MRKEY

I have been looking at the OW award chart for quite some time now..has anybody used the 50k mile limit for 220k miles? I am trying to route my trip to hit all continents and get the most out of what I feel is an amazing deal....Am I missing something here?..this sounds too good to be true Any advice would be appreciated. I am looking at a real long journey of a lifetime..Thanks in advance!

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MRKEY

Darren

Not missing something, other than being limited in the number of stopovers. Six, if I remember right.

headinclouds

Actually, unlimited stopovers once you decide on an itinerary. You may pass thru a city up to 3 times, 1 stopover and 2 transits. Last year, I had to spend MORE than 24 hours in London because I had already transitted 2 times. See the text I clipped from aa.com
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Routing: Members may fly unlimited segments and may stop in each city once, but may not connect in the same city more than twice. Passengers may not stopover in the city where travel originated.

Darren

Interesting. This is from the QF site, which is probably where I was reading from.

oneworld - eligible itineraries (see clause 10.4.6c) will be allowed up to 5 free stopovers. Additional stopovers may not be redeemed.

MRKEY

The OW site says unlimited segments..I wonder if QF is included in this award? Seems like an excellent award if planned right.

JohnAx

It depends on what you think a mile is worth. At two cents, you're spending $4400 for the pleasure, comparable with a OWE with a higher booking class and other benefits.

flymetothemoon

The OW award's only real restriction is not being able to pass thru a city more than 3 times. This is especially problematic for London and Hong Kong. With a little creativity and lots of flight time, it's possible to get better value with a J award than OWE.

MRKEY

Thanks...Just what I figuered..I think the J 220k award is fantasic...routing will take some time..but I do want to check out OWE just to be sure..The unlimited segments are very attractive..and no $4400 out of pocket. The money could be spent on stays and local air carriers where OW dosn't have service. Now what is the best way to plan the routing...would the RTW desk be of any help?

Darren

Make three lists. One of the places you absolutely want to go, one of the places that sound good but arent top choices, then make a list of places that you want to avoid. Put the lists on this board, and chances are good that people will help you come up with a decent routing.

For example, depending on where you wanted to go in Asia, you could hit as many as 13 cities, just by making a rough draft. But that would end up burning a lot of miles up for going to somewhere else you truly want to go.

And if you are interested, the routing I used was:
sin-jkt-sin-dps-sin-hkg-nrt-tpe-icn-
tpe-kix-tpe-ngo-hkg-khi-bkk-bom-bkk-
cmb-hkg

I *think* that would only be 19k miles, and not 28K, but in any event, it would use a lot of a 50k mile stipend.

MRKEY

Thanks Darren...sounds like you had a good trip! I'll make a few lists as you suggested and try to minimize the burn factor. I was thinking a trip from MIA down through S. America..over to Africa and either down to SYD and /or over to BKK and China...would love to include DPS and NRT too. Thats a lot of planning..but it seems well worth it. Thanks for yor help and I'll try to work up 'cities of choice'. I may not have to use the 220k...depends on milage..but I do want to do it in J.

benoit

Some basic questions.

1) Is mileage counted point to point, if no stopover in between?
2) Any change fees if only dates are changed? Can I leave dates "open"?
3) How about routing change, can I change it radically midway through my trip for a fee? Can I leave routing open and pick flights as I go? (wishful thinking, ha!)

NM

My experience is with booking the OneWorld Award via QF and is as follows:

* Mileage linmit is 35,000 miles, not 50,000 miles
* Max 5 stopovers allowed -period. You cannot purchase more stopovers with miles.
* Max one stopover per city
* Stopover is more than 24 hours between scheduled arival and departure times.
* Open jaw and ground segments allowed but count as a stopover and mileage between points is included
1) Mileage is counted per tecketed segment. So one flight number is one segment. Add all the distances as they appear on ticketed segments. eg QF25 flies BNE-AKL-LAX, but mileage is counted BNE-LAX.
2) No change fee providing this is done prior to the commencement of travel. Once you take the first flight of your itinerary, no more changes allowed.
3. You cannot make any changes once you start the trip. Therefore no open dated tickets allowed.

I believe these rules are supposed to be universally applied to all OW carriers using the OneWorld Award reservation. However, I also assume each carrier can choose to interpret the rules as they see most beneficial to them.

number_6

Apparently the Oneworld award rules vary considerably between airlines! Rather an ironic reflection of the uniformity of Oneworld. The AA rules allow unlimited segments and stopovers, with the limit of one stopover and 2 transits in each city -- otherwise no restriction on routing! Also AA offers a 50K mile award (for 220K points in J, 330K in F) while QF maximum is 35K miles (that costs 190K on AA in J).

Darren

Also been told that AA counts the mileage from the point of departure to the next stopover point. So if you went LAX-LHR-JNB, the mileage counted would be LAX-JNB. I don't know for sure, though, as I have never done it. I might have asked this a while back and if I wasn't such a lazy sack, I would actually do a search for it.

MRKEY

Given the different rules by different partners on the OW awards...perhaps there is a clearinging house/booking desk via OW group? I like the unlimited stopovers and milage computation given..ie. LAX-LHR-JNB is LAX-JNB milage. I am headed to Grenada today..but when I return..I'll call OW... if I can find a contact. AA does seem to be the best as far as milage limit barriers. I hope CX is the same