First I would like to thank the many members of this board for sharing so much travel knowledge. This is my first post but I have been reading for quite some time.
I had never given much consideration to a RTW trip but now that I am retired and reading FT it is something to think about. I saw there was a spreadsheet that everyone was talking about and tried to download but unfortunately I don't have microsoft excel and cannot access this.

Question: Is it cheaper to plan a business class RTW leaving from a country other than US. I live in the US but there are often inexpensive fares to Europe and would consider starting in Europe. I also have family in Europe so I tend to go visit anyway (family in Italy). I am in NY so a drive to Toronto is not a problem if it is cheaper in Canada. Boils down to ...is it cheaper to plan a RTW from A) US B) Europe or C) Canada?

Thanks in advance and also thank you for many hours of enjoyable reading.
Sincerely,
Pat

There is roughly +/- 30% differential in price from various countries of origin. Most of Europe is currently more expensive than the US. Canada used to be cheaper but is now more expensive than the US. The cheap starting locations are all somewhat out of the way and difficult to reach. The fares at the popular, easy to reach locations have been increased. So if you want a cheap fare, be prepared to make a special trip to start there and to spend some time arranging it....won't be easy, but will save you thousands of dollars. The first step in this journey is to install a free spreadsheet program so you can look at the .xls file with the fares. You don't have to buy one, lots of free ones on the web. The fares are too complicated and have too many variations to describe (the cheapest 3 continent fare isn't at the same location as the cheapest 4 continent fare, for example, so it all depends what routing you want to take).

For a free Excel viewer from Microsoft, see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=EN

(you can view but not use the spreadsheet).

Thanks so much for your prompt answer. I will download and do some studying. Hope I will not be too old by the time my research is finished)

Welcome to FT!

One important factor in determining the best fit for you with regard to RTW travel is the nature of your non-RTW travel patterns. Do you travel domestically or internationally? Are you a member or do you aspire to elite status in some frequent flyer program or another? This is the Oneworld board, and (I suspect) most of us agree that the Oneworld Explorer RTW product is the best one going. But it's not the only one going, and there are some that are not as expensive as the OWE for travel started in N. America.

For example, Singapore Airlines (which is no slouch in business-class or higher service) has a RTW product all its own, that costs about $5300 if bought in the US. Limited destinations and nothing internal in the US, but you can do a fair amount of flying on your own nickel with the differential between that and a DONEx Oneworld RTW. Or, Singapore works with Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic to create the "Escapade" RTW, which allows for a lot more destinations than SQ alone, and costs $6800 if bought in the US. Miles flown on Singapore and Air NZ planes (but not Virgin) would accrue to a United Airlines mileage account, so if you're a UA member that would be a real boon.

For comparison, a 4-continent business class Oneworld Explorer ticket bought in N. America now goes for $8300. The same ticket bought in Italy is EUR5250, around $6600. The same ticket bought in Croatia (ferry to Split from Ancona) is $6000. But of course you have to get to Italy and/or Croatia in the first place. Can you do so for less than $1700 - $2300? (And there are other benefits to N. Americans buying in Europe relating to stopover allowances in N. America, etc.) And BTW, the miles harvest off a DONE4 can be profound and can have major benefits in non-RTW travel later.

Read the sticky threads (very important), get the Excel viewer to see the spreadsheet, look at the various rules here, look at other RTW programs here, and start planning!

Again, welcome to FT!

Thanks for the welcome - there is plenty to read and it's some fascinating info. I do more europe travel and have various cards which..since reading FT..I will start concentrating on just one. I used miles last year to go to SE Asia and now reading the RTW I could have used them more wisely..oh well..next time.
Pat