I plan RTW tickets the way I review a flight: I look for how the actual details of the price (and the product) beat the marketing hype.
The dirty secret is that “round-the-world” can mean two totally different products: an alliance fare with strict rules, or a stitched-together itinerary that’s cheaper but fragile. I’ve booked both.
When the price gap is small, I would not hesitate to pay for the alliance ticket because missed-connection protection is worth real money on a RTW routing.
When the gap is 20-30%, I self-book, but only with buffers, visa checks, and baggage mathematics done up front. In this guide I’ll show you the seven variables that actually move the price needle, the routing mistakes that cost thousands, and the origin-city trick that saves more than any promo code ever will.
1. Alliance Selection: The Price Structure You Cannot Negotiate
The three major alliances price RTW tickets using completely different models, and understanding this matters more than chasing flash sales.
- Oneworld Explorer charges by continents visited: three, four, or six. I’ve found the four-continent tier to be the sweet spot, running USD 3,600-6,900 in Economy and USD 11,500-17,500 in Business. The six-continent option adds USD 2,000-4,000 for marginal extra ground, and unless you’re genuinely spending weeks in South America and Africa, the value isn’t there.
- Star Alliance uses a region-based system with up to 15 cities and six defined regions.
- SkyTeam Go prices by total mileage, with four fare levels capping out at 38,000 miles.
Very honestly, I’ve found the best prices on Oneworld (for both South America-heavy and an Australia/NZ routing) and in my view, their network is strongest across the Atlantic and into Australasia. Star Alliance dominates Asia-Pacific routing, and SkyTeam is the weakest for long-haul premium cabins. If you’re flying Business Class and crossing the Pacific, Oneworld or Star Alliance will give you better hard product. If you’re doing Economy and want maximum stops, Star Alliance’s 15-city ceiling is useful.
2. Origin City Selection: The Hack That Saves More Than Loyalty Points
This is the variable most travellers ignore, and the one that moves the base fare by 15-25%. Alliance RTW tickets are priced differently depending on where you start, and the spreads are enormous.
I ran the numbers using Expert Flyer subscriptions, which show base fares before taxes. For a four-continent Oneworld Explorer departing Oslo, the base fare sits at €5,042. The same itinerary starting in London or New York adds €800-1,200. Budapest and Oslo consistently deliver the lowest European base prices on Star Alliance.
Outside Europe, Tokyo offers strong pricing and superior routing flexibility into Asia-Pacific. Singapore and Bangkok are even better if you’re starting in Southeast Asia.
The trick is to balance the origin-city saving against the cost of positioning. If you’re based in Manchester and a positioning flight to Oslo costs £90 return, and the Oslo base fare saves you £600, the maths is clear. I’ve done this twice: once positioning to Egypt (when it was the cheapest starting point, once to Johannesburg using miles for my South America-Asia adventure. Both times the total outlay, including positioning, came in 18-22% cheaper than booking from London.
3. The Fundamental Rules: Where Backtracking Costs You Thousands
Alliance RTW tickets have non-negotiable routing rules, and breaking them voids the fare or forces a repricing. You must travel in one continuous direction, either eastbound or westbound. No significant backtracking across continents. You must cross both the Atlantic and Pacific exactly once. The ticket must start and end in the same country, though not necessarily the same city. You have 12 months from the first flight to complete the journey, and all flights must be pre-booked before departure, though dates can be changed later for a fee.
As long as I know what the parameters are, and I’m making a major saving on the overall fare, I’m happy to be compliant. I’ve seen bookers pulling their hair out because they tried to route London-New York-Tokyo-London-Sydney. That’s a backtrack. The correct flow is London-New York-Los Angeles-Tokyo-Sydney-London, or the reverse.
The good news is that the modern Alliance booking systems will flag violations automatically during booking. If the alliance website lets you proceed, you’re compliant. If it blocks the route, you’ve broken a rule. The four-continent option is the most forgiving because you’re skipping one or two landmasses entirely, which reduces the temptation to backtrack.
4. Self-Booking: When Fragmentation Beats Integration
I self-book RTW itineraries when the price gap exceeds 20% and I have time to manage the logistics. To be honest, in my last three years of flying, when I was flying a huge amount, I self-booked everything. No alliance pricing came close, particularly due to low cost Asian and European carriers.
Kiwi.com and Skyscanner both offer multi-destination tools that let you stitch six to eight one-way tickets into a single search. The advantages are real: you can mix budget carriers, capture error fares, and add stopovers without alliance restrictions. I saved at least 40% on my 2024 round the world routing by self-booking versus the equivalent Star Alliance fare.
The trade-offs are equally real. You’re manually coordinating baggage policies across carriers. You have no missed-connection protection. If Singapore Airlines cancels your flight and you miss the onward Jetstar leg, Jetstar owes you nothing. I mitigate this by building 24-hour buffers between carriers and booking refundable rates on the highest-risk legs. I also avoid tight connections in airports with poor rebooking infrastructure.
Self-booking works when you’re crossing three to four regions with strong budget-carrier coverage, such as Europe-Southeast Asia-Australia. It fails when you’re crossing the Pacific or Atlantic, where legacy carriers dominate and budget options vanish.
5. Frequent Flyer Miles and Baggage: The Hidden Value in Alliance Tickets
Alliance RTW tickets earn miles on every eligible segment, and you can credit them to any member airline. I credit Oneworld flights to British Airways Executive Club because Avios are easier to spend on short-haul redemptions. Star Alliance flights go to Lufthansa Miles & More for long-haul premium access.
A four-continent Oneworld ticket in Economy earns 25,000-35,000 miles depending on routing. Business Class doubles that. Tier status also accrues: if you’re chasing British Airways Silver or Gold, an RTW ticket in Business delivers 480-600 tier points in one booking.
Baggage allowance is standardised across the alliance: two checked pieces in Economy, three in Business. This matters when you’re self-booking, because mixing carriers means mixing policies. I resent paying for a checked bag on a budget leg that could have been free on an alliance ticket.
If you MUST take a checked bag, the break-even point is roughly three legs. If your self-booked itinerary includes three or more budget carriers with paid baggage, the alliance fare’s included allowance closes the price gap by 10-15%.
This is exactly why I learned to travel with carry-on baggage only, even on long haul!
6. Booking Channels and Payment: Where OTAs Fail You
I book alliance RTW tickets directly through the alliance website or via a specialist agent, never through an OTA. Oneworld’s trip planner at oneworld.com is functional but clunky. Star Alliance’s tool at roundtheworldstaralliance.com is better. Both let you build the itinerary, check rule compliance in real time, and price the ticket before committing.
OTAs such as Expedia or Booking.com cannot handle RTW fare construction, and if you somehow force a booking through, future changes require calling the OTA, which then calls the airline, which adds 48-72 hours to every modification. I’ve used Flight Centre and Trailfinders for complex Star Alliance bookings, and both of their agents understand fare rules and can access unpublished routing options. They do have a mark-up, but it’s worth paying - they’ve saved me twice that by optimising the continent count.
Oh, and one other thing, payment timing matters: alliance tickets require full payment at booking, but dates can be changed later for FREE (if it’s just a date change) and there may be charges for reroutings which vary by alliance. On my big South American trip to Argentina, I front-loaded the itinerary with firm dates for the first two legs and left the rest flexible, locking in the middle segments one to two months out when I had clearer plans.
7. Route Optimisation: The Four-Continent Arc That Maximises Value
The most efficient RTW ticket crosses four continents in a tight arc with minimal mileage waste and if you’re a RTW geek like me, you’ll already know that’s London-New York-Los Angeles-Tokyo-Bangkok-Dubai-London. That’s North America, Asia, Middle East, and Europe, with each leg under 12 hours and every connection through a major hub with lounge access.
The six-continent option forces you into Africa or South America, both of which add 8,000-12,000 miles and two extra long-haul legs for destinations that may not justify the time cost.
To give you a rough idea, my six-continent routing included Johannesburg and São Paulo. The fare was USD 6,200 versus USD 4,100 for four continents, and the extra two weeks on the ground didn’t deliver proportional value unless you’re genuinely spending time in those regions.
The four-continent structure also massively reduces visa complexity, which - given the world we’re navigating - is welcome. Fewer continents means fewer visa applications, shorter processing windows, and lower consular fees. My hot tip? I budget two to four weeks for visa processing and apply in reverse order of the itinerary, so the last visa issued is the first one used. This minimises the risk of a visa expiring before you reach that country.