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 ). 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.