Travel agent recommendation?

[4lex]

I'm finding booking a RTW rather tiresome and would sooner pay someone else to do it. I'm flying out of PER and want to go to DFW and LON in either direction in J. I have a metric tonne of QF miles but no status. I'm prepared to pay cash instead and would like to bag some SCs if that were possible, hoping there'll be a DSC shortly. Any recommendations?

 

[JohnM]

Well, if you pay cash for a DONEx (where x is 4, 5 or 6 continental zones) (and what is the true RTW fare in J), you will of course earn SCs and points - like, a lot. One DONEx, by itself, every year for 16 consective years kept me WP constantly.

You won't if it's a J OWA (OneWorld Award in J) - which is not necessarily a RTW fare.

Your post is a touch ambiguous on that.

Any competent TA should know how to book a DONEx, but it's easy to do yourself trough the QF website if the itinerary isn't too complicated and you understand the basic rules.

But a really competent TA will know how to book a DONEx that saves you a considerable amount of money by not booking through QF.

 

[4lex]

Don't know what a donex is, will search.

 

[JohnM]

Don't know what a donex is, will search.

It is simply a Oneworld RTW business class airfare. It books into the dicount D bucket of Business Class fares.

So, D bucket must be available on a sector for it to be bookable into the RTW fare. Because it is a discounted bucket, it may not always be available.

However, D bucket does earn full J SCs and points.

And, as I said, x simply indicates the number of continental zones.

Here's the link from the QF website: Enjoy great savings on your Round the World flights.

The OW website: RTW Flights: Round The World Airline Tickets - RTW

There are rules, but once you get your head around them, they are not too complicated.

Basically (OneWorld Explorer):

16 flight sectors max
One way between continental zones; any direction within
4 flight sectors in each continental zone, except for North America, where it is 6
Only one full coast-to-coast trans-continental flight allowed in each continental zone.

Caveat: they were the rules in my day before covid stuffed up my ongoing plans. They may be different now.

 

[4lex]

Thanks very much John. Not the first time you've offered solid advice, I feel like I owe you a beer
I'll get amongst that knowledge tomorrow

 

[4lex]

PER not even available for selection as a departure on the OW page you linked though, is it broken?

 

[JohnM]

PER not even available for selection as a departure on the OW page you linked though, is it broken?

No idea. Can't see why not. But the OW RTW tool is known to be a bit flaky.

Thta's where a knowledgeable TA can come in handy.

But I mostly positioned separately to SYD or MEL for departures on DONEx's - for no special reason; generally only because I was heading E first and maximising sectors outside Australia.