My Definitive ONEWorld Explorer Fare
 

Just when I thought I had everything worked out I get back to Australia to find out that both CX and QF are offering the 100000pt bonus. Requires a few minor changes to my 1st class RTW fare 36000 ZAR = $US6000

From To Distance
30 segment path: 80149 mi FF Program AA QF CX
CPT (33°34'S 18°22'E) LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) 5949 mi BA/AA
LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) TLV (32°00'N 34°32'E) 2206 mi BA/AA
TLV (32°00'N 34°32'E) LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) 2206 mi BA/AA
LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) MAD (40°17'N 03°20'W) 773 mi BA/QF
MAD (40°17'N 03°20'W) LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) 773 mi BA/CX
LHR (51°17'N 00°16'W) SCL (33°14'S 70°28'W) 7206 mi BA/AA
SCL (33°14'S 70°28'W) EZE (34°29'S 58°19'W) 703 mi BA/AA
EZE (34°29'S 58°19'W) SCL (33°14'S 70°28'W) 703 mi BA/AA
SCL (33°14'S 70°28'W) EZE (34°29'S 58°19'W) 703 mi BA/AA
EZE (34°29'S 58°19'W) GRU (23°16'S 46°17'W) 1061 mi CP/AA
GRU (23°16'S 46°17'W) LAX (33°56'8°24'29"W) 6158 mi AA/AA
LAX (33°56'33"4'29"W) YVR (49°11' 123°10'W) 1079 mi CP/CX
YVR (49°11'N 13°10'W) JFK (40°38'3°46'44"W) 2447 mi CX/AA
JFK (40°38'23"6'44"W) YUL (45°28' N 73°45'W) 333 mi AA/QF
YUL (45°28'N 73°45'W) DFW (32°53'7°02'33"W) 1512 mi AA/CX
DFW (32°53'49"2'33"W) SJU (18°26'6°00'07"W) 2165 mi AA/AA
SJU (18°26'22" '07"W) JFK (40°38'3°46'44"W) 1597 mi AA/AA
JFK (40°38'23"6'44"W) SYD (33°34'S151°06'E) 9942 mi QF/AA
SYD (33°34'S 11°06'E) PPT (17°20'S149°22'W) 3832 mi QF/AA
PPT (17°20'S 19°22'W) SYD (33°34'S151°06'E) 3832 mi QF/AA
SYD (33°34'S 11°06'E) PER (31°34'S115°34'E) 2067 mi QF/CX
PER (31°34'S 15°34'E) SYD (33°34'S151°06'E) 2067 mi QF/QF
SYD (33°34'S 11°06'E) BKK (13°32'N 00°22'E) 4653 mi QF/AA
BKK (13°32'N 10°22'E) HKG (22°11'N114°07'E) 1082 mi CP/QF
HKG (22°11'N 14°07'E) JKT (06°04'S106°23'E) 2011 mi CX/AA
JKT (06°04'S 16°23'E) HKG (22°11'N114°07'E) 2011 mi CX/AA
HKG (22°11'N 14°07'E) NRT (35°26'N140°14'E) 1819 mi CX/QF
NRT (35°26'N 10°14'E) HKG (22°11'N114°07'E) 1819 mi CX/CX
HKG (22°11'N 14°07'E) JNB (26°04'S 8°08'E) 6643 mi CX/AA
JNB (26°04'S 28°08'E) CPT (33°34'S 18°22'E) 781 mi BA/AA

AA QF CX mileage pts 165000 12000 10000
bonus pts 100000 100000 100000
total pts 265000 108000 110000

Starting from platinum in AA but no status in QF or CX

Are the CX and QF really that low in number of points or just missing a zero on each?

I love the way you detail everything. Easy to follow and do comparisons with different carriers.

[This message has been edited by BlondeBomber (edited 08-25-1999).]

Umm, are they really going to let you fly SCL-EZE-SCL-EZE-SCL-EZE?

Doesn't a RTW fare generally have to be in a continuous East-West or West-East direction (in general, I know you're allowed to back track to get to certain cities in some cases ...)?

I think the QF points listed must be for status qualification (like BA they determine status based on points for segment with a multiplier for fare basis). But 12,000 qualification points? Have'nt got time to figure it out but considering you only need to get 1700 points for Gold (oneworld Emerald) then it is pretty amazing.

Uh-oh, I think I get it. Have a FF account with each of AA, CX & QF. Distribute the segments between them and voila! Three 100K bonuses. Very cool. If you do this and make it the BKK getogether I will personally give you a bottle of Krug!




[This message has been edited by mgm (edited 08-25-1999).]

Beckles - oneworld Explorer allows backtracking within a continent. It does not allow backtracking between continents with the exception of North and South America. However, the product generally allows for a stopover only once per city, transits excluded. Also I noticed that the intention was to use BA as the carrier from LHR to SCL and for the points inbetween but credit to an AA account. These flights are not eligible, they are categorized as transatlantic. I checked this with AA sometime back as I wanted to do something similar.


[This message has been edited by mgm (edited 08-26-1999).]

mgm - you get the prize. Its not 265000 pts on AA or 112000 on QF or 108000 on CX but all three ie 485000 pts and executive platinum qualification on AA. How did you know that Krug was my favourite champagne - another good reason to swap over to Oneworld as QANTAS serves Krug whereas United serves Dom.

As for the SCL-EZE-SCL-EZE the Oneworld Explorer rules only limit you to 3 free stopovers in each continent. As long as you don't need extra segments and have no more than your 3 over 24 hour stops you could have all 3 stops in the one city. The ticket has already been issued and BA didn't object to the routing.

Thanks for the advice about LHR-SCL being ineligible for AAdvantage point accumulation - I'll have to follow that up. I'd always assumed it was just trans North Atlantic that the restriction applied to.

My only question is how are you getting so many miles in on this ticket? I thought they limited how many actual miles you could fly on the oneworld RTW ticekts, you seeem to be blowing those limits away...

Please help me out on this one so I can make the most out of my little trip that is bouncing around in my head now to get those 3 100,000 bonuses while exploring....

tg

There is NO mileage limit on the ONEWorld Explorer fare. There are segment limits,stopover limits and you pay according to the number of continents you pass through but there are NO mileage limits.
The maximum miles I could work out for an itinerary was around 90000. My trip is just over 80000 miles - a waste of 10000 mile earning opportunities I know but part of the reason is that American conspires against me by not flying to Alaska in winter!!

Thank goodness our asian contingent does not have to travel so far just to make 100K. We're using 5th Freedom rights from 5 of the Oneworld carriers within asia! Costs a lot less too!

The truth is I had the trip booked and ticketed before any of the 100K bonuses were announced - the extra 300000 points is just a pleasant addition. I don't feel that travelling to Capetown, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Vancouver, Montreal, San Juan, Sydney and Papeete (these are the actual stops) is any sort of imposition. My 5 favourite cities of the world are in that list.
In reality it is the Asian portion of the trip that interests me least and one of the major reasons I ticketed 6 continents was that QANTAS doesn't have a 1st class cabin across to JNB from Australia.

quebec - I'm glad I am not alone in my Krug obsession! You can look forward to enjoying Krug on BA, CX & QF. It seems to be a conspiracy among these 3 oneworld carriers to have common threads in their first class service (i.e. seats, amenities, food, style of service). Of course each one reflects the uniqueness of their home country. Unfortunately AA serves Moet in first (still not a bad drop though).

One thing u may want to verify is that u will be allowed to have miles credited to seperate accounts on flights in the same record. For instance on your flight from TLV-LON-MAD u want to credit flights to QF and AA. You may have a problem since my guess is the BA software is only smart enough to allow 1 FFlyer number per record not per segment.

Has anyone tried this? I cannot imagne changing frequent flyer accounts in ORD on an AA flight from BOS-LAS with a connection in ORD.

My own story that brought this to mind was a flight i took for LHR-BIO on BA. I bought the discount ticket at a BA shop and got exceutive club points for that. At the airport I requested my AA number be added. The AA number appeared on the Boarding Pass but no miles came through. I called BA and sure enough the flights had posted to my executive club account. But since it was a discount ticket i got a Big Fat ZERO points.

Would like to hear if u have checked this out.

I've done it before with STAR RTW tickets having different segments credited to LH Miles and More, Mileage Plus and SK Eurobonus. I've never had any problem changing the airline that I'm having points credited to at check-in for a flight.

On another note its just been posted that BA Executive Club has joined the bonus promotion - AAAAAGGHHHHHH, how is my Machiavellian mind supposed to work its way around this. I suppose it makes it likely that CP and ?IB are going to do the same. How does 700000 points from one ticket sound????

3544quebec: do you think it's a conspiracy to drive you out of your mind? http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

BB

There trying to break me - I just know it. They've got someone following me as well.....

By the way mgm, if 3 bonuses was worth a bottle of Krug what would 6 bonuses be worth?
It could be done with only slight modifications to the itinerary I've posted. Now if Finnair also came to the party - well you'd need to buy a couple of extra segments as for 7 100k bonuses you need 35 flight segments and the maximum on a six continent fare is 33 for origins outside NA or 34 if you originate in North America

[This message has been edited by 3544quebec (edited 08-27-1999).]

quebec -- I will have to think about that one (i.e. how much do I want to deplete my supplies http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif). But like I said, make it to BKK and you will be sure of a reward.

Now, this is getting quite lucrative (and crazy!) and has got me to thinking of doing something like you are planning. I'm trying to put together a family reunion which involves bringing together a bunch of people from around the world to one location. To my mind this would make good use of all those bonuses on offer. Out of interest, how long a trip are you planning with that itinerary?


[This message has been edited by mgm (edited 08-29-1999).]

Just a note on using separate FF accounts. On the RTW trips I have booked in the past my AA FF number has never managed to make it onto all segements in the booking - this may be a glitch in interface between all the res systems but I think you would be able to get away with it by not giving a FF number on booking and then only having the number entered on check in for each segment.

Unfortunately mgm I think the BKK get-together is in mid-October when I'll be in Madrid (Although if I can find a cheap ticket from Madrid to BKK........ No don't even think about it)

As for how long the trip is - I leave AUstralia 29 Sep for JNB on points.I then start the ONEWorld ticket from CPT on Oct 4, getting back to Sydney 4 weeks later, leaving me November and December to have a side-trip to Tahiti and then go up to Asia on my way back to Capetown.

We will await trip reports (or a final big trip report) with great interest!

quebec -- how about IB & AY MAD - BKK via AMS & HEL. Go on, you know you want to ... http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Not only does he know my favourite champagne but he can read my mind as well - this is getting scary!!!!!!!

http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

BlondeBomber,
By the time I finish the trip I'll have Krug flowing through my veins - do you seriously think that I'll be in any state to write a trip report or that anything that I'd write would bear any resemblance to reality?

A little bit of unreality never hurt a good story http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

In that case I'll start writing my trip reports now - hey there's a thought for a new forum : Trip Reports for Journeys Yet to be Undertaken

3544quebec - Maybe you would like to know that AY has joined in the promo! So far only IB & CP are not in.... YET?

quebec - when can we see a new itinerary that covers all five 100K bonuses?

Watch this space - I've taken up the challenge. I just have to book my MAD-AMS-HEL-BKK trip first.

[This message has been edited by 3544quebec (edited 09-01-1999).]

As promised:
From To Distance
32 segment path: 82081 mi Carrier/FF program

HRE JNB 615 mi QF/AY
JNB CPT 781 mi BA/AY
CPT LHR 5949 mi BA/AA
LHR TLV 2206 mi BA/AA
TLV LHR 2206 mi BA/AA
LHR MAD 773 mi BA/QF
MAD LGW 761 mi BA/BA
LGW SCL 7203 mi BA/BA
SCL EZE 703 mi BA/CX
EZE GRU 1061 mi CP/AY
GRU EZE 1061 mi CP/QF
EZE GRU 1061 mi CP/BA
GRU LAX 6158 mi AA/AA
LAX YVR 1079 mi CP/AA
YVR JFK 2447 mi CX/AA
JFK YUL 333 mi AA/CX
YUL DFW 1512 mi AA/AY
DFW SJU 2165 mi AA/BA
SJU JFK 1597 mi AA/QF
JFK SYD 9942 mi QF/AA
SYD PPT 3832 mi QF/AA
PPT SYD 3832 mi QF/AA
SYD PER 2067 mi QF/CX
PER SYD 2067 mi QF/QF
SYD BKK 4653 mi QF/AA
BKK HKG 1082 mi CP/CX
HKG JKT 2011 mi CX/CX
JKT HKG 2011 mi CX/BA
HKG NRT 1819 mi CX/AY
NRT HKG 1819 mi CX/QF
HKG JNB 6643 mi CX/AA
JNB HRE 615 mi QF/BA

With a first class ticket:
AA 220000pts starting from Platinum
AY 115000pts
QF 115000pts
BA 120000pts
CX 115000pts

Total 678000pts and I'm going into retirement

PS Don't achieve Executive Platinum with this because too many segments are being used for the other programs.


[This message has been edited by 3544quebec (edited 09-01-1999).]

Quebec, I stand in awe of your incredible feat. I am humbled when I look at your calculations. It makes me realize that it is possible to achieve the unreachable dream of unlimited miles, to soar as eagles on cost free tickets, and to bind the airlines with some of the schackles they use to bind us.



YOU DESERVE SOME KIND OF AN AWARD. All those in favor of an award for Quebec, clap loudly.

http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I've entered a manic phase or I've got far too much time on my hands.
In anticipation of CP and IB joining the bonus bandwagon and some wit (SIT DOWN mgm) asking for a 7 bonus itinerary here it comes.

This itinerary is actually dedicated to BlondeBomber who in another thread has shown us how to fly 6 segments across Canada from west to east in one day in a never-ending quest at achieving SuperElite status on Air Canada. By this he has shown himself to have a mind just like mine - frightening isn't it? I think he's been underhoof at one too many Calgary Stampedes.

As I said earlier in this thread for a 7 bonus itinerary you need to purchase an extra flight segment and I've done that in Asia on this itinerary.

The other rule that I've followed is no codeshare flights - the flight is ticketed on the operating carrier. I can just imagine flying a codeshare and having it credited for the other flight number and then trying to get the FinnairPlus Service Centre in Helsinki to correct it!


From To Distance
35 segment path: 85459 mi
YYC YVR 427 mi CP/AY
YVR JFK 2447 mi CX/AY
JFK GRU 4738 mi AA/CP
GRU MVD 971 mi AA/AY
MVD GRU 971 mi AA/BA
GRU EZE 1061 mi CP/AA
EZE GRU 1061 mi CP/CP
GRU LAX 6158 mi AA/AA
LAX DFW 1234 mi AA/CX
DFW LHR 4763 mi AA/QF
LHR LCA 2034 mi BA/AY
LCA LHR 2034 mi BA/BA
LHR CAI 2179 mi BA/IB
CAI LHR 2179 mi BA/QF
LHR JNB 5598 mi BA/AA
JNB HRE 615 mi QF/AY
HRE JNB 615 mi QF/BA
JNB CPT 781 mi BA/CX
CPT JNB 781 mi BA/CP
JNB HKG 6643 mi CX/AA
HKG BKK 1082 mi CP/QF
BKK HKG 1082 mi CP/BA
HKG NRT 1819 mi CX/BA
NRT HKG 1819 mi CX/IB
HKG JKT 2011 mi CX/CP
JKT HKG 2011 mi CX/CX
HKG SYD 4542 mi CX/QF
SYD PPT 3832 mi QF/CP
PPT SYD 3832 mi QF/IB
SYD PER 2067 mi QF/QF
PER SYD 2067 mi QF/CX
SYD JFK 9942 mi QF/AA
JFK YYZ 365 mi AA/IB
YYZ YWG 936 mi CP/IB
YWG YYC 742 mi CP/CX

Total points earned for a 1st class ticket assuming starting from no status on any airline


AA 145000pts
AY 126000pts
BA 109000pts
CP 117000pts
CX 109000pts
IB 112000pts
QF 134000pts

852000pts !!!!!!

IB doesn't use miles - I've just assumed an equivalence

Next week I appear on the British quiz program Mastermind - What is your special subject? The ONEWorld Explorer Fare.


PS Thanks Nathan for the ovation. I could hear it all the way down here.

[This message has been edited by 3544quebec (edited 09-02-1999).]

Quebec, you get the clap from me too!

And you started this in Calgary! How much does this cost? I still can't figure out how to get information on Oneworld Explorer fares (not that I've had a reason to). Can I find it online anywhere? When you say the flight is ticketed on the operating carrier, you mean (e.g.) you start on a CP flight operated by CP, but the points go to Finnair? And the alternative you're avoiding would be a CP flight number, flown by AA, and the points to Finnair (not YYC-YVR of course)?

And to echo my question about the YVR-YYJ itinerary in AC forum (which was, "is it worth $4500 net of points earned for SuperElite when you're Elite, and is it worth $1900 net of points for Elite when you're Basic?"), how much is it worth to do this? Of course it's not much of an accomplishment when someone else builds the route, but that's > U$17000 worth of points! (Not to mention the bragging rights).

This question might be better in another thread, so I'll create one (this is pretty long now).

Thanks again!
andrew


[This message has been edited by Andrew Webber (edited 09-02-1999).]

Andrew, for goodness sake just clap for him.

You don't want to give him the clap or wish that on him from one of his girl friends.

quebec -- I have locked away that bottle of Krug (after knocking off a couple the other night). Just to make sure I have one when we meet up in BKK (I know you are going to be there).

I don't know - with all these people wanting to give me the clap I'm not sure I want to go to BKK. I've heard the strain there is very resistant to antibiotics

ROFL!!!!!!

Oh boy! please be careful about passing around the clap. Poor Quebec after visiting all these places and taking so many flights, his immune system is sure to be shot, so we should hold off on giving him the clap until, say when the bonuses post in lan or feb 2000.

Boy, I think a lot of people here are wishing they had a month of free time to go after those 5 (soon to be 6 or 7???) bonuses. Very lucky these came at the right time Quebec.

Back to the clap, I suppose if it were being passed around from say Oct 1 - mid nov, some sick days would be allowed and...

cheers

What is the minimum possible amount of time it would take to complete the RTW itinerary detailed by 3544quebec? What would the cost for this ticket be in coach vs. business and how would the total number of miles earned compare? This is getting interesting!