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Can I Still Book A Round The World Ticket Using American Miles?

April 13, 2014
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3 min read
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Can I Still Book A Round The World Ticket Using American Miles?
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Earlier this week, American Airlines announced some big changes to its mileage program including the fact that you can no longer book round-the-world Explorer Awards. TPG reader Matthew had been planning on booking two of these for himself and his wife and wants to know whether he can still put his American miles to use. Here's the question he tweeted to me:

"@thepointsguy My wife and I have 600 K of miles we were going to use on AA's RTW ticket. As of today they're absolutely useless now, right?"

Explorer Awards were American's awards where you could use miles to route yourself around the world on American and its Oneworld partners where you redeemed a certain amount of mileage based on how far you flew. Overnight, American just got rid of them with no advanced notice, so flyers like Matthew who had been planning on booking them were just plain out of luck.

However, Matthew's miles are far from worthless. Though the changes American made have dropped the value of their miles in my own estimation since I think we're going to see a general increase in the level of awards and availability at the Saver level getting tighter, the airline did not actually change its Saver award redemption levels (which are the levels you can book partners like BA and Qantas with anyway), so you can still score some great values.

Oneworld RTW tickets can take you between 3-6 continents.
You won't be able to book a Oneworld Round The World award anymore.

Though you can't redeem a single round-the-world award ticket now, you can still route yourself around the world by just booking one-way awards using your American miles. You probably won't get the same distance for the same amount of miles you would have while RTW awards were still an option, but this also opens you up to using a combination of American miles and those of other airlines like United and Delta so you have more options. And within Oneworld itself, you can use British Airways Avios to book some of those shorter segments since BA's awards are distance-based and you can get tremendous values from your Avios by redeeming them for expensive short-haul flights.

The other thing you might want to consider is using US Airways miles because of their flexible routing rules. For instance, they'll let you route through Europe to Asia with a stopover - so you're getting a stopover in Europe and a final destination in Asia, or vice versa, and you basically make a roundtrip award into a round-the-world ticket. Whereas before you'd want to make North Asia (including Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) your final destination since business class was just 90,000 miles instead of 100,000 to Europe, now that North Asia is 110,000 miles, you will probably want to book your ticket so that Europe is the destination and the stopover is in Asia. You can really get creative!

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So though American's announcement this week was bad news, you still have plenty of other options out there and ways to get around the world using your American miles.

Let me know if you have any other questions by messaging me on Facebook, tweeting me or emailing me at info@thepointsguy.com.

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Why We Chose It

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Pros

  • 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

  • Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.