Gold_Member

Hi

I am keen to take advantage of a OW RTW fare, preferably an AONE3 or AONE4. I've read through countless threads and spent many hours deciphering all sorts of intricacies however I am still a little uncertain of a couple of matters; I'm hoping the FT community can help me before I have a mental breakdown!

Q1. When I visit the OW International website, in some sections it prices the fares based on miles (eg. up to 34K miles for F/J), whereas other sections refer to the typical xONEx style. Can anyone explain which one is applicable, where and when? I would much prefer to adopt the xONEx style to optimise status.

Q2. One of the main outcomes from the AONEx for me is to achieve OWE Emerald status so that I can 'flounge' around. While I am currently a SG QFF member and hold a reasonable number of points to my name, I'm well aware that AA Advantage is the best FF program for value (miles redemption, upgrades etc). I am more than willing to consider joining and credit the AONEx to AAA for these reasons, however I have the following concerns:
Q3. Everything I read not only suggests but factually proves that the AA RTW is the cheapest primarily due to the way they treat fuel fines (or lack thereof!). On a AONEx the difference in fuel fines is nothing to be sneezed at (~$2-3K?) so I'm pretty keen to book with the AA RTW desk in Brisbane. Asuming I wanted to credit everything to QFF though, surely you'd have to have a minimum number of miles/flights flown on AA metal/codeshares for it to be booked? Can anyone tell me what this minimum criteria is?

Q4. I am aware that LHR whacks a hefty kick in fines/extras, but are there any other airports I should steer clear of if I don't really need to be there?

Q5. Would MileageMonkey and SeatCounter.com suffice to determine First Class availability? Or would I need to purchase software like KVS or EF?

Thanks in advance, GM.

Kiwi Flyer

1. Global Explorer (xGLOBxx) RTW is mileage based. One World Explorer (xONEx) is continent based. Global Explorer includes some non-oneworld airlines, thus allowing to visit certain destinations that are not possible on an xONEx (eg PPT, NAN, etc).

2A. It's the same with almost every FFP. Some partner fares are non-earning or reduced earning. FWIW, some believe the open skies changes should soon lead to being able to credit all BA trans-atlantic flights to AA and vice versa. At the moment, however, you need to cross the atlantic either on own metal, another partner such as Iberian (not BA for AAdvantage and not AA for BAEC), or via Canada/Mexico/Caribbean or continental Europe (as the non-earning flights are between USA and UK).

2B. Yup - for premium travellers, QFF is easier to get high status than AAdvantage, but AAdvantage is easier to earn awards. For some status is more important and for others awards are more important. Note that OW Sapphire does have considerable benefits in it's own right.

2C. No, you can redeem AA miles on QF flight numbers and QF points on AA flight numbers. What you can't do is use AA miles to upgrade QF operated flights (regardless of QF or AA flight number) or QF points to upgrade AA operated flights.

3. No. Some have reported needing at least 1 AA flight, although I've booked xONEx's through AA without any AA flights.

4. Anywhere in UK (not just LHR) has high fees if you stopover. If you merely transit the fees are okay. Similarly NRT, FRA, VIE etc. As you are probably aware, Australian airports have high fees especially for international departures.

5. Mileage Monkey indicates which routes may have first, but it may not be fully accurate/up-todate as status changes all the time. Seatcounter provides an indication, but airlines manage inventory on a more sophisticated basis so it is not foolproof. KVS and EF are better, but again may not be 100% accurate in every situation. They should be close enough though.

Gardyloo

With AA you have to distinguish between elite qualifying miles and points and redeemable miles and points. In J and F all OW metal (except BA between the US and UK) earn 1.5 AA EQP per mile and 1 EQM per mile. The work-around on the US><UK BA business is to fly to/from Canada or Mexico, where there's no limit. Besides, this "Bermuda II" restriction is probably going away soon anyway.

However there are bonus redeemable miles awarded above the EQM - a 25% bonus for business class and 50% for first class ("cabin" or "class of service" bonus) and in addition, AA Platinum and Executive Platinum members receive a 100% redeemable mileage bonus on some, but not all OW carriers. Those include QF, IB, AY, CX and LA (don't remember RJ or MA) but not on BA or JL. If you fly an AA code on BA or JL you receive the same bonus miles you would as if it was AA metal.

The Plat challenge requires 10,000 EQP (within 90 days) while flying on AA-numbered flights. So for example if you start in Oz, flying J or F, and use the AA code on, say, SYD-LAX, you'd achieve Plat on the first flight (7488 x 1.5 = 11,232) and with cabin and Plat bonus (which you earn starting with the flight that takes you over 10K points) you'd earn around 16,850 redeemable miles in business or 18,720 in first.

However with 45K miles on your route you'd still be 21,666 away from EXP. You would need to decide if the extra flying was worth it. I would look at the earn/burn figures myself but it's always a judgment call. Remember AA status does not get you lounge access for any domestic flights in the USA, so it might depend on your overall flying patterns. AA eVIP upgrades are only good on AA metal.

You can use AA miles on any AA partner, including QF. What's hard (close to impossible) is to use AA miles on QF transpacific flights in J or F, but that's due to lack of availability, not anything having to do with codes. I'm not aware of any problem in redeeming AA miles for domestic or trans-Tasman, or Oz-Asia flights, etc

I really haven't had too hard a time redeeming eVIPs on long international sectors, but of course it's always a matter of specific flights, dates, etc. Some routes are hard, some are easy. Depends.

Gold_Member

Fantastic, thank for your responses guys. That clears up a lof confusion and arms me with the right knowledge to now start planning the routing.

What I intend to do is create a spreadsheet with 2-3 different routings (somewhat similar) which will span across the 12 months while returning home (MEL) between them. What I'll probably end up doing is EU and US as one trip (Asia treated as transit), Asia as another trip, then SWP as third trip. I would just organise one way flights to/from the necessary origins/destinations either outright or using points. I will post these routings separately for your considered measure. I will also tally up the total status credits and FF points (QF) and the EQM/EQP/RM (AA), while also incorporating the various status bonuses and promos such as Platinum challenge for every segment. I hope to report these results back so that some other people might get some value out it.

The 16 segment limit has got me thinking though. I notice the OWE rules allow you to purchase up to four additional segments. Does anyone know how these additional segment fares are priced? Assuming all F, is it based on distance, location, continent, airline, airport etc? Will I need to go to the extent of getting an itinerary fully priced with the extra segments? Also, I assume the additional segments are treated normally with status/points earn just like the other semgents?

Something I noticed at Expert Flyer was that it stated QF airline availability only listed Economy award! If this is true, why would I bother with EF? I want to see QF upgrade/award for J/F, and RTW/GLOB Y/J/F availability etc. Does KVS have full QF listings?

And just finally... is there any software that can list ALL real (not AA dom F) First class fares and aircraft available in a consolidated or intra/inter continent view? Obviously if I'm buying an AONEx I want to be flying F whereever possible, even at the expense of needing to perform less desirable routing.

Thanks, GM.

KVS

Yes -- pls see:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...2#post10419452

nielsdc

You can buy extra segments per continent, but you will still be limited to 16 segments in total. (i.e. this cannot be used to work around the 16 segment limit).

Gold_Member

Thanks for that.

Although there's a sticky thread in the FAQ section, I still can't find any more information about which airlines fly First Class routes intra continent/zone. The best I've found so far is LAN, MAD-FRA.

Any ideas?

aaupgrade

Search function is your friend: OW first class routes thread

Not to mention there is a link to the aforementioned thread in the stickie OW Useful Reference Links which may be found at the top of the forum's page. You should probably check out some of the other links in that stickie as you may find some additional useful info.

Fraser

What about codeshares? I was told at least my transpac or transatlantic would need an AA flight number. Brought this up with maybe three different people before booking and all said the same thing. Ended up missing a nice chunk of BA miles by flying SYD-LAX with AA flt #.

christep

My current AONE3s ex-MNL were set up the the RTW desk and ticketed by AA's GSA in Manila. They don't have any international AA flights.

Gardyloo

It appears to be at the discretion of the agent. Codeshares are perfectly okay.

SLF

Note to all - if you do notice a route where MM has got it wrong, please do post details in the MM feedback thread so that I know about it and can fix it (for the benefit of others ). Thanks!