Advice on DONEx
 

Soon I will be booking my first DONEx ticket and would appreciate any advice. Have done a bit of reading and have the gist of info. I am not trying to maximize the number of stops/miles but simply want to travel from SEA to SYD (spend 3 weeks), then go on to FCO (actually Sicily for about 10 days) and then return to SEA. Am I correct that a DONEx will be (much) cheaper than simply booking business class?

One issue is that I will meet up with my wife in FCO (or Sicily) and we want to return together. She will probably try to book a business class award ticket for SEA-FCO-(Sicily)-SEA. Travel dates are late Sept with return in late October.

Thinking of the following: SEA-LAX(or SFO)-SYD-(possibly BNE)-HKG-FCO-ORD-SEA. LAX/SYD on QF, SYD/BNE-HKG-FCO on CX, FCO-ORD-SEA on AA. Not sure about the BNE stop. Also, carrier for FCO-CTA (Catania) to be determined.

Using EF, D class appears to be available on the dates I would like to travel.

Any advice/critique would be much appreciated.

DONEx will be cheaper than a Business cClass ticket.

Make sure your SEA-LAX or SFO flight is on AA rather than AS metal. AA on AS is not eligible for DONEx tickets (you might have to go via DFW :eek: ). QF may be able to get you on YVR-SFO (or is it LAX?).

Sort your award flight for your wife first. Then match the flights through your DONEx ticket. Just give the airlines the PNR of both reservations so you can be linked in the process (otherwise you might be sitting away from each other and any changes to flights may only affect one of you).

CX BNE-HKG (IIRC) is Regional Business CLass whereas SYD-HKG is the full monty International Business Class (which is what you really want).

D class sometimes is zeroed out when the airlines know they can sell full J. That means some Fridays (etc) are problematic.

There is no AA metal SEA-LAX/SFO.

Unless you are coupling things with a mileage run, you will probably want to fly AS on a separate ticket SEA-SFO/LAX. Otherwise you have to fly SEA-ORD/DFW-LAX, for example. If you can get to YVR easily, you might be able to time the QF YVR-SFO flight (which I don't think is daily) as a DONE4 alternative.

YVR could also open the potential for flying FCO-LHR-YVR on the way home on BA (if you care about AA accrual).

Steve

I will point out, however, that the DONE4 price ex-USA is currently $8922 plus tax and license, while the price ex-NRT is (today's rate) $6056.

If you could invert your Oz/HKG legs it would most likely be well worth your while to fly to NRT one way (or half a long-term RT) even using miles + copay for J if needed, buy your DONE4 there, then go NRT-HKG-Oz-Europe-N. America, thereby enjoying 6 flights with up to 6 stopovers (instead of 2) in NA in the next year, before having to fly back to Asia (YVR-HKG on CX? O the suffering...) to finish up.

A $1000 RT ticket with a $300 copay still puts you something like $1500 ahead.

my bad...mistake. I thought TPE was cheaper and was going to suggest that.

Steve

Thanks for all of the helpful advice. This should get me started. I will be back for more when I start putting the intinerary together - soon.

Am I correct that AA codeshare on AS will not be acceptable on a DONE4?

Another confirmation: After booking, I can change a flight or perhaps add one for a fee?

And finally, does D availability on each leg mean I can book that flight as part of the DONE4 ticket? I ask because I know that this does not necessarily work for I fares.

Thanks for the help.

Yes, you are correct. DONE4 must be OW metal.

You can change date or time without charge. Adding a flight or otherwise rerouting is US$125 + extra taxes + possible service fee. Obviously the reissue must stay within the rules.

Yes - there needs to be D availability (and as far as I know all D inventory is equal). The reservations can be largely separate from the ticketing - you can have up to 20 separate PNRs/reservations corresponding to a ticket. Depending on airline policy you simply need to make sure the ticket number is associated with the reservation to be able to hold it beyond a certain point (with some airlines that will be "there must be a ticket number there within x days of making the reservation", with others "there must be a ticket number there x days before the flight").

And of course on 2-class US domestic services (not Canada/Mexico/Caribbean) you're looking for A inventory not D.

Thanks to you and Gardy - very helpful information. I will probably book a one-way ticket on AS for SEA-LAX, since I will be returning FCO-(ORD/JFK)-SEA.

At least for now, I have decided against stopping in BNE. So I am looking at SEA-LAX on AS; then DONE4 LAX-SYD on QF, SYD-HKG-FCO on CX and FCO-(ORD/JFK)-SEA on AA. I asssume mileage upgrades are not permitted.

Again, I am not trying to maximize stops or miles - I know, I know.....heresy!

One more question: any reason to go LAX-SYD over SFO-SYD or vice versa?

Thanks for the confirmation. I meant to state "on non-AA metal".

I have booked a ticket that is on hold until March 29.

SFO-SYD-HKG-FCO-ORD-SEA (will do SEA-SFO separately on AS).

Questions:

SFO-SYD is AA 7380 (codeshare). Agent assured me I get "full miles". Is that correct?

SYD-HKG-FCO is connecting only in HKG (95 minutes), yet it counts as a continent. First, the agent said my ticket was DONE3, but then realized the HKG connection makes it a DONE4. Is that correct? She said there are no options SYD-FCO that avoid another continent. Correct?

Fare quote is $8300 (+ tax). I thought it took a few days to get the fare. Is the extra time to determine tax?

(As indicated above, I am not trying to maximize stops, miles, etc.)

Thanks for any suggestions.

You will certainly get full miles on a DONEx, be it QF or AA coded. Your agent is also correct that touching any continent, however briefly, counts. So it is a DONE4. There's no way to avoid flying through either Asia or Africa from SWP.

Fare quotes can take a few days, depending on whom you're dealing with. One DONE4 issue got me an almost instant fare quote (including taxes) from a TA, and the AA RTW desk often gets me a full quote within hours.

Don't forget that you'll still have 5 N. America flights (including one transcon) and two stopovers available when you get back. You won't be able to leave the US/Canada again, though.

Thanks. I did not know that! When does this expire? In what class can I book?

Do I need to do anything to keep these available or is the expiration date the only important thing?

Thanks again!!

SYD-HKG-FCO on CX can be upgraded using Asiamiles (space available, and some FCO service does have an F cabin); SFO-SYD booked on QF can be upgraded using QFF miles, but AA codeshare cannot be upgraded using either AAdvantage or QFF.

It books into A (domestic first class) or D (carribean, canada and latin america), and is valid for 1 year from date of issue, however you should book them before ticket is issued to save the change fee (or pay USD 125 fee to add them later). You are limited to 2 stopovers, and 1 of those is used after you return to SEA. You could go as far south as Panama, as far north as ANC, and AA flies almost everywhere in the Carribean. You could even fly BA on a few of their 5th freedom inter-island flights in the Carribean. Sample route might be SEA-JFK-SJU-ORD-SEA.

Thanks. I doubt that I will be able to book before the ticket is issued (March 29) but still worth $125.

BTW, I read something about changes April 1. Is that why I need to purchase the ticket by March 29? Or is that the standard hold time?

That would be an assigned hold time; unlikely to have anything to do with Apr 1.

I think both of my CX flights (A333 and Boeing 744) have first class. Requires 95,000 Asia miles (distance is just over 10,000 miles according to Great Circle mapper).

Unfortunately, I do not have Asiamiles, but loads of AA miles. Can my AA miles be converted to Asiamiles at a reasonable rate? Did a search and could not find the answer.

Thanks.

Unfortunately not.

Except watch out for this:

42N . 6. 1 INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURE AND 1 INTERNATIONAL
43N . ARRIVAL FROM/TO THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN PERMITTED.
44N . EXCEPTION: ORIGINATING USA - 2 PERMITTED WHEN 1
45N . ARRIVAL-DEPARTURE IS A TRANSIT WITHOUT STOPOVER.
46N . NOTE: TRAVEL BETWEEN US AND CANADA IS NOT COUNTED
47N . AS INTERNATIONAL.

Forgot about the US being country of origin (I never buy US/Canada origin OWE tickets, in part because of this rule!).

Gardyloo is quite right, once returning to the US the additional 5 segments are limited to being in the US/Canada and do not allow travel to Mexico, etc. SJU is still part of the US, though.

The circumvention for the OP is to return FCO-LHR-YVR, which would allow the remaining 5 segments to be used anywhere in North America (as described in my original post; having not returned to the country of origin, the quoted rule doesn't apply). YVR is probably more convenient than routing through SEA, in any case! Certainly a nicer flight, and BA has always had one of their better services to YVR (nicer than to LAX, oddly enough).

I can't see that. Once you touch the US on the way back that's it, from then on the only places you can go to are within the US and Canada.

Could I do LAX-HNL-LAX? Would have to book an AS flight SEA-LAX-SEA. Nice get-away from the Seattle rain, as you know.

Also will be doing an SEA-DFW-SEA in November.

Nope. There's a special rule that forbids return trips to HNL.

OP should be aware that though the LHR-YVR flight is arguably nicer, its still a BA TATL and therefore does not earn AA miles.

Which brings me to another question: can different segments of a xONEx ticket credit miles to different OW partners? i.e., can the LHR-YVR TATL segment credit to AsiaMiles or BA Exec Club even if the rest of the ticket credit AAdvantage?

Yes.

This is not correct. TA flights to/from Canada do earn AA miles.

Edited to add:

Except the JFK-MAN AA/BA codeshare, if booked using the AA number.

:td: Thought that might be the case.

With regard to LHR-YVR, I much prefer the more direct FCO-ORD-SEA.

YVR to SEA is a bit of hassle.