How to get back to Australia from South America (RTW itinerary)?

Frequent Flyer Programs
1

Hi everyone!

After years of following Point Hacks and years of accumulating points and making plans, I finally am on a gap year to travel and want to be able to use my points for a RTW trip. I’m intending to start this trip in February 2025 and end it by February 2026.

The destinations I’m looking at are (starting from Melbourne):

  1. Tokyo
  2. Paris/Europe in general from Seoul
  3. Argentina from Paris/ Europe
  4. Return to Melbourne from Argentina

I’ve worked out the Tokyo > Seoul > Paris/Europe > Buenos Aires legs but am struggling to find a flight back to Melbourne from Argentina.

Some questions:

  1. Does anyone have any suggestions on dealing with the return from South America? Or is it better for me to start in South America rather than have it as the final destination before returning? I know that since LATAM is no longer a partner airline, it has been tricky to come back from South America.

  2. How does the system cap the amount of points required? Do I have to book a flight back to Melbourne as my final destination for the system to register that it should be capped or do I just have to fulfill the criteria? I intend to travel for a year so some of the flights, including the flight back to Melbourne, have not been released. I’ve read that I can add on to the itinerary after booking the flights - does this mean I can book the return flight to Melbourne later?

Would really appreciate any tips on planning the round the world!

P.S took me ages to figure out that I should be using the Multi-City booking tool rather than the RTW.

Thanks a lot!

2

Hi and welcome,

  1. Would your itinerary remain under 35,000 miles if you return via USA from Argentina? If you could make your way to the US, your options should open up.

  2. The key is to book as many flights as you can via multi-city on website. You will have to ring Qantas to add/change flights to the same itinerary with the associated change fee. Yes, you add flights later found including your proposed flight back to Melbourne once they become available. The point cap will automatically be applied as long as you adhere to the relevant rules. Only the taxes will change (increase) as you add more flights.

A gap year of travelling sounds amazing!

3

Thank you! Yes it has been a long time plan and it’s finally being put into action. Thanks for the tips! I could potentially find my way to the US.