I fly from the US->Australia each year to visit my family, and over the past few years have considered purchasing a RTW ticket ex Aust each year since it's not much more than a ticket from DFW-HBA. Now that I'm seeing RT fares around US$2600 for travel in Dec, I'm considering it more seriously than ever.

I've read the complete star file of rules and I'd appreciate it if the "gurus" could clarify the following points before I start serious planning.

a) "Travel must be in a continuous forward direction" - I presume this means between stopovers, since due to AA's hub & spoke system, it can be impossible to go forward on every segment.

b) Same rule - can anyone clarify "forward direction". For example, say I want to stop in DFW, MIA and ORD. Going DFW-ORD-MIA means I am going continually east, but backtracking vertically (north then south).

c) "For fares originating in Australia, stopover within Australia is permitted only at the gateway in each direction" - am I correct to interpret that I can only stopover in the city from which I leave Australia, and/or the city at which I arrive in Australia? Basically that I cannot visit anywhere else in Australia on this fare.

Since this is basically a replacement for a RT ticket, I am looking at the cheapest RTW possible, which appears to be the 26K Global Explorer (AUD$2619 = USD$1780 approx). So my quotes above are from the Global Explorer rules (ex South Pacific) rules.

From what I understand, the OWE offers more bang for the buck, but I never have sufficient time off work to make use of it, so paying a few hundred dollars extra isn't worth my while.

Thanks!