Sorry to post this request when the information I want is probably contained within a number of post on this board, but how to construct search criteria to find it, especially when putting in "Gib" pulls up all manner of posts!

Basically, I'm considering buying a DONE4 ex-GIB, I think this is probably the best value European one - can't be bothered with CAI or IST in terms of cost of getting there etc. and in GIB you can get charged in GBP (2.75% saving!) and I could put it on my BA Amex garnering a further 4-5k miles. Firstly, is there anything wrong about this conclusion?

Secondly, I need to find information about purchasing in GIB. I know several people have done this before, so any suggestions welcome. I will probably go with the BA office there to be honest - does anyone have an email address for them? (You can PM me if you'd prefer not to post it openly).

Apart from that, any further advice/suggestions about an ex-GIB purchase would be most welcome.

For those who are interested, my itinerary will look something like:

GIB-LON
LHR-DXB-LHR (mileage run with maybe a day or two there - done DXB before)
LHR-SYD-PER-MEL-CHC-SYD-HKG-BKK-HKG-JFK (part one)
YYZ-ORD-ANC-ORD-HNL (HNL-SFO award ticket or something) SFO-JFK-LHR (part two)
LON-GIB

Many thanks for any info you can offer.

Even though HNL//SFO is a surface segment I believe it will still be considered backtracking, which is not allowed.

When GIB was cheaper a number of people used the travel agent listed in these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=gibraltar
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=gibraltar
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=gibraltar
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ht=henry+bland

I'm in the middle of planning something fairly similar except in the reverse direction. You'll need some work on the NA portion of this.

First, HNL-SFO won't fly...can only do HNL on the way to someplace else, and besides, its now sadly on an uncomfy 757 (I took one of the last 767 rides earlier this year - yummy Hawaiian bread rollls, mmm!) so you're better off elsewhere.

Second, post-October 2nd no AA flights ORD-ANC (not that going to ANC past mid-October is particularly fun anyway), so you'll have to do the second half either next spring or very quickly.

Third, you may run into problems if you're planning on doing JFK-YVR on this ticket (couldn't tell) as you're limited to one transcon. One mileage solution I'd offer is that if you're using BA for the overwater flight they have a slug of direct west coast flights unlike AA, so you're probably better off planning to end your NA segments in SFO, LAX, SEA, PHX, or YVR and get the extra 3k miles rather than departing from the east coast, saving your transcon to get back out west rather than east.

Cheers.

Incidentally, does anyone know if the availability tool is still working? Can't seem to connect...

I think it is no more. However, the KVS availability tool (search 'KVS', I haven't got the link handy, sorry) is a pretty good replacemente and still free.

(by the way, on your third point, above, it is YYZ, not YVR)

Thanks for all the feedback. Didn't realise that about HNL - I thought that it was only the return that you couldn't do (like a trans-con restriction). I guess the only way to include Hawaii now is to go on the QF flight from SYD? So I'll reconsider this.

The "part two" including ANC is planned for next June, so I assume the AA flights will be back on by then (assume they're summer schedule?).

Will go back now and look at the USA flights taking into account all your very helpful information (and I thought I knew everything about OWE planning )!

Stand corrected, all those funky canadian abbreviations get me sometimes!

And yeah, IIRC ANC service starts in like May so you should be all set.

HNL is actually one of the weirdest OWE rules - the actual wording is that you can go or come there from the US a grand total of once, so the clear intention is that you on visit it coming or going to Australia or some random place in the south pacific (don't think Air Tahiti qualifies, but CX might have something going into HNL.) You might be able to get away with your original route if you claim you're sailing to San Francisco, but I suspect you're much better off just doing a non-controversial routing on the way from down under, finding something that will get you close to the miles without the hassle of wondering if someone is going to try to cancel your ticket, especially since you're likely to think about using miles to visit one of the neighbor islands let alone an award ticket back to the mainland.

Besides, HNL-ORD or DFW is one where you know AA can't downgrade from a 767!

Nope! Already checked that one in my planning. Your options once flying in from the US are Sydney, Sydney or perhaps Sydney.

No can do, unfortunately, because apart from the one-flight-only rule you mentioned there is a second rule, also specific to Hawaii: no backtracking.

Yes, but you will run into an additional problem with ANC: the schedule is usually not loaded until around November, and without a schedule you can neither book nor ticket an itinerary with an ANC segment.

As long as you book this before October 2nd when the 2005 ORD-ANC segments go bye-bye can't you just leave ORD-ANC-ORD as open and solve the problem that way?

And yes, had forgotten the exact language regarding Hawaii in the *file, which states " - - -BACKTRACK BETWEEN HAWAII AND THE
25N . CONTINENTAL U.S./PR/VI/CANADA NOT PERMITTED", so thou shalt not pretend to go sailing between HNL and SFO. Pity Air Tahiti doesn't give you another option to go in and out of there (as it does under award planning).

You can, as long as your first segment, which must be dated, is for a flight leaving no later than that, and all the segments after ANC are also left open, and the whole itinerary looks 'doable' in terms of schedule. The problem is that the airline must construct a valid itinerary, *with* dates, even if all your segments except the first are open. We might not see those dummy dates, but they are there.

When we bought ONE tix from BA in Cairo they charged my (BA Amex) card in GBP, so no forex weighting and full BA miles Admittedly that was 2 years ago (sob) - perhaps someone else could give a more up-to-date response.

We also used BA miles to get there (on a one-way ticket) - again, a while ago so the Middle East was only 30k miles instead of 40k, but we splashed out on WT+ and got u******d to NCW. A great way to start the trip

Basically get of your asre Phil and get the to CAI (or IST)

OK, looks like I've got loads to think about!!!

Firstly, I just wanted to point out that the Validator tool doesn't look able to cope with the HNL no backtracking rule. If you input a potential routing thus:

waw-lhr-dxb-lhr-syd-per-mel-chc-syd-hkg-bkk-hkg-sfo-jfk,lga-ord-anc-ord-hnl,sfo-lhr-waw

into

http://jph.bytestacker.com/award.htm

It comes up as a valid itinerary, which apparently it is not as you backtrack from HNL back to mainland USA.

Secondly about ANC, a bit annoying as I do actually want to visit Alaska and it is a great mileage (or more accurately for us BAEC members a great Tier Point) run. Will have to consider how to get round this.

Thirdly, very interesting StewieMac, thanks for the pointer on CAI. This actually makes CAI interesting again and I do want to pay a short visit there, although the security situation is a bit dodgy of late. Hmmmm, maybe I'll email Mrs. Sobhi or something

For my next RTW which Mrs. Sobhi is currently arranging the EGP price is converted to USD at a favourable rate, this was the same for my last RTW which she also did in January 05. I don't think she will do EGP to GBP anymore (unfortunately.)