Round the World tickets are a bit “you get what you pay for.” The more it costs, the more stops you get. So I can’t imagine using cash for such a ticket.
But regardless, almost every airline allows you to book it with miles. But even then I think you can book these itineraries cheaper. Many airlines charge up to 200,000 miles for round the world tickets in economy, though this rate can vary based on distance flown.
United, for example, charges 180,000 miles. You get 5 stops on your round the world ticket, while an ordinary round-trip international award ticket gets you two. I figured I could do it better rouge. Here are my do-it-yourself round the world alternatives:
Stopovers
United allows a stopover and two open-jaws. Air Canada allows two stopovers (3 stops total).
So imagine that I could use 65,000 United miles to fly around the world now with two stops total. Why would I pay the extra 115,000 miles for 3 more stops? Especially given that I can use miles from those places to see more, or open-jaw on the destination to see more.
This system makes way more sense to me. On a basic level, you could do Europe as your first stop, and then Southeast Asia as your second stop. While in Europe and Asia, you could use discount airlines to get to other destinations.
While in Asia, you could also open-jaw and continue your ticket from another region. US to Europe is the first stop. Europe to Asia is the second stop. But instead of departing from Asia, you depart from Oceania or India. Of course that would require another ticket – potentially an extra 15,000 for a total of 80,000 miles.
But all in all, there are too few benefits to the round the world ticket to pay the premium. I would just use the stopover city as my launch ground.
So try to make the stopover a hub. If you have lots of OneWorld miles, maybe you would want to stop in Hong Kong. This way you could use BA Avios to fly Cathay Pacific to and from another destination. Or if you have Star Alliance miles, you could use Bangkok as a hub on Thai Airways, for example.
Distance based awards
All Nippon Airways Mileage Club, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific), British Airways Executive Club, etc. They all have distance-based award charts.
The basic premise is that the further you fly, the more miles will be required. You calculate the distance flown (instead of regions flown) and get your award price. These Southeast Asian airlines have incredible stopover rules – allowing 4 or 5 stopovers!
It’s basically the same as a round the world ticket, if you play your cards right.
I’ve said over and over again that ANA is the hidden gem of award programs. Not only do you get 4 stopovers, the award chart is the best. Lately I’ve been comparing the prices side by side with other airlines, and on many routes, ANA wins. The rates are very reasonable.
With British Airways, redemption rates are calculated per segment. So one could fly tons of short flights for cheap.
The problem with these foreign carriers are fuel surcharges. United and American are one step above in that they don’t pass on these fuel surcharges on award tickets. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fly with ANA or BA (both transfers from SPG and Amex), it means that you should choose your airlines carefully.
My wife and I travel full time, seeing as many places as possible and have never used miles for a “round the world” ticket. Yet, we’ve gone around the world. I just prefer using tricks like stopovers to see more with less.
If you really understand United’s routing rules, you can do a lot with stopovers. Not just see more places but actually find more availability and lower the award ticket prices. Stopovers don’t have to make the ticket cost more, but can make it cost less. In light of these tricks, RTW tickets kind of seem like a joke.
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