Hi, I'm new here. I'm getting ready to go on my "plan as you go" Round The World trip (buying all of my plane tickets along the way) and am curious as to people's thoughts about the best Frequent Flyer Program(s) to use for a trip like this. From what I understand, you should join one frequent flyer program within an alliance and then use that number for all flights within that alliance. Is that right? Does it make sense to join one program in each major alliance to be able to rack up points on most of my flights? If so, does anybody know which airlines within each alliance offer the best programs?

As far as my itenerary, nothing is set and may change as I go, but I'll probably travel in Europe (both Western and Eastern), the Middle East (Jordan and Israel), North Africa (Egypt forsure, and maybe Morocco), Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), possibly Nepal, South America (Peru, Argentina, not sure where else yet), and possibly Australia and the Cook Islands if I have the money left by that point.

Right now I have about 3,000 miles with Northwest, so I'm not sure if it makes the most sense to stick with them, or if there is a reason I should switch. As of right now I'm thinking of staying with them and then also joining United. But I'm definitely up for discussion and change.

Any recommendations/insight/wisdom in these areas would be greatly appreciated! I'm from the US (Atlanta) if that makes a difference.

I'm trying to figure this out ASAP so I can join and buy my initial tickets. (I'm starting my trip in Portugal with my dad in December). I think my initial flight will likely be on United or Lufthansa. Or possibly TAP.

THANKS A MILLION TIMES FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think you need to come up with a rough itinerary and buy a true RTW ticket, rather than just "pay as you go." I'm not sure if you've priced this out, but a RTW ticket will come out to be significantly more cost effective than purchasing separate one-ways. If you're not sure where you'll want to go, you can always buy add-on trips from various (hopefully cheaper) spots.

I'm not sure what you've budgeted for this trip in terms of airfare, but you may be pleasantly surprised if you look up the RTW rates.

In terms of which alliance to choose, I personally find Oneworld and Star Alliance miles and elite status to be quite valuable. You'll also have some pretty good coverage intra-Asia on those alliances. My choice would probably want to go with AA or United, but you'll need to decide what your goals are (free domestic/international tickets, upgrades on paid domestic/international tickets) first.

Mate you are with NWA so you are on SKYTEAM already & you should join UA's FF as well so that it covers up STAR ALLIANCE also. You will have to use both these FF's because this will give you the desired economy and flexibility that you would want for such a trip. With these 2 FF's in your pocket you shall have ample selection of flight options for the majority of your travel.

Hope this helps. Have a safe & enjoyable trip.

Cheers

Thanks for the suggestion. I've actually looked extensively at both options and have gone back and forth about which way to take the trip and weighed out the pros/cons of each way. Cost is definitely a "pro" of the RTW ticket (and probably the fiscally smart thing to do), but I'm really turned off by the fact that you have to pick all of your destinations ahead of time, and in general your dates as well (yes, I know you can usually change these, but I know I'll want to do that and the fees will add up a good bit and eat into the cost savings of buying this type of ticket). I'm going to be backpacking alone, but I really want to travel with other people I meet along the way for parts of the trip. I love the flexibility of buying tickets as I go because then I won't miss any cool oportunities that may come up along the way, that you can't account for ahead of time. It will make it possible to add in places I'd never thought to go that I hear are amazing, or cut out places that don't really apeal to me when I would actually be going (in theory I think I want to go all over SE Asia. But who knows, I may be Asia'd out after a couple of countries. I've never been so I can't predict something like that). And one of the bummers with a RTW ticket is that if you skip a leg, the rest of your flights are cancelled. I just really don't want to be tied to that. So after a LOT of evaluating, I've realized that for this trip I'd rather spend more money (and not go quite as long) but go with the flexibility and freedom.


Free tickets are definitely a priority over upgrades I think (I don't actually know much about how upgrades work though). It would also be awesome to be able to use the FF miles to buy nights at hotels on the road along the way when I need a night in a nicer place than a hostel. Do any of them offer something like that? For free flights would you recommend AA or United more? Thanks!

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like your thoughts are what I was leaning towards

Just be aware that a number of countries want to see your ticket out of the country before they let you in.

i say pick AA, UA and DL.

I was just going to say that. Many countries will require an onward ticket before they let you in.

With those destinations, if you could bring yourself to work out your itinerary before you leave, a OW Global Explorer (http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-trave...lobal-explorer) or Oneworld Explorer (http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-trave...world-explorer) would make the most sense, and probably join the AA program and you would collect miles/status there for the whole trip.

Your freq flyer selection will depend on the class you purchase. Around the world is a good chance to earn more miles and a higher status, but partner airlines give you few miles per mile flown if you are in a cheaper around the world ticket. We found the upgrade to biz cost effective as we earn tons of miles. If you go coach, go with the airline that has the most flights or code share flights where they really give you a mile for each mile flown. The other flights will not earn you much...

so most partner airlines give you less than the acutal flown mileage for RTW coach but acutal or bonus miles for biz/first class?

it seems like doing an AA challenege could yield status and upgrades for an AA traveler on a RTW ticket?

Sorry I did not awnser this sooner. I was busy earning my executive platimum on AA The plat /exec plat status has big rewards, which I started with the challenge. I would not bank on upgrades on a RTW ticket. If you can, challenge for platinum and you get double miles after that first flight. I did the challenge for my kids (flying AA) and they where only able to get gold status due the class flown. They received full air miles on an AA code share, but diminished elite qualifying miles. I'd have paid for a higher fare if I'd known as access to the biz class lounge when flying coach is great.

Yes, partner airlines are often terrible on giving miles in a any sale fare coach class. Many as low as 25%. The web site always gives you the cheapest fare, which may not be the best for the FF status. For 100 bucks I want my miles and more importantly my elite status. The upgrades to biz class are worth it.

This is very general. Each FFP gives you miles according to the distance flown, the airline and the BOOKING CLASS. I've seen booking classes for Economy ranging from ZERO miles (some really cheap AZ fares) to 150% of distance flown (YBM on OK). Similarly, business class miles can be anywhere between 125% and 300% of distance flown.
Bottom line, always check who you're flying with and the booking class (and not class of service)...

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Are you thinking about doing RTW in F, C/J or Y?
While not as good a deal it used to, but purchasing a RTW fare as recommended above will be more cost effective.

And if you take F or C/J, then using BMI program is still one of the best out there while it lasts.