Buying a RTW Ticket
Round the world (RTW) tickets can be a convenient way to fly. They get you where you want to go without you having to worry about booking flights along the way. You pre-book all your tickets in advance and, by purchasing them in one giant bulk package, you can save yourself money on the total price of the ticket.
However, while round the world tickets are frequently advocated by many people, they are not always the best option for travelers, even if you are going around the world. These tickets come with many rules and conditions that might not work for you.
How Do Round the World Tickets Work?
RTW tickets are actually airline alliance passes. You buy a ticket from an airline that can be used with them and their alliance partners. Each of these alliances offers you the ability to travel around the world on that airline’s partners. For example, if you book with United Airlines (Star Alliance), your ticket is only good for airlines United partners with. If you book with American Airlines (Oneworld), you can only use their partners.
The two major airline alliances are Star Alliance and Oneworld. The Star Alliance is a bigger alliance, but Oneworld has a lot of options too and is sometimes more flexible in their rules. (You can click on the links to see which airlines belong to which alliance. I’d include them here, but they change often and I’d hate to present out of date information.)
There is a third alliance, Skyteam, but they are tiny and don’t really offer a good RTW ticket option. Another important thing to remember is that none of these alliances include any of the great budget airlines that can get you places really cheap.
Each airline alliance has its own rules for how their tickets work.
Star Alliance is based on mileage, meaning you’ll have a limit of 26,000, 29,000, 34,000 or 39,000 miles on your ticket. The more miles you want on your ticket, the more places you can visit – but it also means you will pay more money. The downside to this is that if you pick destinations far apart from each other, you won’t be able to make as many stops.
Oneworld is segment-based, which means that each flight, no matter how long it is, counts as one segment of the ticket. You can have up to 16 segments on the trip. I like this better because you can fill your itinerary with really long flights and never really hit a mileage limit. They also offer a ticket based on miles like the Star Alliance, but the Oneworld Explorer (segment-based) is a better deal.
What about pricing?
RTW tickets prices generally average between $2,700–$5,000 USD, depending on your mileage, route, and number of stops – though they can also be as high as $10,000 USD. A simple two- or three-stop RTW ticket might cost as little as $1,500 USD. All of these factors, as well as the dates of your flights, can be changed later for a fee – however, the start and end date of your trip cannot be changed.
Moreover, where you buy your round the world ticket greatly affects the price you will pay. For example, if you start OUTSIDE the United States, you can save some money. Sometimes you can find a better deal by booking through a third party such as Airtreks or STA Travel. Sometimes booking directly with the alliance works.
Are RTW tickets worth buying?
The short answer – it depends. RTW tickets are great for people with a set schedule. If you know your travel dates and destinations and don’t plan on changing your trip very much, a RTW ticket will save you a lot of time and a bit of money. RTW tickets cost a lot, but if you pick one of the popular travel routes, you will find that you will save money in the end. A typical RTW route is from NYC-London-Bangkok-Singapore-Sydney-LA-NYC. Buying a ticket on a route like this will most likely cost less than if you were to book all your flights separately.
If you treat the ticket as an airpass in which you are happy to fly on a rigid schedule, follow the airline rules, and not change your dates, a round the world ticket will probably save you 30-40%.
But it is also important to note that these tickets come with a lot of rules and stipulations. These tickets aren’t really meant to be changed, and if you decide you want to stay in places longer or change your dates, you are going to pay a lot of money in fees. Moreover, RTW ticket seats are only allocated in a limited number, so if you do change your seats, you may find yourself traveling sooner or later than you had hoped due to availability.
IMPORTANT: BEFORE YOU BUY ANY RTW TICKET, BE SURE TO PRICE OUT HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST PAYING AS YOU GO. EVEN IF YOU MEET THE ABOVE CRITERIA, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND CHEAPER TICKETS BY BOOKING SEPARATE FLIGHTS.
So should you buy one?
RTW tickets are good for travelers who have a set route and timetable. They can save money and time for travelers, and they are especially good if you know exactly where you are going and don’t plan on changing your plans. Moreover, if you are already a frequent flier and are looking to gain perks, then a RTW ticket is a great way to pad your rewards program and upgrade you to elite status, as all those flight miles add up. A RTW ticket will give you enough miles to get at least one free flight.
But one thing to remember is that when you travel, nothing ever happens as you plan it. Something always changes. The longer you travel, the more your plans change. You may stay longer in some places and spend less time in others. Maybe you really liked France and decide to stay in Europe longer. Or maybe you hate Asia and want to move on to your next destination sooner. Round-the-world trips are all about going with the flow. If you are tied to a RTW ticket, it can be expensive to change your flights. You lose flexibility. And that is the downside to RTW tickets. You can change dates, but at a cost.
When I went around the world, I looked into a RTW ticket, but ultimately decided against it. I could do it cheaper.
Why? 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 also flew a lot of budget airlines. All of this helped me keep the cost of flying down to the point where it was actually cheaper to book everything separately rather than getting an RTW ticket with flights I might not use.
Which is why I don’t think people with a really, really flexible itinerary or fluid travel plans should buy a RTW ticket.
Alternatives to RTW tickets
Book it yourself. By booking yourself, you have more flexibility. You can use low-cost carriers as well as take advantage of flight deals. It’s more work, but it can end up saving you hundreds dollars that can better be spent on food, rooms, and beer. This is especially good if you have no concrete idea what your travel plans will be.
Example: I priced out a RTW ticket with the route LAX-SYD-BKK-ATH-LON-NYC-LAX for anywhere between $2,900 and $3,800. The variance depended on when I flew. However, I suspect you’ll rarely find something at the bottom end of that spectrum. I then went to a few airline websites and priced the ticket out myself at $2,900.
I got the lower end of the range by booking all the flights myself. That was without using any deals, miles or rewards that might have reduced the price even more.
Use Low-Cost Carriers. Budget airlines are great for reducing costs. Few exist in the U.S., but in Asia, Europe, and parts of Latin America, these carriers are abundant. They often fly the same routes as larger airlines, but cost half as much as the major carriers. Why fly Thai airways to Asia when Air Asia will go from London to Malaysia for half the price? Why fly a big carrier when Ryanair will get you around Europe for pennies?
Reward Yourself. If you don’t have a rewards credit card, get one. Most credit cards will give you 20,000 miles or more just for signing up. You’ll get points for everything you buy, special offers, and miles when you fly. This can help you get tons of free airline tickets. I’ve accumulated over 300,000 frequent flier miles this way. I’ve used miles to fly business class for free. Even if you only get 30,000-40,000 miles, that is still a round-trip ticket to somewhere.
In the end, though, there is no definitive answer as to whether or not you should buy a round-the-world airline ticket. It really depends a lot on how you plan to travel.
Want to save money on your RTW ticket? Airtreks, my favorite booking company, offers a $75 USD discount through my book, “How to Travel the World for $50 USD per day.” It may not be much, but I’d rather save some money than no money at all. Click here for more details!
