Round the world (RTW) tickets can be a convenient way to fly. They get you where you want to go without having to worry about booking flights along the way. You simple call up the airline, pick a flight, and you’re done. Seems easy right? Well, it is not always that easy but most of the time it is. However, round the world tickets can cost a lot of money, especially if you are going on a long and complex trip. So it begs the question- are RTW tickets worth the money you pay?
How Round the World Tickets work:
RTW tickets are essentially an airline pass. This ticket is used on any one of the air alliance networks, such as the Star Alliance, Oneworld, or World Journey.
Round the world tickets give you a set number of stops over a set time period of (usually) one year. You pick your mileage- usually from 29,000 to 40,000 miles and the number of stops depends on the number of miles you choose. There is usually a minimum of three stops with the maximum depending on the alliance. One typical RTW route is LAX-FIJI-SYD-BANGKOK-LON-NYC-LAX.
Round the world tickets cost between $2,700 dollars – $5,000 dollars, depending on stops, mileage, and class. Stops, mileage, and dates can all be changed later for a fee and fees vary from alliance to alliance. Simple tickets with only two or three stops can cost as little as $1,500 dollars though. (Note: Tickets are also vastly cheaper if you start outside the United States.)
Are they worth it?
RTW tickets can be good value if you have a set route and schedule, and are only going to major destinations. You can book all your flights at once avoiding any future fare increases.
However, if there is one thing I learned from traveling, it’s that nothing happens as you plan. While some travelers stick to their gap year schedule, most like to take things day by day. If you make any changes to your plans, you are going to pay high fees that will increase the cost of that ticket. Decide you love Australia and want to stay? Now that RTW ticket doesn’t look so good.
When I went around the world, I looked into a RTW ticket but decided against it. I could do it cheaper. My costs:
US to Oslo: FREE with miles.
Athens to Bangkok: $500 dollars
Bangkok-Perth: $200 dollars.
Sydney to LAX: $700 dollars.
LAX to Boston: $200 dollars.
Total: $1,600 dollars
This total doesn’t include all the little side flights I took, which would probably make the total closer to $2,600 dollars. My “route” is typical of RTW tickets and I was able to do it much cheaper than a RTW could have provided. Because I could wait for good prices. I had no time frame. No restrictions. I could fly the cheaper airlines or wait until my reward points added up. I lived free and I flew cheap.
Alternatives to RTW tickets
Book it yourself. By booking yourself, you get more flexibility. You can use low cost carriers as well as take advantage of flight deals. It’s more work but can end up saving you a few hundred dollars that can better be spent on food, rooms, and beer.
Example: Air Treks priced out LAX-SYD-BKK-ATH-LON-NYC-LAX from anywhere between $2900 to $3800 dollars. The variance depended on when I flew. However, I suspect you’ll rarely find something at the bottom end.
I went to a few airline websites and priced the ticket out myself:
LAX- SYD: 700 dollars on Air Pacific
SYD- SING: 360 dollars by leaving from Melbourne and taking Tiger Air.
BKK-ATH: 600 on Gulf Air
LON-NYC: 400 on British Airways
NYC-LAX: 300 on American Airlines
Total: $2,900.
I got the lower end of the range by booking by myself. That was without using any deals, miles or rewards that might have reduced the price even more.
However, taking a simpler route, I couldn’t beat them. AirTreks has a NYC-BKK-MUNICH-LON-NYC ticket for $1500-2000 dollars and pricing it out by myself came to $1700 dollars. For simple routes, RTW tickets are a good deal but for the more complex trips, I don’t think they are the cheaper option.
Use Low Cost Carriers. Low cost carriers are great for reducing costs. Few exist in the US but in Asia, Europe, and parts of Latin America, these carriers are abundant. They often fly the same routes and cost half as much as the major carriers.
Reward Yourself. If you don’t have a rewards credit card, get one. Most credit cards will give you 20,000 miles just for signing up. You’ll get points for everything you buy, special offers, and miles when you fly. Even if all the work pays for only one ticket, that can make a huge difference.
Round the world tickets can be good for travelers who have a set route and a set time table. For those who have no plan, these tickets are not worth it.
I’m really not in the RTW ticket camp. You can find plenty of affordable flights online with little notice if you are flexible in your schedule by a few days.
RTW tickets are only good if you visit major cities in obvious places. If you have a RTW ticket, you are probably going to be on a route followed by tons of people.
Most of the gap year kids I’ve met on my trip all have a very similar itinerary.
I would prefer booking tickets myself because I like the flexibility of being able to change route. I mean, how is it possible to know an exact route lasting several months before you’re even on the plane? I’m sure some people does, but I think that seems kind of boring. Much more exciting to make plans along the way.
Not all RTW tickets work on mileage – the Oneworld Explorer is priced on number of continents, which can make it quite cost effective.
I also don’t understand why an RTW ticket would only be good for major cities in obvious places? Just looking at South America, thanks to LAN being part of oneworld, just about every place you can fly to in Chile, Argentina & Peru can be included (including Easter Island), not just the major ones.
Having priced mine out separately, it works out WAY cheaper with an RTW ticket – yes, the lack of flexibility is a bit of an issue (although I’ve planned ways round it).
my plans keep changing always..and I guess if I ever plan to travel abroad, i would rather book the tickets myself
Interesting read. BKK -PER for $200 is pretty spectacular… including taxes and fuel levies? As you say, a simple RTW is difficult to beat and the beauty is they often run through regional hubs that are well served by LCCs, plus they often come with more flexibility/lower costs when it comes to changing dates etc. There’s also regional passes like the Discovery Airpass that can bring a lot of SE Asia under a coupon system — food for thought
@geoff: Oneworld does go through South America. However, I stand by my math. Where do you look?
RTW tickets are good deals on the major hubs b/c they crank so many people through those hubs that volume allows them to sell cheaper flights. If you want to get away from the major hubs, it because really expensive.
As the other commentors observed, going through the major hubs is cheaper. Once you get off the trail, the price is higher.
I think RTW tickets are good value if you plan on going from Australia/NZ to either South America or Africa, or both. These legs cost a fortune. I’ve never found a one-way ticket between Oz and anywhere in South America for less than AUD$2000, for example. So if you’ve got expensive legs in your journey then an RTW might be better value for money.
But you’re limited to 12 months and can travel only between cities that are serviced by the partner airlines for whichever RTW provider you choose (One World or Star Alliance). These are two huge limitations for me. Plus buying as you go affords a flexibility and freedom that is difficult to put a money value on.
I’m not disputing your maths, I am fully in agreement that for many (and certainly most of the more common routes) RTW trips, it works out cheaper (and more flexible) to do it yourself.
But as Kirsty says, any trip including crossing the south atlantic or south pacific can often be cheaper with an RTW ticket, as those legs are so expensive separately.
And I still disagree with the assertion that RTW tickets are only good for major hubs – it really depends on where you are going and which alloance you’re flying with, as I said, with oneworld for example you can reach a huge range of airports, especially in the Americas, Australia and Europe.
I actually contemplated getting one of these last year when things were looking up. Didn’t in the end as I would prefer to travel at my own pace – the last thing that I want to do is to rush through my travels, but then again, that’s me.
Now with the economic climate, I wonder whether these tickets comes with a warranty. Is there a chance that the company issuing these goes into default?
Just a thought.
I can’t relate to getting one – but I did opt against a Eurorail pass after I did the math. Similar concept on such a smaller scale.
P.S. your #5 travel goal just caught my eye – See the Galapagos Islands.
That is my dream.
I think RTW tickets are convenient way to fly in the region.
We actually did a little of both to save money. We started our trip from the US without a RTW ticket. Got to SA and bought the RTW ticket there ($1500 cheaper than from the US). We have 20 legs and use it for the big hops, such as South America to Australia, Japan to India, etc. We use the low cost carriers for the stuff in between like AirAsia for Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur for instance. It has worked out well doing a little of both. But I would have been against the pass from the start of the trip-too expensive and time limiting. Once we were ready for big hops, it was cheaper to go with the pass.
Personally I find RTW tickets to be most value when you have complex itins and need to make changes. The reason is that many RTW fares book into relatively high booking classes, which offer plenty of flexibility. Eg the standard Star Alliance around the world (not the cheapest budget version at 26,000 miles sold in some markets) books into the 3rd highest economy booking class. This means even at short notice you can generally switch flights and routes (subject to fare rules and availability of course).
Whereas on lots of separate tickets, if you need to change at short notice and have any kind of deadline, a last minute change is likely to be very expensive to adjust for.
While on many itineraries it may well be possible to find cheaper deals booking lots of separate tickets a long way in advance (I’ve done this many times also and still use it sometimes), it then costs more to make changes. The initial savings can easily be eroded.
Some destinations can only be flown to cheaply by booking well in advance. Eg try getting to Easter Island at short notice.
I don’t think RTWs are always the best answer, but neither are separate tickets. On balance though, I do like RTWs for longer more complex trips.
im from mexico and i wanna visit india…..d flight dat im interested in has a scale in JFK i have a USA visa but my question is….if i have an “out” ticket from usa (JFK TO INDIA) do i need a round ticket to my country from USA??so i dont have immigration issues?
AND…ID LIKE TO KNOW…..if i enter india and i have a bus ticket proobing dat im going out in some weeks to NEPAL……is it ok or do i necesairly need a round ticket to my country of origin?
i dont wanna buy mt round ticket from india cuz i wanna move by land and travel to some other countries so i dont know where i would end to take d ticket back to MEXICO……ANY ADVICE???
I have recently purchased my rtw this week and i think it all comes down to being flexible with the travel agent but doing your own preparation before hand. Also calling frequently to see if their are any sales and flying in low season helped. I got my ticket for just under €1500. This includes 10 flights from dublin all around asia, aus and nz. I know i will miss the americas but if your willing to set that aside for now you can get a great deal
I’m coming into this discussion late but wanted to add a couple things based on my experience.
If you’re going on the cliched routes that Gary was talking about, alliance RTW tickets can take you there. But be careful with them because if you’re going anywhere off the beaten path (hopefully you know what that is) as you still have to travel on the alliance’s designated carriers who may not have the coverage to get you to these places. Not to mention their rules say you need a abide by a min and max number of stops. And if they allow you open legs to “fill in” on your own (some do, some don’t) you usually have to pay for the distance you traveled on your own. Most often alliance fares end up being more expensive and take away the very flexibility they’re trying to promote.
Buying your tickets on the go is one way to do it, but who really wants to be sitting in security-prone internet cafe’s throwing your credit card around when you could be going to the airport for your next stop, freezing the prices and hedging for inflation long before you travel.
A method a lot of AirTreks customers choose is to buy a “skeleton trip” with all the long-haul flights included–the expensive flight across the So Pacific for example–and leave the short, cheap and easily booked flights (ie, intra-SE Asia) to get when you decide to do them.
RTW services are good b/c they give you the flexibility to do overland legs on your own without breaking any rules.