One way Ticket around the World Price

Round-the-world program ended by Delta

When you have been earning and using FFP mileage for at least a few years, you have probably already hear of "around the world" (or RTW) ticket. While you can buy these routes with either currency or mileage, you must be able to find bonus seating on the flight you need month in advance, and include yourself in a long schedule of intercontinental travel before you ever begin to travel.

No matter what software you use to make the payment, there are many limitations, but if you can find premium seating on the flight you need, and if you create a route that matches the airline's payment needs (usually you can only go one way around the world and you have to traverse both the Atlantic and Pacific), RTW passes can end up being a very good business.

Thus, the recent adaptation of the SkyMiles programme will certainly be a disappointment for some. It is the market leading airline when it comes to sky-high conversion and low available low-level reward seats, and since it has been virtually unattainable, or at least very hard, to get the seats around the world, the removal of the programme will not have much impact on the vast majority by far.

However, it is still a remarkable blow to an already restricted airline programme, and for some members who have been working for many years to accumulate credit to achieve the astronomic 180,000 mile Coach Class or 280,000 mile Business Class redeem rates (as with other renewals, Delta SkyMiles cannot be used to fly first class internationally, not even on airline partners), it is indeed a big blow.

On January 1, 2015, Delta completed the redemption of its Allround The World ticket, although the carrier permitted the redemption of one-way rewards on the same day, so that a journey around the world was still possible, albeit for a much larger number of mileage. While Delta previously demanded that return flight ticket reservations be made by many frequent flyer when redemption of SkyMiles programme points was made, Delta, like its rivals American Airlines and United Airlines, will soon allow one-way reservations as well as mileage + bar rewards as once provided by United.

This one-way choice enabled travellers to combine Delta rewards with those of other airline companies, allowing much more destination to be accessed through a much wider airline ecosystem. Delta mileage can be used to KLM to Amsterdam, United mileage to South Africa and America mileage to Asia.

One Way Rewards offer far more versatility than round-the-world airline ticket, which is hard to modify when you start traveling. In addition, with one-way rewards you can start a long circumnavigation without having to book all your flight options, so you can prolong your trip to specific locations and schedule your route.

Eventually, more reward redeem opportunities will benefit travellers, and even if few members take the benefits of circumnavigating the globe, as Delta says, it is still better to have the opportunity to use an RTW ticket if you wish.