Well, after months of research and invaluable help from the people on this board, I finally bought my OWE two weeks ago.

My itinerary has been set as:

ARN-LHR-FRA (stopover) FRA-LHR-ORD (stopover) ORD-SEA (stopover) SEA-SJC-ORD (stopover) ORD-SFO-MIA-ORD (stopover) JFK-HKG-KIX (stopover) KIX-HKG-DPS (stopover) DPS-HKG-BKK (stopover) BKK-SYD (stopover) SYD-AYQ (stopover) AYQ-PER (stopover) PER-SYD-HKG-LHR-ARN

I start the ticket on March 11 and will finish it on August 31/Sept. 1. I booked it in first class and with one extra Asian segment, it came out to about $5500. Since I booked this very early (to lock-in the fare before the price increase) several of the segments were sold as open flights, and I am in the process of selecting specific flights as they come into the system. Interestingly, my travel agent, Rosenbluth International, was able to issue the ticket in the United States and still give me the ex-ARN fare.

All in all, it was a positive experience and I am looking forward to starting the trip.

[This message has been edited by PresRDC (edited 09-25-2001).]

How many miles is your adventure?

It looks like you'll be able to get emerald status with this one ticket alone!

My hope is to make OW Emrald from this trip, a fact which will be helped if miles earned as the Plat. bonus count toward EXP/OWE.

I don't know the exact mileage, but I'll figure it out from the Great Circle website and let you know.

Well, based on the mileage available on the Great Circle Mapper and taking into account the 1.5 mileage bonus for the first class segments and the 1.25 bonus for the business class segments, I will come out with 80,890 miles.

It would sure be nice if status miles counted toward future status, but I was told by AA that they don't.

As I am doing an ORD-LHR-FCO; MXP-LHR-ORD routing as a plat. challenge (full fare economy on the transatlantic segments and discounted business class on the European ones), I should com-out with the 10,000 points needed and thus be AAdvantage Plat. for the whole of my RTW routing.

Of course, if you put this itinerary into Qantas FF or maybe BA Executive Club, you'd make OneWorld Emerald no problems at all.

Ozzie,

What are the requirements for BA Gold? My wife and I go RTW in 1st class at least twice a year and we're already both Exec Platinum, so maybe we would be better off with BA or Quantas? We often travel to Sydney or London from Maui.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Ray

Qantas and BA's programs heavily, heavily reward higher classes of travel. In fact, for a transpacific flight for example, you in First Class get 6 times the Tier Credits than I do in Discount Economy.

Both systems are based on the concept of Tier Credits (QF now calls them Status Credits but same thing). Whilst there is a correlation between length of trip and tier credits earned, it isn't as easy to work out as with AA's program. For example, PER-ADL gets the same as PER-SYD, even though the Sydney flight is much longer.

Discount Economy gets half the credits Full Economy does, whilst Business and First get 2 or 3 times respectively, the amount that Full Economy travel does.

All you need to do is fly 1400 Status Credits on QF or 1700 Credits on BA and you'd be OW Emerald. QF's program costs A$75 to join but the big benefit for you would be the lifetime Ruby at 7000 and lifetime Sapphire at 14000 on the new QF program. Fly a few RTWs in F and you'd get that pretty quickly - a lot quicker than 1/2MM under AA.

The tables of tier credits are different. See BA US's table or QF's table.

One caveat, credits are ever so slightly more generous from BA. Check it against your own travel patterns

And please - no U in Qantas

PresRDC, if you'd like to catch up for a beer or something when you get down to Perth - give me an email. I am more than happy to show you around if you want, as a fellow student. We don't see too many flyertalkers come this way! I guess you'd be visiting friends at Notre Dame here?

Notre Dame?

Didn't QF do away with the account charge?

If the invitation is extended, I will be in PER at the end of October some time. Give me a mail.

Darren,

Notre Dame has a study abroad program in Freemantle. That is what Bers is referring to.

Bers,

Thanks for the offer. I'll definately take you up it. Actually, I won't be visiting anyone from ND, largely because I don't know anyone who is on the program. I'm a law student and not an undergrad (although I was an undergrad at ND a few years ago).

PresRDC hit it in one - I was referring to the fact that there is a University of Notre Dame here in Fremantle (just the one e!). There's plenty of American that seem to come across for the program. I was on a UWA marketing team against a couple of Notre Dame teams in a comp last week and the two teams were both half American.

As for the charge, QF still charges a joining fee (I think it is $75 or $82.50 inc 10% GST for Australian residents). It does however, not charge an account fee anymore.

And darren, you have mail.