round-the-world
ResearchRound-the-world, Circle Pacific, and distance-based award products across alliances. Covers Star Alliance RTW, oneworld Explorer, Lufthansa M&M, Qantas, Cathay, JAL, Aeroplan, and Iberia charts.
How to use this skill
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Round the World, Circle Pacific, and Distance-Based Awards
The RTW universe is collapsing. Four programs ended in the last 18 months: ANA Star RTW (June 2025), Singapore KrisFlyer Star RTW (May 2024), SkyTeam Go Round (2024-25), Singapore KrisFlyer Pacific Circle (likely 2024-25). What's left is concentrated in Star Alliance, oneworld, and a few regional distance-based programs.
This skill provides:
- Comprehensive coverage of every active RTW and Circle product
- Historical charts for discontinued programs (so the agent doesn't get fooled by stale blog posts)
- Distance-based regional alternatives that often beat RTW pricing for shorter trips
- Decision rules for picking the right product
Data file: data/rtw-awards.json. Contains 17 programs with confidence markers (VERIFIED / LIKELY) and primary-source citations.
Distance helper: scripts/calc_distance.py (haversine, supports cumulative multi-segment routes, with built-in distance-band lookups for Star Alliance / Qantas / oneworld Global Explorer).
Quick Decision Tree
Want to actually circle the globe?
└→ Want to pay cash? → oneworld Explorer (3-6 continents, online bookable; LIKELY ~$3.6K-$6.9K economy per Upgraded Points 2026; verify on rtw.oneworld.com)
└→ Want to use miles?
├→ Star Alliance RTW (online bookable; Special Business 26k-mile distance band, USD price varies by routing/origin, historically a strong J value)
├→ Lufthansa M&M (fixed 195k Y / 400k J / 540k F miles, phone only)
└→ Qantas oneworld Classic Reward RTW (35k mi cap, 132,400/318,000 Y/J pts)
Want to circle the Pacific Rim only?
├→ Star Alliance Circle Pacific (online via member; 22k or 26k mi)
└→ oneworld Circle Pacific (travel agent only)
Want a multi-carrier oneworld trip but not full RTW?
├→ Cathay Asia Miles oneworld multi-carrier (13 distance bands; cheapest J at 60k mi <1000mi)
├→ JAL Mileage Bank multi-carrier (10 bands; sweet spot 25k Y / 48k J <4000mi)
└→ Qantas oneworld Classic (separate from its RTW config)
Just want regional flights cheap?
├→ Aeroplan distance-based (NA: 6k Y starting <500mi; Atlantic: 32.5k Y starting <4000mi)
└→ Iberia Plus Avios (intra-Europe: 3,500 Y under 650mi off-peak)
Active Products
Star Alliance RTW — staralliance.com/tnc-rtw
The most flexible RTW still on the market. Three fare types:
| Fare type | Distance bands (mi) | Cabins | Stopovers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal RTW | 29k / 34k / 39k | Y / W / J / F | 2-15 | Globally available |
| Special Economy | 26k / 29k / 34k / 39k | Y | 3-12 | NOT from Japan |
| Special Business | 26k | J | 5 | NOT from Japan; pricing varies by origin/routing — historically a strong J value (LIKELY) |
Rules:
- Origin/destination same country
- Single direction (E or W)
- Each Traffic Conference crossed once
- Up to 16 segments, 5 surface sectors
- Min stay 10 days, max 1 year
- Reroute fee $125, cancel fee $150
- Purchase ≥72 hrs before first departure
Two separate products live under the "Star Alliance RTW" umbrella, do not conflate:
- Star Alliance RTW paid fare — a cash USD/local currency fare bookable directly at staralliance.com/en/book-fly, priced by distance band and cabin (Normal vs Special). Not a points redemption.
- Member-program mileage RTW awards — each Star Alliance member program (Aeroplan up to its 2020 discontinuation, ANA up to its 2025 discontinuation, Lufthansa Miles & More, Avianca LifeMiles, etc.) historically had its own RTW or multi-stop award chart with its own mileage cost and rules. Most have been killed or restricted. See the per-program entries below for current state.
For the Star Alliance paid RTW fare specifically, the Normal/Special distance bands cap how far you can fly, but the actual USD price varies by origin country, routing, and currency conversion. Always verify current pricing at staralliance.com/en/book-fly.
Star Alliance Circle Pacific — staralliance.com/tnc-cp
Same product family as RTW but constrained to Pacific Rim:
- 22,000 or 26,000 mi distance bands
- Must touch Asia, North America, and South West Pacific
- 3-15 stopovers
- 7 days min, 6 months max
- Reroute $75, cancel 10% of fare
- Customer Service or member airline only (not online self-service)
oneworld Explorer — rtw.oneworld.com
Continent-based (not distance-based). Online bookable. Cabin pricing scales with continent count.
| Continents | Economy USD (LIKELY, per Upgraded Points 2026) |
|---|---|
| 3 | ~$3,599 |
| 4 | ~$4,999 |
| 5 | ~$5,699 |
| 6 | ~$6,899 |
Source: primary rtw.oneworld.com for the structure; secondary Upgraded Points 2026 RTW guide for the specific economy rates above. Business and First class rates exist but are not surfaced in the public booking flow without a search; verify on rtw.oneworld.com for current cabin pricing.
Rules: 16 max segments, 2-15 stopovers. Premium economy upgrades available.
oneworld Global Explorer — rtw.oneworld.com
Distance-based alternative to Explorer. 39,000-mile cap. Travel agent only (not bookable on rtw.oneworld.com self-service).
oneworld Circle Pacific — rtw.oneworld.com
Pacific-bordering circle product. 4 regions: Asia (incl. Indian subcontinent + Central Asian -stans), Australia, New Zealand & SW Pacific, North America. Travel agent only. Specific cap and pricing not surfaced publicly.
Lufthansa Miles & More RTW — miles-and-more.com
Fixed-mile pricing, no distance bands:
| Cabin | Miles |
|---|---|
| Economy | 195,000 |
| Business | 400,000 |
| First | 540,000 |
Rules: Up to 10 segments, 7 stopovers. Must cross Atlantic AND Pacific. Min 10 days between first/last intercontinental flight. Phone only.
Qantas oneworld Classic Reward (RTW config) — qantas.com
| Cabin | Points |
|---|---|
| Economy | 132,400 |
| Business | 318,000 |
Rules: 35,000 mi distance cap. Must combine 2+ oneworld carriers. Bookable online or phone (US: 800-227-4220). Fuel surcharges apply.
Cathay Asia Miles oneworld Multi-Carrier — flights.cathaypacific.com
13 distance bands (post-May 2026 chart):
| Band | Max mi | Y | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 |
| 5 | 7,500 | 60,000 | 125,000 | 165,000 |
| 9 | 22,000 | 110,000 | 215,000 | 280,000 |
| 13 | 50,000 | 160,000 | 280,000 | 380,000 |
Rules: 2 stopovers + 2 transfers max. Must combine 2+ oneworld carriers (excluding Cathay).
JAL Mileage Bank Single-Partner — jal.co.jp/jp/en/jalmile/use/partner_air/p_jmb/jmb_mile.html
Use this when flying ONE partner airline (not JAL, not multi-carrier oneworld). 13 distance bands.
| Band | Max mi | Y | W | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 | 12,000 | 17,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 |
| 5 | 7,000 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| 9 | 22,000 | 95,000 | 115,000 | 160,000 | 240,000 |
| 13 | 50,000 | 150,000 | 180,000 | 210,000 | 330,000 |
Caveats: F not available on MH, AF, KE, EK. F priced at business cost on AA 2-class + AS + HA. Fuel surcharges apply. IATA TPM distance.
JAL Mileage Bank oneworld Multi-Carrier — jal.co.jp/jp/en/jalmile/use/partner_air/oneworld/miles.html
10 distance bands. Sweet spot at band 1.
| Band | Max mi | Y | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,000 | 25,000 | 48,000 | 72,000 |
| 5 | 18,000 | 75,000 | 138,000 | 207,000 |
| 8 | 30,000 | 130,000 | 195,000 | 293,000 |
| 10 | 50,000 | 160,000 | 220,000 | 330,000 |
Examples: AA Flagship transcon JFK-LAX/SFO + return = ~5,000 mi RT = band 2 = 41k Y / 78k J. Or 25k Y / 48k J if it's a tight regional itinerary under 4,000 mi total.
Aeroplan Flight Reward — aircanada.com (June 2026 chart)
Dynamic pricing on Air Canada + Select Partners (UA, EK, FZ, EY, Canadian North, Calm Air, Bearskin, PAL). Distance-based. "Starting at" is the floor; "Median" is realistic mid-point pricing.
Within North America (4 distance bands):
- ≤500 mi: 6,000 Y / 15,000 J starting
- ≤1,500 mi: 10,000 Y / 20,000 J
- ≤2,750 mi: 12,500 Y / 25,000 J
-
2,750 mi: 17,500 Y / 35,000 J
North America ↔ Atlantic:
- ≤4,000 mi: 32,500 Y / 60,000 J / 90,000 F
- ≤6,000 mi: 42,500 Y / 70,000 J / 100,000 F
- ≤8,000 mi: 55,000 Y / 80,000 J / 120,000 F
-
8,000 mi: 70,000 Y / 90,000 J / 130,000 F
North America ↔ Pacific:
- ≤6,000 mi: 32,500 Y / 65,000 J / 90,000 F
- ≤8,000 mi: 45,000 Y / 80,000 J / 110,000 F
- ≤10,000 mi: 50,000 Y / 95,000 J / 130,000 F
-
10,000 mi: 70,000 Y / 110,000 J / 150,000 F
Online bookable at aircanada.com. Best for short-haul NA: 6k Y starting under 500mi.
Iberia Plus Avios (Club Iberia Plus) — iberia.com/us/iberiaplus/purchase-flights-avios/
Distance-based on TOTAL TRIP miles (not per-segment). Two charts: Iberia metal vs partner unified.
Iberia Metal Off-Peak:
| Max mi | Y | W | J |
|---|---|---|---|
| 650 | 3,500 | - | 9,750 |
| 1,150 | 7,000 | - | 16,500 |
| 2,000 | 11,000 | - | 23,250 |
| 4,000 | 18,000 | 35,000 | 51,750 |
| 7,000 | 27,000 | 51,000 | 84,750 |
| >7,000 | 41,000 | 71,000 | 97,000 |
Partner Unified (oneworld + non-alliance):
| Max mi | Y | W | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 650 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 24,000 |
| 1,150 | 9,000 | 13,500 | 18,000 | 36,000 |
| 4,000 | 22,500 | 33,750 | 45,000 | 90,000 |
| 7,000 | 41,000 | 61,500 | 82,000 | 164,000 |
| 11,770 | 51,500 | 77,250 | 103,000 | 206,000 |
Sweet spots:
- US East Coast → MAD off-peak J: 40,500 Avios + ~$100
- BCN ↔ MAD air bridge year-round: 9,000 Avios round-trip economy
- AA Flagship First SFO/LAX-JFK: 103,000 Avios + $20 RT
Transfers from: Amex MR (1:1), Chase UR (1:1), Bilt (1:1), Wells Fargo (1:1), Citi TYP (1:0.7, no fee). Avios pool combines with: BA, Aer Lingus, Finnair, Qatar. Caveat: Partner awards are non-refundable. Iberia metal awards have a EUR 25 change fee but are refundable.
Aeromexico Club Premier RTW (LIKELY — RARELY ACTUALLY BOOKABLE)
| Cabin | Kilometers (NOT miles) |
|---|---|
| Economy | 244,000 |
| Business | 352,000 |
Phone only (US: 800-237-6639). Practical reality: this is rarely bookable. Agents frequently can't pull up the option in the system, may not be trained on the product, and many community attempts in 2024-2026 ended without confirmation. The km figures come from Upgraded Points secondary reporting, not Aeromexico's own published terms. Amex MR transfers at 1:1.6.
Recommendation: Do not confidently quote these km figures to a user. Note that Aeromexico Club Premier RTW exists on paper as the only RTW survivor for SkyTeam-aligned travelers since SkyTeam Go Round was killed, but plan an alternative — booking it requires significant phone effort with uncertain outcome. Most users will be better served by Star Alliance via Lufthansa M&M or oneworld Explorer.
Discontinued Products (reference)
The agent should NOT recommend any of these. They're preserved so stale blog posts about them don't get accepted.
- ANA Star Alliance RTW — discontinued 2025-06-23. Two replacement paths depending on what you want: (a) for the paid Star Alliance RTW cash fare, book directly at staralliance.com/en/book-fly (it's a cash booking, not a mileage award); (b) for a miles-priced Star Alliance RTW award, Lufthansa Miles & More is the only major survivor (United/Aeroplan/ANA mileage RTW programs are all discontinued).
- Singapore KrisFlyer Star Alliance RTW — discontinued 2024-05-01.
- Singapore KrisFlyer Pacific Circle — likely discontinued ~2024-05-01.
- SkyTeam Go Round — retired 2024-2025.
Distance Calculation
Use scripts/calc_distance.py to estimate great-circle distances:
# Single segment
python3 scripts/calc_distance.py SFO LAX
# Multi-segment cumulative (RTW or Circle Pacific)
python3 scripts/calc_distance.py JFK LHR FRA NRT HKG SYD LAX JFK --json
The helper handles 6,072 IATA airport codes (OpenFlights data) and computes haversine distances.
Caveats:
- TPM vs great-circle: JAL, Star Alliance, oneworld use IATA TPM (Ticketed Point Mileage). Aeroplan uses actual flown distance. TPM can differ from gcmap.com great-circle by a few percent and affects which distance band you fall into. Use calc_distance.py for an estimate, but verify with the airline before committing.
- gcmap.com (great-circle map service) is the authoritative external check.
- MileCalc.com offers TPM lookups but is client-side JS-rendered and not scrapable. Bookmark for manual checks.
Key Decision Rules
(also encoded in data/rtw-awards.json decision_rules)
-
Cheap business class RTW: Star Alliance RTW Special Business 26k-mile distance band paid fare (cash, not miles). USD price varies by origin/routing — historically reported in the $6.5K-$10K range for 5-stop J across recent years. Verify current pricing at staralliance.com/en/book-fly. At the low end of that range, the per-segment cost compares favorably to many one-off intercontinental J fares, but always verify the user's specific cash alternatives before recommending — a single one-off direct J ticket on a discounted route can sometimes match the per-segment rate.
-
For pure around-the-world goals: Star Alliance RTW (most flexible, online bookable) or oneworld Explorer (continent-based, online via rtw.oneworld.com).
-
For miles-only RTW: Lufthansa M&M (fixed 400k J / 540k F) is most accessible. Qantas (35k mi cap, 318k for J) is cheaper for shorter band trips.
-
For Pacific-Rim multi-stop: Star Alliance Circle Pacific OR oneworld Circle Pacific (travel agent only) OR JAL multi-carrier (cheapest at 25k Y / 48k J under 4,000mi).
-
For regional NA: Aeroplan distance-based (6k Y starting <500mi) or Iberia partner chart for AA short hops (12k Y for under 650mi RT).
-
For intra-Europe: Iberia Plus on Iberia metal off-peak (3,500 Avios under 650mi). Cheapest intra-EU after BA Avios.
-
Avoid: Aeromexico Premier (kilometers, phone only, painful agents); Iberia partner awards (non-refundable, hassle); SkyTeam (no RTW product anymore).
-
Stopover definition: 24+ hour layover per most programs. Shorter is a connection.
-
Purchase deadline: Star Alliance RTW requires purchase ≥72 hours before first departure. oneworld Explorer similar. Plan ahead.
-
Child pricing: Star Alliance RTW: 75% for ages 2-11, 10% for infants without seat. Other programs vary.
Cross-References
- stopovers skill: per-program stopover rules, including programs that DON'T allow stopovers (BA, AA, Delta, JetBlue, Iberia partner-style).
- partner-awards skill: who can ticket whom across alliances and bilateral partnerships.
- alliances skill: alliance membership and recent shifts.
- transfer-partners skill: which credit card points reach which RTW programs.
- transfer-bonuses skill: current promotional bonuses to apply when transferring to an RTW program. RTW awards take large transfers, so a 30% bonus saves real points.
- points-valuations skill: CPP rules to evaluate whether an RTW makes sense.
- booking-guidance skill: hold-before-transfer rules and phone-booking phone numbers.
- award-holds skill: per-program hold rules. Lufthansa M&M (the main miles-priced RTW survivor) requires phone booking and the hold-before-transfer pattern; their normal 5-day hold may not apply to multi-segment RTW awards. The paid Star Alliance RTW cash fare is purchased online, not held. Critical to verify per-product before transferring large balances.
Source Hierarchy
When sources disagree, use this priority:
- Airline's own award rules / chart PDF (primary source)
- Frequent Miler (most respected secondary; dives deep into devaluations)
- One Mile at a Time (good for sweet spots and recent changes)
- Upgraded Points (mainstream summary)
- The Points Guy (often stale on charts; use for valuation only)
If primary is unavailable and secondaries disagree, mark the entry confidence: LIKELY and note the discrepancy in notes.