Originally Posted by
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I'm in the beginning stages of planning a RTW trip. No status with any airline Hoping to do it in business class and looking for pluses/minuses of trying to do it with points or paid fares. If paid, will that result in getting elite status, and if so, is it worth it? Are flights easier to book and change if paid? Will I see the benefits on the later flights, such as an upgrade into first? I haven't been able to find a guide that addresses this question. Thanks!
Many questions and no correct/incorrect answers.
Changes to paid flights will depend on the t&c's.
Changes to award flights will depend on the ffp t&c's. Many will come with a cost.
USA and non USA airlines have vastly different upgrade policies. On non USA airlines always expect to fly on the class you buy.
Upgrades are usually only on the airline of your ffp. But Star Alliance has a cross airline upgrade scheme, but requires a high priced base fare, so totally useless for most people.
What ffp's are you a member of now?
Both Star & OW alliances have cash RTW tickets, with different t&c's and pricing
OW forum has many threads on the OW RTW *ONE* and *GLOB*
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld-411/
The Oneworld Explorer User Guide