I'm planning a OWE RTW for this fall and have a few questions. The trip is a little business, a lot pleasure and designed to get almost enough Q-points for EXP on AA. Here is a first pass at the itinerary.

YYZ-(DFW)-(ANC)-(DFW)-YVR AA
YVR-(JFK)-HKG AA/CX
HKG-NRT CX
NRT-(HKG)-SIN CX
SIN-DPS QF
DPS-SYD - QF
SYD-PER QF
PER-BNE QF
BNE-WLG QF
WLG-(AKL)-(HKG)-LHR CX
LHR-DBX BA
DBX-LHR BA
LHR-IST BA
IST-LHR BA
LHR-LAX AA
LAX-YYZ AA

Questions:

1. On the domestic US portion of the trip I believe I am limited to 2 stopovers. The question concerns what constitutes a stopover. Is the 23 hours and 59 minutes rule firm or is it that or the next legal connection Oneworld flight out whichever is later? IOW, if the next legal connection Oneworld flight out is greater than 23 hours and 59 minutes am I charged for a stopover? My specific problem is the YVR-(JFK)-HKG leg. I'd like to get a non-charged stopover at JFK and can arrive from YVR on AA with less than 1 hour before the CX HKG departure which is not a legal connection. Of course, I could take the earlier CX flight and arrive with a legal two hour connecting time. (BTW, anywhere online that minimum connecting times are listed for various airports/airlines?)

2. Assuming I get six segments in North America, can I break them up as I have, i.e. 5 before the international departure and 1 after the international arrival?

3. Can I buy and use a Oneworld Visit Europe pass to supplement this itinerary, i.e. hit a few more cities in Europe? The rules for this pass say I must buy it in my country of residence (U.S.). Any issue with originating the international trip from Canada and buying the Visit Europe pass in the U.S.?

4. I will be booking this in first but not all of the flights offer first class service. Do I get Q-points based on the fare basis or the class I fly?

5. Any route problems you can identify or any suggestions for changes to increase the mileage (currently just over 64,000) are welcome.

I plan to do the Platinum challenge and book this in first so I should make Platinum status by the time I hit JFK.

Thanks in advance for your help.

- Bob

[This message has been edited by ExMo (edited 06-04-2001).]

[This message has been edited by ExMo (edited 06-04-2001).]