RTW Questions
Jan 10, 2024 | 1:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SFO
Posts: 323
RTW Questions
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!
Jan 10, 2024 | 1:49 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 22,926
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!
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
Jan 11, 2024 | 11:13 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA ExPl, BA Gold, DL Gold, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Platinum, probably some others
Posts: 4,944
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!
Is it worth it? Depends on what you're hoping to accomplish. You mentioned upgrades into first - those are extremely unlikely, even on a paid business ticket. Very few airlines even have real first class anymore, and nobody offers complimentary upgrades into their international first class. You might be more likely to get a operational upgrade into first with status if business class is oversold, but it's not worth basing your decision around that. Crediting to AA and earning AA status would offer the possibility of upgrades on their flights if you're flying domestically in the US, but your ticket would already book you into first class in the US on those flights, so that would only be worth it for flights outside of your RTW.
Paid RTWs, at least on Oneworld, should offer much more flexibility than award tickets. Some award tickets might require you to start from scratch if you want to make a change. The Oneworld RTW allows you to change dates even after you start the ticket for free (some airlines may charge you a service fee), while you can change stops for $150.
On the other hand, award ticket RTWs allow you to start anywhere for the same price (to my knowledge). Paid RTWs change their prices by where you start, and so starting in certain countries can be very advantageous, while more popular ones are prohibitively expensive.
Jan 11, 2024 | 11:47 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SFO
Posts: 323
Paid RTW will likely earn enough points for elite status in many programs. I'm familiar with Oneworld's RTW, cannot speak to Star Alliance's. Obviously, depends on what your routing is and which program you end up choosing. BA's program is relatively easy to earn status with.
Is it worth it? Depends on what you're hoping to accomplish. You mentioned upgrades into first - those are extremely unlikely, even on a paid business ticket. Very few airlines even have real first class anymore, and nobody offers complimentary upgrades into their international first class. You might be more likely to get a operational upgrade into first with status if business class is oversold, but it's not worth basing your decision around that. Crediting to AA and earning AA status would offer the possibility of upgrades on their flights if you're flying domestically in the US, but your ticket would already book you into first class in the US on those flights, so that would only be worth it for flights outside of your RTW.
Paid RTWs, at least on Oneworld, should offer much more flexibility than award tickets. Some award tickets might require you to start from scratch if you want to make a change. The Oneworld RTW allows you to change dates even after you start the ticket for free (some airlines may charge you a service fee), while you can change stops for $150.
On the other hand, award ticket RTWs allow you to start anywhere for the same price (to my knowledge). Paid RTWs change their prices by where you start, and so starting in certain countries can be very advantageous, while more popular ones are prohibitively expensive.
Is it worth it? Depends on what you're hoping to accomplish. You mentioned upgrades into first - those are extremely unlikely, even on a paid business ticket. Very few airlines even have real first class anymore, and nobody offers complimentary upgrades into their international first class. You might be more likely to get a operational upgrade into first with status if business class is oversold, but it's not worth basing your decision around that. Crediting to AA and earning AA status would offer the possibility of upgrades on their flights if you're flying domestically in the US, but your ticket would already book you into first class in the US on those flights, so that would only be worth it for flights outside of your RTW.
Paid RTWs, at least on Oneworld, should offer much more flexibility than award tickets. Some award tickets might require you to start from scratch if you want to make a change. The Oneworld RTW allows you to change dates even after you start the ticket for free (some airlines may charge you a service fee), while you can change stops for $150.
On the other hand, award ticket RTWs allow you to start anywhere for the same price (to my knowledge). Paid RTWs change their prices by where you start, and so starting in certain countries can be very advantageous, while more popular ones are prohibitively expensive.