For the second year in a row, I am short to qualify for AA EXP. This year I am 40,000 points short. Last year I was 15,000 points short. (The year before I was EXP)

Why am I short? I have plenty of miles/points, traveling internationally on long trips. However, I had to take 3 extensive trips this year off One World (OW) carriers (two on LH, one on Thai, and I don't like Star as much as OW).

Why did I fly off One World? Because I look for discounted Business Class fares, often from consolidators, and the OW and affiliated carriers (AA, BA, CX, JL) are not nearly as competitive as Star and others (TG, LH, KL, Malaysia, etc.)

My question: has anybody been able to achieve consolidator-level business class fares on OW carriers which are as low as those on Star (TG, LH, etc.) or KLM, Malaysia?

In other words, my strong preference is to fly OW, but I need to achieve the lowest possible discounted bus class fares. Right now, I have been unable to find OW fares as low as Star, KLM, Malaysia, etc. fares.

My flying is out of Miami to Europe, Africa (such as Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria), and Asia (BKK, HAN, HKG, PEK, SIN, DAC, DEL, KTM, etc.). Unfortunately, OW is not deep in these areas, basically CX for Asia, and BA for Europe/Africa, with a bit of SN Brussels Airlines and JL thrown in (not as OW carriers but as affiliates which is almost as good). However, I could make it work for most purposes if I could find deeply discounted OW business class fares or some other way to reduce costs.

Any help/ideas/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Names and contact info for consolidators with low fares on OW carriers (or affiliates) is especially welcome. If you have any specialized info, please feel free to send me an private message.

Tx for all your help.

OW doesn't have anywhere near the consolidator fares of Star. So your perception is correct, if low fare matters you won't be flying Oneworld. Partly its brand strategy, partly its load factors. CX does have some consolidator fares that are good, but only on certain routes, and generally have to buy through a Chinese travel agent. Not sure that MIA has much of a chinatown; you might have to buy through SF/LA/YYZ. The Oneworld strategy is not to lower fares but to increase service, for example BA's extensive "buy J, fly F" offering and sporadic "free companion fare in J/F". I doubt that this will change and will probably remain a Star/Oneworld distinguishing feature (cheaper to fly Star, better to fly Oneworld ... though the latter is a rather fragile attribute, and LH seems to be making a run at the BA F business).

I do not quite understand why so much frustration... You are getting great discounted faress for business class on LH, MH. TG etc... if you really care and want AA or OneWorld status probably you need to pay up....

Another option for you is to buy your tickets outside the US.
Just to give you one example.
LAX-ZRH in Business (found on Orbitz) is 4765 $ on Delta, $8093 on AA and $8332 on UA.
ZRH-LAX (on opodo.de) is around 2300 Euro (around 3000 $) on some and around 3000 Euro on most other airlines. And you can do better with consolidator tickets.

So why not fly to Europe once on a one way ticket and then buy roundtrips there? Same for Asia.
Good (=inexpensive) places in Europe are CAI, TIP (ok, not everybody wants to go there), Switzerland and Germany. UK is typically expensive.
Good places in Asia are CMB (you likely read about the below 2000 $ F fares to the West Coast), BKK. HKG and SIN are typically expensive.

The previous poster gave good advice. With the variety of cities you travel to, you should definitely be using rtw tickets. I buy mine originating in BKK - very good value. Also, rtw tix issued in Asia or Europe don't have an advance purchase requirement.

I agree buying tickets outside usa is a great idea. I've even been able to buy tickets from an agent in Pakistan where the first outbound leg actually originates in USA, like a normal round trip purchased here, eliminating the need for the one way initial ticket. I don't know how he did it, but was able to.

Problem is tickets bought from him must touch Pakistan. I find it difficult to find overseas agents who actually can/do perform. It would be great to be put in touch with agents in other locales who can do similar. Appreciate any contact dtails. Feel free to send a private message if you feel more appropriate.

As for RTW vs. circle Pacific tickets, I haven't yet found a RTW as low as I can get circle Pacific. I recently bought LAX-BKK-HAN-BKK-DAC/KTM-BKK-HAN-BKK-LAX business class for just over $4k. I could have gone around world, but I think the lowest rtw business class is over $5k, right? Or maybe you're saying the rtw bought in BKK is lower priced. Pls. clarify. And do you have to start and end in BKK or can they start you in LAX? Anything on One World carriers?

Tx and brgds.

Agree with everyting you said. Can you point me to the well-connected Chinese travel agents? SF/LA/YYZ is fine. Tx and brgds.