In the past few years, Round-the-World (RTW) fares have decreased by as much as $2,800 for departures from the U.S. In fact, you may be surprised at what a little RTW thinking can offer. Here are nine RTW nuances to consider.
Nuance #1
RTW fares often cost little more than round-trip fares. That's particularly true on high-priced routes and airlines such as Cathay Pacific, for example. You can travel around the world for only about $636 more than a round-trip Business Class ticket from New York to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, if you know which carrier to book.CathayPacific.com screenshot of New York-Hong Kong round-trip Business Class fare for $7,623.
Screenshot from Oneworld.com of sample RTW fare from New York to Honolulu to Tokyo to Hong Kong to Paris to London and back to New York for $8,259.
Nuance #2
Save $1,516 on RTW fares by departing from Canada on SkyTeam. It offers a $6,680 USD fare and the ticket is valid on any SkyTeam airline for up to 26,000 flight miles. Fine print: three-stop minimum, five-stop maximum, seven-day advance-purchase required.Nuance #3
Save $2,774 on RTW fares by starting the ticket in Budapest: The SkyTeam RTW fare from the Hungarian capital starts at $5,422 for up to 26,000 flight miles. The ticket is valid on any SkyTeam airline and the fine print is identical to the one in Nuance 2.Nuance #4
An RTW fare can be a good option if you miss the advance-purchase deadline on a round-trip fare. American’s RTW fare has no advance-purchase requirement, United's is one day, and Delta’s is seven days. Compare that to the 150-day advance-purchase requirement that is usually part of a discounted Business Class ticket to Europe. A RTW fare can be only $488 more than a last-minute one. See screenshots below of AA's Los Angeles-London round-trip, last-minute Business Class fare of $8,329 and a oneworld RTW fare (LA-London-Doha-Tokyo-LA) for $8,817, for example.Screenshot from aa.com.
Screenshot oneworld.com.
Nuance #5
RTW fares have low change and cancellation fees: How does $125 change fee strike you? Versus the $500 fee that is standard on many discounted Business Class tickets. Standard RTW change fees are based on changing the date; changing the routing could result in a fare increase (itinerary must remain the same), but this is also true for discounted Business Class tickets. RTW cancellation fees vary; oneworld is 5% of the ticket cost, SkyTeam and Star Alliance is $150. A lot better than getting no refund, as it is often the case with discounted Business Class tickets.Nuance #6
RTW fares often do not have travel days and/or travel seasons restrictions: Whereas nowadays many discounted Business Class tickets require that you travel mid-week or during a certain travel season to get the lowest fare.Nuance #7
Save $3,437 on RTW fares by departing from London: On Star Alliance (United), fares starts at about $7,102. The ticket is valid for travel on any Star Alliance airline for up to 26,000 flight miles. Fine print: 3-stop minimum, 15-stop maximum, no advance purchase.Nuance #8
Prices by Alliances can vary by as much as $2,300 for U.S. departures: oneworld at $8,196, SkyTeam is very close with $8,567, and Star Alliance $10,539, $2,343 more than oneworld. (Cost varies based on route due to taxes.)Nuance #9
Knowing that the magic number for RTW is 26,000 flight miles, or three continents, can save you up to $6,000: RTW fares are priced on miles flown or continent-stops made: The more flight miles or more continent-stops, the more the expensive the fare. For SkyTeam and Star Alliance the magic number is 26,000 flight miles, and for American’s RTW oneworld fare it is travel on three continents to get the lowest priced fares.No items found.