I’ve written a few times about an upcoming round the world ticket that I’m trying to book
- How’s this round-the-world (RTW) itinerary look?
- How does upgrading class of service work with AAdvantage awards?
- How important are lie flat seats?
Last week, I wrote about how my first attempt to book the ticket did NOT go so well…. For some reason, the American Airlines agent I talked to on the phone was not able to see the flights that I was seeing on British Airways’s site. She booked me on a red eye flight out of Hong Kong
Trying again with American Airlines
I’m not sure what was up with the agent on my first call, but when I called back the next day, there was no problem finding an afternoon flight the next day heading to Singapore, leaving at 2:25 p.m. local time. There actually seemed like there was a flight even later in the day, but I figured that this would work out fine (letting us not get into Singapore that late in the day).
Plus, I’m hoping a better routing will open up anyways, so I’m 99% sure I won’t actually fly this routing anyways!
The final breakdown
So here’s the final breakdown for the ticket
- American AAdvantage business class ticket – 55,000 miles and $67.50, currently going CVG-ORD-PVG-HKG-SIN
- Alaska Airlines redemption on Emirates first class from the US to Asia – 100,000 Alaska miles and $75.76
- British Airways Avios ticket on American Airlines economy – 4,500 Avios and $5.60 (I need to book this before short-haul British Airways flights go up to 7500 Avios in North America)
The total comes to 159,500 frequent flier miles and $148.86 per person. I did also use a combination of Barclay Arrival miles and my Citi Prestige airline fee credits and American Express Platinum airline fee credit to help offset the taxes and fees.
This isn’t the end!
That leaves us with the following ticket
As I’ve mentioned before, this is NOT the actual ticket that I’m hoping to fly. Both Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific offer several direct flights (to either Tokyo or Hong Kong), but there is no current availability. From my research on the British Airways site, availability on those routes does tend to open up within 10-14 days of flying. Business Class availability is open on most dates / flights, and First Class is also there. So since you can change anything about the dates and routing of an American AAdvantage reward flight (even if you’re not an elite member), if and when space opens up, I will call to change.
I’ll keep you posted – I’m excited!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I just set up a RTW with stops in Tokyo, Frankfurt and London. Great way to burn AA miles before the devaluation. The only pain I have is HND-LHR-FRA (This is not my London stop) This is self-inflicted so I can fly JAL in F so I can’t complain too much! The homewad flight is FRA-LCY/LHR-CLT. A 23 hour layover in London is just perfect to see a couple of sites and catch a show!
That sounds like an awesome trip!
Is this for one person? How did you earn so many points? Do AA points expire?
Yes that’s per person. If you have questing send me an email and I’d be happy to help