RTW for 2-3 weeks - The Planning

[Skoogle]

I am in the planning stage for an adventure in March-2009.

Some may know that I discovered this website after returning from 4 weeks in the US, last year. Having since caught the FF bug and enjoyed a few flights with AFF members, I am interested in advice on making something special of this trip.

The main goals are:
- Attend a conference in Seattle USA - First week of March 2009.
- Fly on the QF A380.
- Various SC runs.
- Visiting interesting parts of the world.

The conference is the fixed date. I could probably aim to fly out a few days after the AGM and need to be in Seattle for the weekend.

SC runs. I hear talk about KUPs/YUPs and such, but I still don't get it. When I look at various US domestic flights in higher classes, they are really expensive. I will be approx. 300 SC from WP again - ending Jun-2009.

Places to visit. This is pretty much open, however various places of interest are:
- Las Vegas - Gambling.
- New York - Ground Zero.
- London - Big Ben & cheesy tour places.
- Paris - Eiffel tower.
- Beijing - Take a look at the Olympic city & the Giant Pandas.
...any suggestions would be interesting.

Thanks

 

[Keith009]

Maybe tell us a bit about what you're into?

Bali - as far as tropical beach resorts go, this is my fave. v relaxing.
Hong Kong - love the skyline, the glitz in general, the shopping, the dumplings.
LA (ok, i know this is controversial, for some reason) - great shopping and ever glamourous.
Tokyo - the food and the ultimate urban environment.

As for your itinerary, probably best to plan where you want to go before plotting the itinerary or even choosing the type of product. Tickets like the oneworld explorer that allow convoluted routings would be good SC maximisers of course.

A KUP/YUP is a full fare economy ticket that puts you in AA domestic F and is ticketed in A if there are seats available. It accrues First class SCs. Simply select 'first class with restrictions' when doing the booking on aa.com

 

[serfty]

... SC runs. I hear talk about KUPs/YUPs and such, but I still don't get it. When I look at various US domestic flights in higher classes, they are really expensive. I will be approx. 300 SC from WP again - ending Jun-2009. ...

Look at "instant Upgrade" fares on AA.com; look for multi segment options.

e.g. I'm Traveling on a return YUP in 3 weeks - fare is USD520 each way - for USD1040 I expect to earn 540 SC's.

I can see 330SC's for USD1399. The standard cheap YUP on that route appears to be USD1367 & USD32 in +++.

For some tips look here:

• http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...-advantage/good-sc-earning-value-ex-8840.html
  
  Some slight changes to that thread; select "Price & Schedule", then use the "View All Results" option down the bottom.
  
  Look for multi sector "Instant Upgrade" fares that have no "Economy" Warnings (keeping an eye on the price).
  .
• Find the Lowest Airfare Prices, Discount Airline Tickets & Cheap Flights on FareCompare.com

Note the cheap HNL fares went around November last year.

 

[Skoogle]

With a little over 2 weeks to go, I have a bit more planning to do.

Flights so far: SYD-BKK-LHR, LHR-SEA, SEA-LAX-LAS, LAX-MEL-SYD.

I am interested in a opinion on:
- I was thinking of usng London as a base for trips to Paris, Dublin and maybe 1 more place. What are the thoughts on being able to fly in-and-out of London a few times at the end of Feb, as weather has been bad lately.

- Travel Insurance. What is the best one for realtime assistance? Not the type of one that want receipts and will spend 3-6 months thinking about it. If something goes wrong, I would like to be able to ring a service centre and get realtime advice.

- Hotel recommendations in London, Paris, Dublin, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Thanks

 

[aspro2]

- I was thinking of usng London as a base for trips to Paris, Dublin and maybe 1 more place. What are the thoughts on being able to fly in-and-out of London a few times at the end of Feb, as weather has been bad lately.

To my mind, this comes pretty close to self-abuse. Flying to/from London multiple times voluntarily? Eeek. For Paris, Eurostar is without doubt the preferred solution for general convenience

 

[serfty]

Also note that ex UK flights to Europe cop:

1) APD of £20 or £10 depending upon the class
2) UB tax which varies from £7 to £18 depending on airport/destination, with most around £15.

 

[JohnK]

- Travel Insurance. What is the best one for realtime assistance? Not the type of one that want receipts and will spend 3-6 months thinking about it. If something goes wrong, I would like to be able to ring a service centre and get realtime advice.

I find Travel Insurance Direct very efficient. They paid a claim within 2 weeks of lodgement and by the way I lodged the claim 12 months after the incident.

 

[Myrna]

- Hotel recommendations in London, Paris, Dublin, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Thanks

When we travelled to London and the US, we used Priceline.com and Hotwire.com to bid for hotels. Most of the time they were good hotel chains and prices were about half of rack rates. But, you must know the areas where you want to stay and choose the star ratings accordingly. You may only want 4* and 5* hotels.

 

[medhead]

- Hotel recommendations in London, Paris, Dublin, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Thanks

We stayed at the Citadines Saint Germain des Pres in Paris in 2007. It was quite good. Located on the Left Bank, near the Illes de Cite. Easy walking distance to Notre Dame and the Louvre. Took us (in our 30s) maybe an hour or so to stroll along the river to the Eiffel Tower, with pusher and walking 6 year old. But then we also walked from the Sacre Coure from the Arc de Tromiphe

(please excuse my spelling)

 

[satprof]

What are the thoughts on being able to fly in-and-out of London a few times at the end of Feb, as weather has been bad lately.

You needn't be too concerned about bad weather in London around end-Feb. Yes, this year has been exceptional, but end-Feb is nearly into Spring and the UK definitely benefits from its maritime position. Bulbs in my daughter's garden in London are always a few weeks in advance of mine near Geneva, even though we're a lot further South (i.e. nearer the Equator, for those of you for whom South is the cold direction).

Given that you're looking at the short hops to Dublin & Paris, the weather in those cities will be quite similar to that in London. Amsterdam is an additional city well worth thinking about.

You should, however, keep in mind that you can't readily get to DUB on your xONEx itinerary, as there aren't any LHR-DUB flights operated by OneWorld. (EI is no longer part of OW.) You're also entitled to go a bit further afield than the short hops. PRG is supposed to be interesting, or you could go to BUD or MAD, & then on to DUB, even coming back the other way round. (i.e. LHR-MAD-DUB-BUD-LHR or v/v.) There are also very cheap singles on LCCs from DUB to various London airports, although Ryanair are generally to be avoided unless your circumstances are very particular, & fit their Ts&Cs perfectly. EI are more or less a LCC these days, but Easyjet are OK as well.

 

[satprof]

With a little over 2 weeks to go, I have a bit more planning to do.

Flights so far: SYD-BKK-LHR, LHR-SEA, SEA-LAX-LAS, LAX-MEL-SYD.

You're going to have the same problems with SEA-LAX-LAS as with LHR-DUB if you're flying on a xONEx. This ticket doesn't allow you to fly on codeshares that aren't operated by a OneWorld airline. You can either do something like SEA-DFW-LAX on AA, or fly on the OneWorld Global Explorer ticket, which is mileage based and a bit more expensive, I believe.