tehdee

planning a mini-rtw and all that's left is a welcome bonus from amex to hit for me to press the GO button.

im seeing availability dwindle in the meantime though, so im getting anxious to at least book the outbound legs (of which i found a killer routing).

if i book the outbound as a one-way, will i have any problems phoning in and changing that one-way to a multi-city, but retaining the original flight(s), once the miles hit?

if so, im open to paying the $100 change fee, which really only works out to $70 if i consider the fact that in calling to change ill be availing myself of an agent for a 'telephone booking', rendering the $30 booking fee moot.

thoughts or experiences?

agjil

You can book the outbound now and then book the return separately later (as 2 one-way tickets), in which case there will be no change fee involved.
However, if you book the outbound now and then change it to a multi-city trip later (in which case you will have 1 ticket with both the outbound and return on it), then you will have to cough up the change fee.
If I were you, I'd book the outbound now regardless of the change fee just to be safe, especially since you found a "killer routing" for it.

Davidwashere

I tried to do a similar scenario in 2015. I had a one way booked as I scooped a seat on a difficult to redeem HND to YYZ.

I had hoped that once I was able to book the rest of the RTW, I could use that leg. But was told that that 'No, I can't, as I would have to cancel the one way, then rebook it as a return.' The minute the one way was canceled, it was put back into the system, and no longer available. (I was warned that would happen)

So don't do it. Be patient until the points arrive.

D out

Marlin240

Depending upon how far in advance you're booking the outbound, you could book a "dummy" return (i.e., whatever the system gives you) and then change it to whatever you want. That way you preserve your outbound without worrying about the possible issues with trying to change a one-way ticket to a return ticket (I've heard that a good agent can do it without a problem but if you want to be safe, my suggestion is an alternative). I did this for a trip in 2016 where I booked my desired outbound TATL on TK and the inbound on AC (and with all the YQ that comes with it). I waited until the inbound TK became available and then switched.

Of course, you will have to pay the change fee based on your distinktion level so you should keep that in mind.

jerryhung

From my experiences, I'd just wait
Depends on how popular the routing is though, and how much you want it

New change fee is $100 PER DIRECTION is a killer

Or book a dummy return, on a YQ-free carrier (like TK) and hope for a schedule change then you can switch to YQ $ carriers for free