Questions and Answers

I fly about 85k to 95k miles a year, with about 75 percent on overseas flights. I typically purchase Premium Economy seats and occasionally Business class. When I can find redemptions, I fly in Business class.

I have recently done two continent type trips using a combination of paid fares and frequent flyer redemptions. I have been going for four to six weeks at a time and have an interest in trips up to 60 days. I routinely travel to Ireland and Australia and have developed a fondness for spending time in Asia. I have trips lined up from North America to Japan to Hong Kong and Australia with return on the same route. I also have another which will skip Japan and included Hong Kong and Australia with return through Hong Kong.

I am looking at the possibility of a trip that will include Ireland, Hong Kong, Australia, and back to North America or perhaps in the reverse direction, or with a Japan substitution for Hong Kong. I would do a combination of open jaw and other flights in Premium Economy. The online Round the World sites seem to get bogged down when there is a lack of specificity and it doesn’t seem like there are options to vary dates for lower fares. I enjoy flying Qantas, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines. I have flown British Air a lot and it is my least favorite of the four. I don’t really like American.

I am also wondering what are good options for booking one way flights or open jaw and multi-city flights that might combine well with redemptions for part of the trip.

I have a flexible scheduie and can book well in advance. I usually watch specials and book trips at times when I get better rates on airlines where I can accumulate miles in my preferred frequent flyer program.

Do you have specific suggestions or is there a service which does this for someone with an interest in this type of itinerary?

there is a virgin round the world deal on at the moment,
takes you from MEL-HKG-LHR-LAX-MEL
all on virgin aus or atlantic,

is about 6500 and get you gold with virgin

[URL]http://www.pointhacks.com.au/travel-agent-velocity-gold-status-promotion/[/URL]

I will keep that in mind. There is a round the world web site I communicated with in Australia and they advertised fairly low round the world fares but their contractual obligations require flights to originate in Australia.

There are Round the World fares described on One World airlines which involve their partners which is appealing as a have Alaska Air as my frequent flyer program. These would include airlines like British Air, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Japan Air, three of which are carriers I like very much. I am partial to spending time in Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia and might like to get an Around the World ticket. I was curious which airline offering Round the World fare might be the most user friendly to interact with.

I am less interested in earning status with another airline although Virgin has a good reputation.

[QUOTE=”freshthoughts, post: 30560, member: 2418″]there is a virgin round the world deal on at the moment,
takes you from MEL-HKG-LHR-LAX-MEL
all on virgin aus or atlantic,

is about 6500 and get you gold with virgin

[URL]http://www.pointhacks.com.au/travel-agent-velocity-gold-status-promotion/[/URL][/QUOTE]