I will do some sight-seeing in South America (Chile, Peru, Bolivia and maybe other countries). So travel to South America on this trip is mainly to have some fun on the ground and maximising miles in South America is secondary. On all other continents I want to maximise miles and try as many different airlines on long-distance flights as possible. If I can stop at interesting places - ok.

I learnt on the OW forum that flights like LHR - DBX - LHR are possible to maximise miles. I'll do the trip in Sep or Oct 2002 and buy a C-class ticket. I know that the time frame of 3.5 weeks is short - for me it's just ok: I do every autumn such a trip (last year on Star and this year on OW).

My current plan:
MUC -(BA)- LHR -(BA)- DBX -(BA)- LHR -(AY)- HEL -(AY)- JFK -(AA)- SJU -(AA)- LAX -(AA)- LAS -(AA/TWA)- STL -(AA)-
MIA -(AA)- SCL - ??? - SCL -(LA)- JFK -(CX)- HKG -(CX)- DEL -(CX)- HKG -(QF)- SIN -(QF)- FRA
(maybe I'll make a stop-over in LHR or HEL and fly back to Germany with an additonal ticket. So I can fly to DBX some weekends before.)


Don't hesitate to make improvements/comments (maximise miles, minimise hotel stays, better service/aircraft on another route, add an Air Lingus (long-haul) flight, etc.). I've still a lot of time to work out the trip.


I'm also not fully sure which FF program to choose. At the moment I consider AA
+ credit card available within Germany
+ first good impression of customer service in Germany
+ Gold/Platinum challenge
- mileage earning in C isn't so good
It will be very hard to reach Emerald this year. A 4 continent trip is not sufficient!? If I'm close to the status, I'll do some mileage runs at the end of the year.