FFPguy

Hi guys, I was just wondering if the above routing is possible (i.e. I don't have to fly to South America, etc.) and also whether there are any "must see" places in Europe that I should include in my itinerary.

Thanks!

henry999

*A RTWs are particularly cheap ex-Japan nowadays. You might think about starting from there, i.e., Japan -> Europe -> SFO -> HKG (-> Japan) and simply forget the last sector.

cheers,

Henry

FFPguy

Would it be possible for someone to find out about the difference in price? If it's not cheaper than 1.5 round trip air tickets HKG-NRT I think I'll just make it convenient and fly ex-HKG.

BTW I plan to depart on June 15th or so.

ACflyerDE

Actually you can do it as well (and will find out that the difference is not huge), just have a look at the sticky *A Useful Reference Links - very useful if you plan a RTW trip.

To give you an idea on current prices (w/o taxes):

ex HKG:

YRWSPCL 2.639 USD
YRWSTAR1 2.974 USD
YRWSTAR2 3.591 USD
YRWSTAR3 4.214 USD
CRWSTAR1 6.372 USD
CRWSTAR2 7.331 USD
CRWSTAR3 8.605 USD
FRWSTAR1 9.030 USD
FRWSTAR2 10.383 USD
FRWSTAR3 12.190 USD


ex NRT:

YRWSTAR1 3.114 USD
YRWSTAR2 3.758 USD
YRWSTAR3 4.412 USD
CRWSTAR1 6.099 USD
CRWSTAR2 7.351 USD
CRWSTAR3 8.629 USD
FRWSTAR1 8.880 USD
FRWSTAR2 10.705 USD
FRWSTAR3 12.565 USD

There are plenty of "must see" places in Europe. I would suggest you pick a few countries you would like to visit and have a look at the specific Travel & Dining forums here on FT for details.

Rejuvenated

Sure. Some possibilities are HKG-(SQ)-SIN-(SQ)-LHR-(UA)-SFO-(SQ/UA)-HKG; HKG-(LH)-FRA-(LH/UA)-SFO-(SQ/UA)-HKG; etc.

FFPguy

What do STAR1/STAR2/STAR3 mean?

Also, is there a limit to the amount of stopovers I can make in Europe?

What about Ex-SIN on SQ? Would that involve much higer fares? (i.e. new business class)

ACflyerDE

STAR1/STAR2/STAR3 is the fare code and refers to the max. mileage permitted under the RTW, that is 29,000/34,000/39,000 miles.

You can have a max. of 15 stopovers total in your RTW, but not more than 3 stopovers in any country worldwide. See the complete fare rules here (also listed in the sticky). SQ has a surcharge for 77W, A380 and A345 flights between $300 and $700, the specific details are in fare rules.

FFPguy

Thanks guys!

FFPguy

OK guys. I've settled on a CRWSTAR1 fare. (surcharge for SQ C)

Itinerary as follows:

HKG -(SQ)-> SIN -(SQ)-> MXP -(TP)-> LIS -(TP)-> MAD -(JK)-> FRA -(LX)-> GVA -(LX)-> ZRH -(LX)-> CDG -(OS)-> VIE -(OS)-> LHR -(UA)->SFO -(SQ)-> ICN -(SQ)-> SIN -(UA)-> HKG

total mileage: 27839 USD

surcharge for SQ C class: 1600 USD

Total (w/o tax and other fees): 7972 USD = about 62274.90 HKD



Any more surcharges/taxes I should be aware of?
Again, thanks for all the help!

ACflyerDE

No more surcharges I can think of right now but the taxes will easily add up to $300-400.

Unless you like UA's C class I would give NZ a try and fly VIE -(OS)-> LHR -(NZ)-> LAX -(UA)-> SFO -(SQ)-> ICN -(SQ)-> SIN -(UA)-> HKG instead.

If you have time, you might want to bring your miles closer to the 29K limit fly around a bit in the USA, taking advantage of the domestic first class (and the miles associated therewith) you could book on two-class aircraft of UA & US.

FFPguy

Thank you so much!

I'll be earning ~150% of actual flown miles if I book RTW tickets in C right?

Does that qualify for elite?

DownUnderFlyer

This depends on which frequent flyer program you belong to. It will be 200% for LH M&M and 125% for Air China. So it depends on your program.
And yes, in most cases those flights count towards elite status.

Also note what ACflyerDE was saying: Domestic flights in the US don't have business normally, so you will fly in first class. Therefore getting even more miles than in C (300% for LH or 150% for CA for eample).

FT Guest xyzpdq

I would certainly support that - NZ beats UA any day in both Y and C.

FFPguy

I'm trying to decide between KrisFlyer, SA Voyager and Mileage Plus... which would be more useful in terms of perks and/or miles?

I completely agree.



The SIN->HKG UA flight is UA metal right?

FFPguy

Should I consider Eos or Silverjet for outbound from LHR? I think I can catch a connection from EWR/JFK to SFO, but will the RTW rules allow that?