Which round-the-world program is best for award travel?

Airlines, like almost every other corporation, like to describe themselves as global. But which one really is, in the sense of being able to fly you around the world on its own planes? Only one: Air New Zealand, a member of the Star Alliance. Most other airlines depend on consortium partners in Oneworld, Star Alliance or Sky Team to get loyalty-program members around the world in one trip using miles.

We evaluated the three programs based on their round-the-world awards to find the wrinkles that can save you miles and money. Here’s what we found:

• There are two types of award charts: One is based on “regions” (round-the-world in this case) and the other is organized by distance flown, or “flight miles,” in industry parlance.
 
• Award tickets requiring the fewest miles are offered by carriers who base awards on distance flown. The savings can be as much as 50%.
 
• American Airlines’ chart (based on distance flown) offers the best value for a round-the-world award trip. The runner up is Star Alliance’s All Nippon (an Amex Membership Rewards partner).
 
• The number of stopovers permitted is a key distinguishing factor between the programs and individual airlines. Here, American is the big winner again, allowing up to 16 stopovers (one for each flight segment allowed). United is the stingiest, allowing only five stopovers.
 
• The advantage of Star Alliance awards is that they offer the best coverage of Africa through South African Airways.
 
• The advantages of Oneworld awards are that you can backtrack (fly west, then east, then west again) as long as no city is transited more than twice. (The other alliances require award travel be continuous, eastbound or westbound.) The 16 stopovers permitted also offer tremendous flexibility in itinerary planning.
 
• SkyTeam awards are largely lackluster, especially because its US members, Continental, Delta and Northwest, don’t offer a First Class award.

We used this round-the-world itinerary as the basis for our evaluation: New York – Tokyo – Hong Kong – Dubai – Paris – London – New York. It amounted to 20,000 flight miles and involved five stopovers.

Example Itineraries

Star Alliance Here’s an itinerary that could work using this consortium: New York to Tokyo on ANA; to Hong Kong on United; to Dubai on Singapore Airlines (via Singapore); to Paris (via Vienna) on Austrian Airlines; to London on bmi; and back to New York on United. Booking through United’s award chart,the itinerary costs 400,000 UA miles for a First Class award, 300,000 for Business.

Oneworld Here the flight plan might look like this: New York to Tokyo on American; to Hong Kong and on to Dubai on Cathay Pacific; Dubai to Paris via London on British Airways; and back to New York on American. At 20,000 miles the itinerary just qualifies for the lower mileage charge, 180,000, for a First Class award; only 130,000 for Business Class—two truly great values.

SkyTeam With this alliance you could route the trip this way: New York to Tokyo and then to Hong Kong on Northwest; to Dubai on Korean Air (via Seoul); to Paris and onto London on Air France; and back to New York on Continental. Booking through either Continental, Delta, or Northwest, you’re looking at 280,000 in Business Class.

Picks of the Litter

Star Alliance If you want the maximum number of stops (8 total, with 3 in Europe), choose All Nippon’s Mileage Club(an Amex Membership Rewards partner), which charges 330,000 miles for a 39,000-mile itinerary in First or 220,000 in Business Class. For a RTW itinerary of 20,001-25,000 miles, First Class is only 230,000 miles, a great deal and at a much lower award level than United, Lufthansa, or US Airways. If you only require two stops, take Lufthansa’s “three-region” award, which lets you take in Asia, Europe, and the US. This award is 160,000 in Business Class and 240,000 in First.

Links to more: ANA Mileage Club: http://www.anaskyweb.com/us/e/amc/guide/tokuten/star.html#must

Lufthansa: http://www.lufthansa.com/cdautils/mediapool/media_246164.pdf

Singapore Airlines: http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/krisflyer/redeem_miles/award_charts.jsp

United Mileage Plus: https://www.united.com/ual/asset/Star_Alliance_Award_chart_v2.pdf

US Airways: http://www2.usairways.com/common/resources/_downloads/dividendmiles/partnerawardtravel.pdf

Oneworld Alliance If you want maximum miles flying in First Class, the Cathay Pacific award (335,000 miles) allows up to 50,000 miles of First Class travel and up to five stopovers. That is like having a timeshare week in First Class. The Business Class version is only 220,000 miles.

Links: Cathay Pacific: http://www.cathayusa.com/ExternalLinks_ViewFrame.asp?rowsize= 48&web site=www.asiamiles.com/en/earn/airlines/1,,117477,00.html

American AAdvantage: http://www.aa.com/apps/AAdvantage/ViewMileageProgramsPartnerDetail.jhtml?fileName=oneWorld.xml&repositoryName=AAdvantagePartnersContentRepository&repositoryId=100082&itemDescriptor=AAdvantagePartnersContent

SkyTeam Alliance The programs are largely uniform, so there’s little benefit booking through one program over another.

Links: Continental OnePass: http://www.continental.com/onepass/rewards/travel/charts/chart_17.asp

Delta SkyMiles: http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_miles/award_upgrade_mileage/delta_multi_airline_awards/round_the_world/index.jsp

General booking tips

• To significantly increase your odds of “seat availability,” try to book as far in advance as possible, which is usually about (but can vary between carriers) 330 days prior to flight departure.
 
• Be flexible: Settle for Business Class on one segment if First isn’t available.
 
• If your itinerary is going to exceed stopover limits, bring it back into line by purchasing shorter-haul segments in cash and saving the award travel for the long-haul portions.
 
• Also consider using cash to purchase segments that are hard to find availability using an award. Again, keep the big picture in mind.