Hi everyone. I'm new to Flyertalk and was hoping to get some general feedback on my proposed Oneworld Explorer route and also some of the specific queries I have. Apologies if my lingo isn't up to scratch - I'm still learning! Let me know if you want to clarify anything. I've read a lot about the xONEx ticket rules and have spent many frustrating hours playing with the Oneworld online tool, but I won't pretend to know all the nuances of all the rules at this stage.

For some background, my wife and I are planning to take a year off work starting Feb/Mar 2024 and doing some extended RTW travel for the full year. We've flown a bit over the last 10 years or so, but wouldn't be frequent flyers by any stretch of the imagination - most of our flights have been simple returns or maybe the odd open jaw return, so this is a whole new level of complexity! We've largely planned our route out (albeit have plenty of room for tweaking as it will probably be summer next year before we book anything). I don't have a subscription to Expertflyer, but will strongly consider this from next Apr/May when I start looking at real dates for flights, as I understand it is the go-to for checking flight availability by fare class. We are hoping to stretch the flights budget to business rather than economy, so the below is based on a DONE5 (coming in at approximately €7,700 incl. taxes and charges based on the below).

Current planned route is BUD-xLHR-SCL-MIA-ORD-ANC-HNL-SYD-NAN-SYD-AKL-KUL-DEL-xDOH-AMM-xLHR-BUD

• We don't have any status with any airlines at the minute or any existing miles/Avios. My current thinking is to sign up to British Airways Exec Club to credit these flights to. I understand that the best Avios earning is with BA, AA and IB, of which we have quite a few flights (and some where we can book the codeshare, e.g. AA on Qantas metal for HNL to SYD). In addition, the distance based earning will come in handy for short haul redemptions in US and Europe, as will the link to Aer Lingus (as we are based in Ireland). Additionally, it seems relatively easy to get to Silver status on BA which has lounge access and seat selection benefits that would really interest us. I'm open to comments on any better frequent flyer program to join instead.
• I'm a little unclear on how the proposed change to revenue-based Avios earning will impact a RTW ticket such as this - is it based on the overall ticket price, or the standard fare price for the flights I travel on. If it's going to be based on the price we pay for the DONE5, it looks like the mileage earning will be way down vs the distance/fare method at the minute.
• I am unsure who to actually book this ticket with. I have read that BA tend to add a lot of additional surcharges to their tickets, but when I check dummy flights on ITA Matrix, BA seem to come in lower than the other options such as IB and QR (as long as I transit UK rather than stopover). That's why I am going via Heathrow on the first leg at the minute, but can easily change that to MAD on IB if that's a better or cheaper option. IB flights count towards eligible flights for bronze/silver status on BAEC also so no issues there. I understand AA have a RTW desk and we will probably be flying over the Pacific with them, so they are an option to book through also. Any thoughts?
• We are starting in BUD which I understand is the cheapest place in Europe at the minute to start a DONE5. We can easily change this if somewhere else becomes cheaper in the next 6/9 months. I would intend to book the positioning flights from DUB to BUD on BA or IB via LHR or MAD which will count as eligible flights towards bronze/silver status.
• From looking at dummy bookings based on 2023 equivalent dates, the main problem segment for getting availability seems to be HNL to SYD on Qantas. I'm a small bit concerned that we could end up being bumped down to economy on that leg due to lack of D availability on the Qantas flight. One possibility I considered was changing HNL to LAX and then just redeeming miles for flights to/from Hawaii on AA. There are extra flights from LAX to SYD so should help with availability, but would ultimately end up costing more in either cash or miles.
• Transit through Doha from DEL to AMM could be changed to MCT if Oman Air on board with Oneworld by then, as Qatar surcharges seem quite high.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!