Need help with my 1st RTW – DONE4
 

Brief background:
- Planning for next summer (July-Oct = total length of RTW trip).
- Read a great deal in this forum (but still have lots of room for improvemmnt).
- No prior RTW experience, though have been to all planned continents.
- Have Citi AA VISA cc
- Platinum in Starwood & Marriott programs
- Ex SFO (flexible to consider other places, such as ICN etc…; if savings warrants.
- Have hashed out a rough itin on oneworld web site (with 2 red flags, however). See below.

Wish lists:
1. maximize accumulation of AA miles (currently AA-Gold; member of no other airlines)
2. Handful of places on MUST-DO list: HKG, NRT, SYD, MEL, LHR, FCO, HEL, IST
3. Want to be on A380 on a looooong flight (hoping SYD-LHR will suffice)
3. Here is my itin (with red-flags being in PER & MEL)
SFO-HKG-NRT-BKK-KIX-SIN-PER-MEL-SYD-LHR-IST-BUD-HEL-FCO-JFK-YVR-SFO

Questions:
Please tell me how I can maximize flight segments in Australia (without breaking rules). Clearly, in the above itin, I violated something re PER-MEL-SYD segments.

Please advise which airline(s) and flights to avoid (mile credits & comfort factor).

Please help improve my North America itin. I’ve tried YVR-ORD; YVR-DFW to no avail (even though the map shows “green” squares for both. (with the understanding of 1 trancon & up to 5 segments)

Appreciate your sharing.

PER-MEL-SYD is fine, you just can't* have MEL-PER-SYD

If you are simply looking to maximize distance you can do SIN-SYD-CNS-MEL.

There's not much more you can do with Europe, you have done well there.

There's no eligible west coast service YVR/SEA-SFO; AA codeshares on AS for these. Substitute MIA for YVR and you get this for 44890 base miles:

SFO-HKG-NRT-BKK-KIX-SIN-PER-MEL-SYD-LHR-IST-BUD-HEL-FCO-JFK-MIA-SFO

Here's a routing using FCO-ORD that visits your 'must do's' that earns 48,409 base miles:

SFO-HKG-NRT-DPS-NRT-SYD-CNS-MEL-LHR-IST-BUD-HEL-FCO-ORD-SEA-ORD-SFO

*(There are some exceptions but are not applicable to your routing)

Should be no issues with the Australian routing,
maybe the red flags have something to do with bad dates or misconnection timings

Australia is similar to the US in that you can only do one transcon. ie can't do SYD-PER-MEL, although you can do SYD-PER-ADL/AYQ-MEL

IF you fly SIN-SYD/MEL then the above, then SYD/MEL-LHR you can get two trips on the A380 (although you are adding a segment)


From a mileage-run perspective, you are also not taking advantage of the F upgrades in the US - you would have 6 US segments to maximise, but all depends on your objectives.

Here is another possibility

LAX-HKG-DEL-NRT-SIN-NRT-PER-SYD-MEL-LHR-IST-BUD-HEL-FCO-ORD-SJU-LAX

52565 BIS miles.

The must do's conflict a bit with the goal of maximizing miles. Maybe you should consider doing some of them via cheap economy tickets (SYD-MEL $70 return) especially the ones in Europe and using the extra segment for longer travel. LHR-MCT comes to mind.

A couple of points to consider -

1. Maximizing your AA miles will be easier if you do the bulk of the trip as a Platinum member rather than a Gold, as you'll earn a 100% mileage bonus on flights with AA, CX, QF and AY flight numbers (also IB, RJ and LA.) You don't earn this bonus on JL, MA and BA-designated flights. You can earn it on AA codeshares on BA or JL flights when you're connecting to/from an AA flight.

2. Irrespective of the current (expiring) 10% discount on xONEx fares, the price of a DONE4 begun in certain European countries is up to US$2000 cheaper than in the US (of course depending on exchange rates.) As of now, for example, DONE4s begun in Sweden, Poland, Jordan or Israel are anywhere from $1800 - $2100 cheaper than ex-USA. Those savings could easily cover the cost of an access trip before and/or after (or you could use miles and pocket the difference in cash.) Because of the current Dollar:Sterling exchange, even DONE4s begun and ended in the UK are $1500 cheaper than in the US (which is a stunning reversal of the situation from just a year or two ago.)

3. There are pros and cons to this approach; obviously it's less convenient, and the rule about stopovers in the continent of origin reduces your freedom of movement (in Europe - but expands it in N. America.) However, you could combine your access trip to Europe to hit a couple of your "musts" en route, e.g. FCO or BUD, and free up segments for use elsewhere, in particular N. America and Oz/NZ, where not only are the segments longer, but the double mileage bonus is always in force. In general an xONEx is not the most cost-effective way of doing short-haul trips around Europe.

So my recommendation would be to originate in Europe after hitting a couple of your "musts." Sign up for the Plat Challenge (see the AA board if unfamiliar with this) before you leave the US and use your access trip and the RTW itself to confirm your Plat status, then let your Plat status leverage a lot of extra miles. Depending on your route, you could leverage an extra 30,000 redeemable miles off a 45,000-mile RTW itinerary (around 90K mi vs. 60K as an AA Gold member.)

Edited to add - if you don't need to return to N. America en route, you could earn a lot more miles by originating in Europe and substituting South America for North America, using an itinerary that goes Europe > S. America > Oz > Asia > Europe. There are lots of great longhaul segments possible in S. America, and Lan's service is simply excellent. The Plat challenge would be an issue (only EQP earned on AA metal or codeshares counts) but you could do it in a mileage run or two prior to leaving the US for your access trip.

Serfty, moa999, DownUnderFlyer & Gardyloo,
You guys are fantastic as usual on this board. This weekend I am consumed with matters that will prevent me from going online. Will digest all your suggestions and report back by Monday. That will also allow me to dig into the “what if scenarios” more.

Once again, I appreciate all your feedback. Thank you.

I will be back. Meanwhile, Fters, keep them coming!

Per my original itin: SIN-PER-MEL-SYD, SOMEHOW “red triangles appear in PER, MEL & SYD. Should I ignore that and move on to choose flights? I will try it anyway.

Thanks for the routing suggestion. Somehow, system would not allow SEA-ORD. ??:confused:

OK, I will check on that. I found this happens often when I played around with different itins.


I am aiming to max miles (but have relaxed on MUST DO list requirement). Any eligible upgrades will be gravy.
As for the US, I’ve softened by the fact I could always fly domestically when opportunities arise. I will take a hard look at the strategy offered by gardyloo and DUF.

More miles, love it! ^
How is the weather in August in DEL (trying to determine if stay a few days or not)



I will focus more on just miles and relaxed on my MUST DO list as stated earlier. Excellent idea re MEL. I will do that to save a segment. Thanks.
Having read all the suggestions thus far on this young thread, I am going to modify my goals and focus on miles.

I do like the LHR-MCT itin, but seems like only BA flies non-stop. Please see below:

Not certain what my staus would be for next year, I have to be concerned about picking flights that offers less 100% mileage credit to my AA acct. Where can I find a chart (or info) that credits vs airlines program vs status?

Gardyloo,
Thank you so much for being so open to sharing your wealth of frequent fly knowledge, and particularly in dealing with OW RTW. Read many of your posts, you always spent time on strategic issues which frankly RTW newbies like myself wouldn’t even know how to post the question.

I was not aware that RTW fares could be so much lower when ex-europe (selected countries). That couples with your suggestion of doing some MR’s (to tie RTW (begin in Europe & ends in Europe) I went ahead and tried a dummy itin or 2.
Anyway, I like your diea of doing Europe > S. America > Oz > Asia > Europe. I am having problems however, in creating an actual itin ex-HEL (or LHR, PRG). E.g.:
HEL-IST-LHR-MCT-MAD-STO-SYD-PER-NRT-DPS-HKG-BOM-KIX-……….
So after only 12 segments at KIX, system shows DBX as the only “green square” but allows no selection of it. Funny, I can’t even get back to HEL from KIX. Where did I go wrong? Also MCT and MAD also show red-triangles.

Can you throw out a couple of itins ex-Europe? Thanks.

By next year, I have little clue as to what my AA status will be as biz travel slowing.
Per suggestion, I am also looking into doing couple of MR’s to Europe to boost status with AA. Major problem to overcome is time. That said, I checked into SFO-FCO for mid winter. Whether I will make plat or maintain gold remains uncertain.

Oh, upon re-reading my OP, I discovered a minor error.

I stated that I was“member of no other airlines. It should read “MEMBER OF # OF AIRLINES”. Tried to write short-hand for "number" and it totally .......ized the meaning. Sorry, not that it matters that much here. Among OW, I am a lowly member of CX & IB. UA 3p.

Great if you enjoy temps in the mid 30's (C) and polluted air with humidity and a reasonable amount of rain.

First, you're very welcome. I think you'll find that this board has some incredibly knowledgeable people (way more than me) who take genuine pleasure in helping indoctrinate new victims - er, members into our goofy little sect/coven/asylum.

Ex-Europe itineraries that optimize your route/miles/etc. while hitting as many of your "must-do" locations? I can give it a whirl, others might do better. Couple of things, though: you can't re-enter the continent of origin until the end of the trip, and you can't leave the country of origin once re-entered. This makes the UK a bit problematic, since so many intra-Europe routes transit LHR. Second, you're only allowed two stopovers (24 h+) in the continent of origin. It's for that reason I'd suggest you hit a couple of your European "must dos" either before or after the RTW. If you travel to Europe on a Oneworld carrier, you can use the Oneworld Visit Europe air pass (or some similar name) - see www.Oneworld.com - which can be fairly reasonable.

So, a couple of examples...

Non-RTW access, example, SFO-xJFK-FCO-LHR-ARN

Sweden-based DONE4, avoiding N. America: I'll include the carriers between the city pairs - just my judgment as to which is preferable - others may disagree. BTW "x" means transit, "o" means stopover in continent of origin.

ARN IB xMAD LA SCL LA IPC LA SCL LA EZE QF SYD QF AKL QF MEL QF SIN CX HKG CX NRT JL SIN QF LHR BA oIST BA oLHR BA ARN. (Around 46K miles.)

Having Iberia issue the ticket may be problematic but ought to avoid BA's big fuel fines. I've added IPC (Easter Island) into the South America itinerary as it's very popular with RTWers; it's good for AAers because Lan gives elite bonus miles. I also added Auckland into the SWP itinerary because with 4 segments/continent in this itinerary (only N. America gets six) you need to use up the segments in each continent to get maximum value from the itinerary, and the "transcon" rule in Oz limits segment lengths there. Besides, I really like NZ :).

Here's a DONE4 originating in Europe and going through N. America, for considerably more miles than the S. America option cited above. Again, these routes are only indicative; your own preferences come into play.

ARN (AA) BA LHR AA LAX AA ORD AA ANC AA DFW AA SFO AA JFK CX HKG CX SIN JL NRT JL SIN QF SYD QF LHR BA MCT BA LHR BA ARN (around 57K mi.)

This one doesn't hit any of your must-dos in Europe, but adds Alaska and a stop at home in the Bay Area if you're inclined. In lieu of IST I added Muscat, which is a nice long segment in BA J and either an easy turnaround or an interesting destination on the Arabian Peninsula. Use the AA code on any BA flights whenever allowed in order to earn elite status bonuses.

If you wanted to originate in Poland you could substitute WAW for ARN.

Others can chime in...

Hello!

Just wanted to comment on two things from my experience - btw I too find that all the guys here on the OW forum are great.

I once tried to book a LONE4 starting with a IB sector. Fuel fines were as high as with BA, if not higher. This was with the online tool, don't know if a IB ticket office will return lower YQs. You should try to have LA as first carrier and the YQ will drop to zero (maybe IB flights ARN-MAD carry the LA codeshare).

In this case I'd start with ARN BA LHR BA MCT AA LHR AA LAX to have the AA code, and the bonus miles, on the longer MCT-LHR leg instead of the shorter ARN-LHR one.

I wish you a great journey!
Take care

That was my suspicion. I believe it is also monsoon season there too ??
Oh well that's part of the joy of flying! :D