Newbie here, so please bear with me. I've been reading with great interest the discussions on the in-and-outs of securing an around the world ticket through another country. Want to make sure I have a couple things straight...
1) According to the chart, a Star1 economy RTW ticket, starting and ending in the UK, is at GBP1169, which by today's conversation is US$1,753. Am I missing something or is it really over US$1300 cheaper than a ticket issued in the USA?! Is there a "catch?"
2) Are there agents in London who can book this for me, issue payment from their own account (and charge me themselves for the reimbursemnt) and provide their own UK address for the tickets, which I would pick up in London, after traveling on my own to LHR. Unless I'm missing something again, this would satisfy the country of origin/country of payment rules.
Just want to make sure I understand the system.

You would have to get a UK agent, and get them to agree to issuing it here. You could get the airline to reserve it, and then charge you and issue it when you get here.

Have a look at FRA if you're worried about price.

If I have the airline charge my credit card--which is USA-based--won't that trigger the origin/purchase rules, i.e. won't that trigger the higher US price? That's why I wondered if the UK Agent would also have to run the ticket across their card, and charge me seperately.

Dang .. rtw * can be even cheaper starting in Scandinavia it seems. Sterling is a very strong currency compared to most. See some outlines here of "arbitrage" - USA is the WORST point to start pretty much:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000727.html

------------------
~ Glen ~

Ozstamps is right that Scandinavia is a good starting point for * RTW. Also consider that there is not advance purchase necessary for * RTW starting in Scandinavia. This mean you can book the ticket for exampel directly with SAS in Sweden and then pay for it when you pick it up at the airport at the time of departure.

Dorians pricechart is avaible at http://www.informationlab.com/rtw.htm

[This message has been edited by kempis (edited 01-07-2001).]

Good to know. I've been using Dorian's chart as the basis for my questions. As of today, the conversion to dollars still puts the UK as the best price for economy, but that could, of course, change based on the currency markets.

In our case, I don't think we could go the no-advance-purchase route and just book the ticket directly upon arrival in the country--SAS in Sweden for example. We actually want to plan several tours and sightseeing visits on our trip RTW, and would need to know our flights in advance to plan the on-the-ground stuff. In such a case, is the travel agent route still the best? Also, still not sure about the payment questions...

Dang22202
Dont get me wrong. You can still book your * RTW ticket starting in Scandinavia several months in advance but you dont need to pay for it until the departure. What do you mean with payment questions? If you get the scandinavian RTW you can either pay for it in cash or by some kind of credit card(like Visa,MasterCard,Amex etc)

Since my US-based credit card (with a U.S. billing address) would be used, I wondered if that would trigger the rule that requires issuing the ticket based on the U.S. prices, i.e. US$3,099.

Do you actually have to satisfy THREE conditions, instead of two?: 1) Start and end your itinerary in, say, Sweden 2) Have the tickets issued in Sweden and 3) Pay using a Swedish-based credit card. Obviously, this question applies to any country from which you launch an RTW itinerary--UK, France, etc.--not just Sweden.

While we are at it, if one "gets around" the higher US rates by going this route, has anyone ever had trouble getting the award miles? Again, since my milage account it based on a US address, does *A try to "punish" this strategy by not awarding miles.

They do not care HOW you pay as far as I know as long as the card is valid. None of their business. Yes, think you need to start and finish in the origin country, but there is no way they will stiff you on the points. They want your business, not to punish you for giving it!

------------------
~ Glen ~

You only have to satisfy the first two requirments. My US based credit cards have worked just fine, and I have had no problems getting the miles posted.

Yes this is right. The trip must start and end in Sweden and ticket must be issued in Sweden. You can pay with most of the major credit cards no matter in what country they are issued.

First off, thanks everyone for helping me sort all of this out. I came to the right place--you all have been great! Have questions about the suggestion Kempis gave above. What are the rules on doing this? How far in advance can an itinerary be booked and how long can it be held before the seats are released back into the system? Any differences between the various *A carriers, depending on which one we go with to ultimately issue the tickets? We are looking to at least flight that only goes once a week--does booking but not paying until later really guarentee your spots?

Dang2202:

If you book your flights you have a confirmed seat (if one exists in the appropriate booking class of course) until the ticketing deadline is met. Usually your agent or local *A carrier(whoever you are doing your ticket through) will stipulate a ticketing deadline where you must get the ticket issued (ie: paid for). I know my agent is flexible on these, but he also knows that a) I am good to pay, b) I am a reliable customer not likely to book stuff just for the hell of it, and so on. I've found though there is no set rule as to how long they give you to ticket, but it could be a month or so before due departure date (depending on how far in advance you book your trip - the last one I booked 2 days before flying so the ticketing deadline was kind of moot... ). I doubt you'll see any difference between the *A carriers in terms of what you ask, though it may well differ between agents as I don't see any advance purchase requirements in the * RTW rules (though this may vary by country) thus in theory you could hold it up to departure date, but I doubt any issuing carrier would not set a ticketing deadline some time in advance of flight time to a) allow for the ticket to be issued and b) protect them from "booking mania"

If you want that 1x/week flight, I'd say book it in. *A rules say that only the first segment has to be confirmed anyway, so you can always leave the others open dated, and revalidations (date changes) are free, so if you decide to go the next week, if there's space to do it, there should be no problem with moving your booking.

------------------
UA 1P MEL (awaiting 1K
posting!)

You can book the trip 10 months in advance if you like. Like I said before ticket can be held until departure. A price and ticket is not 100% confirmed until ticketed right? Atleast thats what I have understood from the famous TLL-SYD deal with OV/QF a few months ago.

Has Dorian or anyone ever considered posting a list of travel agencies people use and would recommend around the world?

Greg