A few questions/sanity check/suggestions ?

Am planning a nice long RTW and have the following itinerary planned.

OSL-LHR-JNB-DOH-PER-MEL-ZQN-AKL-JFK-CLT-JAX-ORD-BZN-DFW-MIA-LHR-OSL

So this will be 16 segments on a DONE4 with PER-MEL being a surface segment and ZQN-AKL also being surface

Questions as follows:

1) Assume the Itinerary is valid ? - I have 6 North America segments after landing in JFK and exiting in MIA so I think that is fine

2) JNB-DOH-PER is, I assume, 2 segments even though I am just in transit in DOH - I think I read somewhere that JNB-PER via SYD might only be one ?

3) When flying JNB - PER as per above, I will transit DOH so that will be "re-visiting" the Europe/Middle East zone - I assume this is ok (or otherwise I will need to book JNB-SYD-PER which would work but not be ideal as JNB-SYD does not fly every day. I don’t want to fly JNB-PER on CX as this would make it a DONE5 and even though QF are re-introducing a non-stop JNB-PER it again doesn’t fly on the day I need and has no D class at the moment - FYI - JNB - PER is my only time sensitive segment - most everything else I don’t care about and can move a week or weeks either way

4) What is the best way to book this - as BA is the first segment should I just ring them ? I did contact Trailfinders and they can do it no problem but they want 250 GBP to make any changes to the ticket after issue - and as this will start next Jan (2026) and be for a whole year I am going to have to put some dummy dates to begin with and book them as/when the booking window opens

5) Any other thoughts ? I will probably book on my BA Amex to maximise the avios return - any better ways of booking?

Pretty sure they travelling to Southwest Pacific from Europe / Middle east counts as visiting 2 continents sadly. So you would be on a DONE5 by default, even if you don't actually visit Asia proper!

True - but as I am not intending to take CX then I won't be visiting the Pacific at all and therefore a DONE4 (Europe, Africa, Australia and North America)

Wrong, it would be a DONE5 per the rules from Other Conditions section on page 1 of the Oneworld Explorer rules, shown below:

Thx - good to know - I guess I can avoid by flying JNB - SYD and then SYD - PER which would keep it as a DONE4

I was planning to post this in the Booking and Pricing sticky, but a post there seemed to indicate this one more appropriate. I'm planning a 5th DONEx. I have a great fare to LHR in Aug with a confirmed SWU and thought about originating in OSL. Then I snagged an 80K First Class ticket to Tokyo for July 15 on JAL (it's the old 777, but still...), so I could alternatively originate TYO. If I decide on OSL I'll probably still make separate trip to TYO as there are some $2K biz fares home. Same if I purchase x TYO; I'll still go to LHR as I already have a RT ticket. My last x TYO had about 20-25% added taxes and fees, and I'd love to reduce that if possible.. Goal is maintaining EXP and accruing miles while seeing the world. I have always booked via AA RTW desk but would consider going with TA if I can find one experienced in these fares. None are listed in the tools forum.
Questions:
Is there any consensus on which origin has better fees?
There was a thread about longest xONEx but it would no longer be useful for booking to any of the carriers since there will be a mix of fare based and distance based earning. Have any of you considered maximum LP earnings (if you're an AA flier), or whatever currency you are earning? Any specific itineraries? I will be working on this and will post, but I don't think it's possible to know in advance how many status earning points or redeemable points will be awarded..
Has anyone been able to book via AA RTW without booking TATL or TPAC?
Thanks for plowing through this.

Okay so what exactly are you asking for? People to come up with random itineraries from Japan and Oslo..? For any number of continents? Seriously?

ExpertFlyer shows the below prices.

OSL: DONE4, EUR5037; DONE5, EUR5782; DONE6, 6519.
TOK: DONE4, EUR5615; DONE5, EUR6441; DONE6, EUR7038.

It's impossible to comment on possible earnings without at least a rough indication of an itinerary.

It seems a hard and fast rule that you must have at least the TAtl or TPac as an AA code. I think there may have been a report of some who's an executive platinum getting away without the requirement, but that's rare, it seems.

Well, yes, seriously. Pretty clear: is there any preference for one or the other points of origin for lower fees and taxes and for better points and miles accrual? Yes I recognize that might be a complex question.
Also, as mentioned, there exists a thread, (to which I've contributed), giving GCM itineraries showing maximum miles various members had constructed. They were mostly 3 continent fares. Now that miles aren't the only factor if one is interested in achieving status or stockpiling miles, that thread is obsolete. Also relevant is the airline you are crediting to. For American, one would prioritize AY, QR, and JL internationally and AS for North America. That might vary for other airlines' members. Maybe the data most valuable to people planning would come from those who've completed their trips and can break down the activity.

No there is not because which is cheaper depends on your route, especially which marketing airlines you have on that route, and which airline's ticket stock you ticket on. if that's enough of an answer then you're golden, else you'll need to engage not brush off points raised by the knowledgeable strangers you've asked to help you.

Your request is too vague. you can create or at least attempt to construct your own itineraries based on everything in this forum. Asking for critique or commentary on a proposed RTW will get you farther than asking others to do all this legwork. Pay a travel agent to do this for you.

Puzzled
 

I am disappointed and puzzled by the negativity. I meant to start a discussion (maybe not in this sticky??) about maximizing points and miles. I don't want anyone to do specific work for me,;hell, Rocket Money would crash if they saw my subscription list: EF, flightconnections, pointsyeah, etc etc. And I am planning on using a TA just to avoid flying AA number (although I don't mind their planes at all). Here's an example of what I had in mind:
OK, here's a DONE4:
NRT-JFK 6773 base 18288 bonus 25061 total
JFK-DFW
DFW-ICT 2275 2730 5005 includes JFK-DFW on AA also
ICT-DCA
DCA-ICT miles missing for these two segments
ICT-DFW
DFW-DUB 2665 3198 5863 on AA and includes ICT-DFW-DUB
DUB-DOH 3526 9521 13047
DOH-AGP 3372 9105 12477
AGP-MAD (surface)
MAD-DOH 3316 8954 12270
DOH-AKL 9012 24323 33345
AKL-MEL 1643 2383 4026
MEL-CNS 1422 2068 3485
CNS-SYD 1210 1755 2965
SYD-HND 4836 13058 17894

Total LPs 135438
This was my last oneworld fare spanning two qualifying years. March 10 2024-March 10, 2025.

I've searched and can't seem to find the answer to this. Is it possible to use AA miles to book a DONE3 or DONE4? If possible, how many miles?

The oneworld Explorer fare product (the topic of this thread) is a cash product only.

Thanks for the quick reply!

If you are an AA flyer and you are using a travel agent, reports have suggested that QR plating may reduce surcharges. Your agent can advise on which plating will be best for you. AA flyers are best earning on AY, JL, QR, and AT. For domestic US, use AS. There is significant codesharing on AA metal routes... Even JAL has a codeshare on GRU JFK.

Outside of this, nobody can really tell you what routing to use for maximizing as I'm sure you may actually want to visit certain cities. Which is why open-ended requests are not a good place to start. It's not negativity.. it's advice that you don't appear to agree with. It's not a practical use of others' time to try to come up with a million ways to answer a vague request. Does that make sense?

OSL-DOH-LHR-HND-SEL-DEL-KUL-HKG-JFK-GRU land GIG-EZE-MIA-MEX-DFW-LHR-DOH-OSL

Oneworld itinerary generation is giving me over two 24 hour stopover errors in original TC on the above even if doh-lhr-hnd are the same day and OSL-DOH-LHR will be less than 24 hours. Also getting a no flights between OSL-DOH error which makes no sense as there are flights. Any ideas? Thanks

Who are you flying between sel and del on Oneworld?
Also, you have 17 segments on there.

Cathay or Malaysian.
Yeah DFW is unnecessary.

Thanks, good to know.

then you have to go thru their respective hub in order to get to DEL

JL only flies HND-GMP but CX and MH don't use GMP.. they use ICN.
That adds a land segment if you land at GMP but depart from ICN.

Thanks, good to know.

Yes. Stop trying to use the online system for this ticket. It has numerous documented errors. Use a travel agent experienced with this ticket or the AA RTW Desk.

Is the AA RTW ticket desk the best "vendor" to use for booking (rather than BA etc) ?

I am going to book a DONE4 starting in OSL (so first segment BA) there will be about 5 AA segments in the middle of the route.

As per my previous message, I would use someone like Trailfinders but dont like the fact they want 250 GBP for any changes which is excessive to say the least

AA RTW is the best free agent.
if there is a change fee, well.. try not to make a lot of changes.

As my first segment was BA I just called them - got a good agent - she knew most of the rules - took down my schedule and its gone for pricing.

Question though - I have one sector SYD - PER on Qantas where Expertflyer shows lots of D class availability but the BA agent siad there was none (And this was for 2 flights both showing D). The BA agent was in the UK and I set Expertflyer PoS to be UK and all my other flights where I saw D being available were available. So what gives ? Why did the BA agent see D0 when I can see D6 etc and more important - how can I check to see if/when D class (from BA's perspective) might be available on this flight given that it is already showing available in Expertflyer

Was the requested SYD-PER segment part of a transit? i.e. XXX-xSYD-PER- or -SYD-xPER-YYY ?

This year I had issues where DOH-xJFK-LAX for particular flights showed D0 (both segments) whereas searching on an individual segment basis, the DOH-JFK and JFK-LAX flights each had D availability.

She said she tried both. As single segments there is lots of D on JNB - SYD and SYD - PER and I am indeed transiting straight thru at SYD (and she had no issues booking my JNB - SYD in D which currently is confirmed and she could confirm the later PER flights in Economy or earlier SYD - PER in D which is what I went for but this gives me only 1hr 55 in SYD to connect)

If I look at JNB-PER via SYD then there is no D showing on either flight.

Yes, appears to be one of those married segment issues.

In my case I also booked what was available although inconveniently timed. I did recheck once every week or so and after about two months D became available on my preferred flights and I was able to change to them.

(It's a shame Experflyer can't do alerts on multi segment routings such as AAA to BBB via CCC. (AAA-xCCC-BBB))

In case it is of interest - finally got things ticketed - took a while and some pretty big frustrations with BA - but like always - if you find the right agent then things can be done right and quickly.

The DONE4 ended up being 4193 GBP + 2888 GBP in Taxes - so just over 7K GBP for 14 segments (+2 surface) in Business and around 38.5K miles to be flown

Thanks for the update
 

Thank you for the update. I would love to see the full routing. Those taxes are a bit high but of course it probably gets you the flights that you prefer. I know on our last bookings we gave up some value because of work commitments.

OSL-LHR-JNB-SYD-PER surface MEL-ZQN surface AKL-JFK-ORD-SEA-BZN-DFW-JAX-MIA-LHR-OSL

I asked for the taxes calc but they weren't able to send me one so I guess I will check on the ticket receipt if/when available. Main concern is whether I have been charged APD for LHR-JNB as this is just a connection from OSL so shouldn't be there. JNB-PER via SYD is also a connecting flight in SYD but not sure if that makes a difference tax wise.

Is there a nice tool anywhere to check taxes ?

Used the very buggy OneWorld tool for your itin and got these fees in NOK. Not sure if that sheds any light on what you where charged but it does show that alot of the fees are the Carrier Surchage/Fees that I think come from Qantas. Thanks for posting your routing; I learned alot from looking at it.Airline Insurance Surcharge 6,366.00 NOK

Multiple Carrier Surcharges/Fees 155.00 NOK

Carrier Surcharge/Fee 27,224.00 NOK

Tax description unavailable (G2AP) 342.00 NOK

Tax description unavailable (ZNAE) 155.00 NOK

UK Passenger Service Charge 638.00 NOK

South Africa Passenger Safety Charge 18.00 NOK

Tax description unavailable (UMSE) 15.00 NOK

Air Passenger Tax for South Africa 109.00 NOK

Passenger Service Charge for South Africa 178.00 NOK

Australia Passenger Movement Charge 464.00 NOK

Domestic Head Tax - Australia 69.00 NOK

Australia Baggage Screening Tax - Departure 58.00 NOK

Australian Passenger Service Charge 728.00 NOK

Tax description unavailable (F1CA) 237.00 NOK

Passenger Security Charge for New Zealand 185.00 NOK

Passenger Security Charge at Auckland Airport (Arrivals) 170.00 NOK

Passenger Security Charge at Auckland Airport (Departure) 130.00 NOK

September 11th Security Fee 112.00 NOK

U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service Users Fee 37.00 NOK

Immigration and Naturalization Service Fee 71.00 NOK

U.S. Customs Fee 73.00 NOK

Passenger Facility Charges 45.00 NOK

Total 37,579.00 x 1 = 37,579.00 NOK

Interesting - and thanks for doing.

Actual taxes of 2888 GBP comes out to about 39750 NOK at today's ROE so that's about 160 GBP more than what your calculation is above (and probably close enough that its likely that its correct).

Despite BA not being able to provide me a breakdown - and it's not in my BA receipt - I went on to the Finnair website and they sent it to me and the taxes are as follows:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...237ca36b53.jpg

Would you have rather paid more in taxes and fees vs paying a travel agent that could have reduced the surcharges?

Air Travel Taxes - The Travel Insider

This is out of date but it shows what codes go to which country. Over the years I have learned to stay away from anything BA ticketed on RTWs. The YQ is terrible. Its like dealing with Ali Babba and the 40 thieves. Your other taxes look normal. UK , AUS , NZ , and the USA are 4 of the worst for add on taxes. I always ticket with the AA rtw desk.

Somewhat cryptic ? How would an agent reduce the fees and if so to what ?

I did originally ask an agent and they would have ticketed this trip but at 250 GBP per change of which there were likely to be 2 or 3 - it did not seem worth it

I'm not an agent, so you'd have to ask them how much it would cost... But booking with BA pretty much guarantees you'll be paying lots of surcharges. It could be cheaper with an agent.

I agree with izzik on this one, an agent could have ticketed on QR stock which would quite likely reduce the fees quite a bit, I suspect AA stock would have saved you a good chunk too. QR won't issue their own RTWs, only agents can do it. You've got £2500 in YQ that might have been minimized to less than £500. Some of your segments might have had more advantageous codeshares as well that an agent can use. I'm nearly certain that a ticket can go on QR stock with no QR segments, but even if one was required you could have done OSL-DOH-JNB or MIA-DOH-OSL (or both if you wanted more miles).