I can help with some questions but others with far more knowledge and experience will come along with more detail.
Originally Posted by
CdnSophia
1) Planning on flying to South Africa via London (One World Explorer via British Airways). Then to get to Brazil, it seems like I have to go back to London then onwards to Rio de Janeiro. Will there be issues with backtracking here?
You cannot backtrack from one region to another. There is, however, an exemption. See rule 2(e)(3)
here. It would help if you provided some more information as to what continents (or oneworld regions) you're planning on visiting.
Originally Posted by
CdnSophia
2) If I arrive in London Stansted or Gatwick and then out from Heathrow, will that count as a surface segment?
It will be called a surface segment but it will still be deducted from your maximum 16 segments maximum. Therefore, it's best to avoid 'cross-city' airports if you can.
Originally Posted by
CdnSophia
3) Purchasing additional segments - The T&C says up to 2 additional segments can be purchased per continent. So this means in addition to the 16 segments, I can purchase 12 more (2 x 6 continent fare)?
No. The option to purchase additional segments only relates to the maximum segments per region. For example, you may have a maximum of six segments within North America; four within South West Pacific. So you could purchase, for example, an additional segment in North America such that you had a total of seven. However, you still cannot have anymore than 16 segments for the entire intinerary.
Originally Posted by
CdnSophia
4)Cost - someone had uploaded a spreadsheet online comparing the cost of ONE fares depending on country of departure. Based on that, I was planning on flying to NZ using a buddy pass and starting my trip there. The savings versus starting in Canada is significant. Can anyone confirm that there is a difference? One world website makes it seem like cost of fare is dependent only on fare class and number of continents.
There certainly is a big difference between some countries.
Here is a list compiled by a Flyertalk member, I believe. However, it may not be entirely up-to-date. If you're looking for a Economy fare, look under the heading LONEx; if Business, look for DONEx; if First, AONEx, where x is the number of continents you're visiting (either four, five or six).