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Old Apr 23, 2026 | 10:01 am
  #1322  
PHLGovFlyer
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Originally Posted by The Narwhal
Here is my rough itinerary.

NRT-SEA-PHX-MEX-DFW-SCL-MIA-JFK-HEL-BER-MAD-DOH-KUL-NRT

I've been playing around with the super wonky OW tool. This route works there and prices out around $6,700 using random dates.

Few questions:

1. How accurate is the pricing on the OW tool? And does the pricing change if the dates change significantly? I can't price it out anywhere close to the dates I'd actually want to fly, so I'm not sure how much, if at all, the pricing would change for my real dates.

2. If I book through AA, would the flights to/from MEX and SCL on AA be enough to satisfy them, or do I need to also fly them on an ocean crossing? I'd prefer not to unless I have to but there are many comments about needing to include an ocean crossing with AA to book with them.

3. With my few extra segments I'd likely add stops in Europe and SE Asia, but I'm open to suggestions on maximizing North America as well (e.g. can I work my way back to Seattle somehow during the back and forth?)

4. I plan to credit to AS. Given my start date would be in early 2027, I'm hoping they will have implemented the new earn program by then (2027 is later then "later in 2026"...) and I'd select whatever method uses the anticipated 250% earn rate on partner business flights.

5. Anything obvious I'm missing, could improve on, etc,?
1. The base fare shouldn't change much or at all by date. However, taxes and fees can be vary quite a bit depending on how and which airline books the trip.

2. IME AA's requirement is not for a transoceanic flight, it is for an intercontinental flight. I'm in the middle of an AA booked DONE6 trip where the TPAC leg is on QF and the TLANT leg is on QR. My only long flights on AA metal are JFK-GRU-MIA and that satisfied AA enough that they ticketed the trip.

3. You could fly SEA-MEX on AS and that would save a segment. Not sure how that fits with your AS earnings goals though. Finnair flies SEA-HEL non stop, so that might give you a more convenient way to wrap up your North America portion. For SCL the MIA<>SEA non-stops on AA and AS could be an option. If you must go through JFK you could try to get on AA's LAX-JFK or SFO-JFK premium transcon flights.

4. No clue about AS earnings...

5. The OneWorld online tool is terrible and it may be artificially constraining you WRT to choices/options. Study the OneWorld Explorer rules sheet and build your own itinerary that meets the rules. Use EF, Google Flights, etc. to find non-stop OneWorld flights. Then call the AA RTW desk and feed them the segments one by one.

Link to the OneWorld Explorer rules sheet:

https://assets.ctfassets.net/m9ph4qv...5_DEC_2025.pdf
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