, DFW-EWR etc.) also BA gives first class tier points on these "A" segments on AA flights - see below.
Originally Posted by
etch5895
I'm usually hanging out on Star Alliance, but for this trip it looks like OW is best for me, with multiple flights on LAN.
Tentatively (Jan/Feb):
MUC-AMM (few days in Petra / Dead Sea)-RJ
AMM-HKG (via BKK) - RJ, CX
HKG-MNL (looking for some advice for the Philippines) - CX
MNL-HNL (via NRT) - JL, JL
HNL-DFW (side trip planned out to Arizona) - AA
DFW-EWR - AA
EWR-SCL (via MIA) - AA, LA
SCL-PUQ (two days in Punta Arenas) - LA
PUQ-SCL - LA
SCL-IPC (two days on Easter Island) - LA
IPC-SCL - LA
SCL-FRA (returning to Germany, via MAD) - LA (one flight number)
Looking at doing this in Business, and the OW RTW planner says it is legal, 15/16 segments, and 6750 Euro (4 continents).
1. What extra taxes/fees can I expect, or is the 6750 on the money?
2. I don't have the actual mileage tallied up (not sure if the OW RTW planner does this?)
3. I have base membership in LA and BA. I would like to obviously use this trip to get some kind of status with either. Does BA assess tier points for non-BA flights? I know LA does, but you need to fly a certain number of segments on LAN?
4. I assume RJ would issue the tickets, as they are the first carrier?
5. I've never been to Hawaii, but generally don't like big cities to hang out in. Any ideas for a 'quieter' island? I was looking at arranging a flight to maybe LIH on Hawaiian.
Thanks for any advice or thoughts. As stated, first RTW so I'm not too familiar with this yet.
Going for status with Lan would take the whole trip (to get to 80K Km); if it were me I'd go with BA since the threshold for BA Silver (OW Sapphire) is much lower for continental European residents than for UK or N. America residents.
However, as mentioned, BA is strict with the "4-segment" rule on BA metal per FF tier (Blue > Silver, Silver > Gold).
You might consider the following -
First, if you're going in business class, note that the prices are highly variable depending on where the ticket is purchased and the trip begins/ends. At the moment, for a DONE4, you could save around €1600 by starting the trip in Jordan rather than Germany.
So...
Do two one-day mileage runs from Germany to the UK using BA, or one MR to some place like MAN or EDI via LHR, so that your 4 segments are covered.
Then fly on a regular ticket to AMM and start the RTW there, with your RTW route being AMM-BKK-HKG-MNL-HKG-NRT-HNL-DFW-EWR-MIA-SCL-PUQ-SCL-IPC-SCL-FRA-AMM.
By my calcs you'd hit BA Silver around the time you get to Hawaii (400 tier points). Their counter then resets, and you'd need another 800 to get to BA Gold/OW Emerald, which you'd do by the time you get back to FRA; however you'd need another 4 BA segments to have it kick in, so you'd need to do another MR or two. But the €1600 in RTW savings will more than cover those costs, so IMO a good deal.
A couple of other notes - I'd go from HNL either to Kauai or to the Big Island (Hawaii) - or - just get a car and head for the north coast of Oahu (other side of the island from HNL) where things are much more laid back and non-urban.
As for taxes, no, you need to add around 10% - 16% to the total for taxes and fuel surcharges.
EDITED TO ADD - Unless you need to go back to HKG, and/or you wouldn't mind skipping DFW, you could go MNL-NRT-HNL and use the saved segment for more tier point earning, e.g. HNL-LAX-EWR-MIA-JFK-SCL...