There are three major alliances for RTW tickets, Oneworld (OWE), Star (*A) and Skyteam, and a bunch of 2-n airline compacts that offer the service.

OWE prices based on the number of continents visited. *A is based on mileage travelled. Skyteam isn't worth discussing so I won't. The compacts vary but generally limit miles or stops or both as well as requiring continuously forward direction of travel.

This board and the Star board contain many useful messages to help you plan a trip on either alliance. Not much help is available on the airline compacts although you will find them mentioned in these boards and the specific airline boards.

FewMiles has a site here that will link you to pricing and rules for OWE. Dorian has a site here that shows *A pricing and has a link to the rules.

For the airline compacts, I suggest you take a look at travel.com.au. Just enter any origin and destination and choose Round the World in the Fare pop up. You will get a list of many of the compacts and fares in A$. Don't pay a lot of attention to the fares as they may be radically different for USA originations but you can read the rules for each of the compacts shown.

As for booking and ticketing, that will depend on what airline alliance you pick. AA has an excellent RTW desk if you choose OWE. Travel agents knowledge of RTW bookings vary greatly depending on their experience. It is not something most of them do regularly.

That said, there is a lot of knowledge here on RTW. Just go back and read the threads over the past year or so and you will get a great education.