Flying Around the World for "Free": A Frequent Flyer Adventure

a man standing in front of a large window with a city in the background

Flying around the globe is the holy grail of travel. In August and September 2024, I flew 35,253 miles (22,000km) around the world, mainly in Business Class, aiming to use frequent flyer points to cover the journey. Many people have been curious about how I managed it, so here we go…

My journey started and finished in Sydney, Australia and took me to:

Santiago – Bogotá – Cali-Medellín-Cartaghena-Panama – Bocas Bocas del Toro- Guatemala –
Mexico-Frankfurt – Zagreb-Budapest –Helsinki–
Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-

Paying outright for a similar round-the-world itinerary in Business Class would have cost between $14,986 and $16,545 USD, not including taxes and fees. For Business Class tickets, taxes alone can range from $700 to $1,600 USD, depending on the route and airlines. The total points used for the trip was 230,950 points, and a total cash cost was $1,772.12 USD.

In comparison, recreating this journey with frequent flyer points would require:

Air Canada Aeroplan: 330,000 points
Lufthansa Miles & More: 360,000 miles
Qantas Frequent Flyer: 318,000 points
United MileagePlus: 350,000 miles

Both paid and points-based ticketing strategies alone would not have covered all the flights in this journey. Below is a breakdown of the flights, airlines, points used, and costs. Throughout this post, I’ll detail each segment and the strategies I used to secure the tickets for each leg.

#	Route	Airline	Freq Flyer Program	Number of Points	Cost $USD	Distance Km	Distance Miles
1	Sydney to Santiago	Qantas	Qantas	108,400	$199.65	11,369	7,064
2	Santiago to Bogotá	Avianca	Life Miles	13,550	$63.00	4,230	2,634
3	Bogota to Mexico via 9 flights thru Colombia, Panama, Guatemala -9 flights	Avianca/Copa/Aeromexico	Cash Tickets	I earned 873 Turkish pts & 329 ITA points	$419.44	4,580	2,846
4	Mexico City to Frankfurt	Lufthansa	LifeMiles	69,000	$134.64	9574.49	5949.31
5	Budapest to Helsinki to Bangkok	Finnair	Cash Ticket	Earnt 7,500 & 180 Status credits	$773.45	9,152	5,811
6	Bangkok to Singapore	Malaysia	Cash Ticket	Earnt 1,300 & 40 Status credits	$97.14	1 ,420	882
7	Singapore to Sydney	Qantas	American Advantage	40,000	$ 84.80	6,297	3,913

1. Sydney to Santiago: Planning and Patience Pay Off

First up, I flew one of the world’s longest and most isolated routes: Sydney to Santiago on a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This journey spans over 11,000 km (7,064 miles) and takes approximately 12 hours. It’s also the subject of conspiracies from flat-earthers who claim the flight doesn’t exist! Despite their doubts, I experienced an incredible journey, enjoying excellent Qantas service, comfort, and spectacular views of the Andes upon arrival.

a red sign with white text and a couple of men on it

To redeem my Qantas points for this segment, I ensured my points balance was sufficient and began monitoring availability in November. When seats became available in late December, I pounced, securing the exact date, flight, and class I wanted. Note that Economy Class seats were available earlier, but I had set my sights on Business Class and waited for the right seat.

Lesson 1: Plan well in advance and monitoring availability is essential for frequent flyer seats. It’s also crucial to act quickly when award availability appears.

2. Santiago to Bogotá: Flexibility of Dates

After three days, I flew to Bogotá with Avianca in Business Class. While award availability through LifeMiles was good in Economy, Business Class reward seat were trickier. I flew a day later than planned to take advantage of when I could find a seat. This adjustment gave me more time in Santiago, which ultimately proved a good choice (even if I didn’t fall in love with the city).

a group of people sitting on a bench in front of a large sign

a man taking a selfie in front of a sign

I know that Avianca has changed the rules for redemptions, and I am not sure if I would get that generous a deal now, but I loved it. For a 4,000km ride that would cost $USD540 if I had paid cash, it was great value.

Lesson 2: Be prepared to be flexible with departure dates when using miles.

3. Bogotá to Mexico City via Panama, Guatemala, and three Internal Colombian Flights -Know When to Pay Cash

I took a series of short hops around Colombia and up to Panama City, Guatemala City, and Mexico City. Redeeming points for most of these flights wasn’t cost-effective, as cash tickets were significantly cheaper. These legs connected me to stunning destinations Bocas del Toro,(read about that here) Medellín, Cali, and Cartagena, allowing me to explore the region’s most vibrant locations while earning points for future travel. I had overall a disappointing travel experience with Avianca. For more on that, click here.

Lesson 3: Save your points for high-value flights—unless they’re about to expire, in which case even a low-value redemption could be worthwhile. (I avoid mine expiring by ensuring they stay active.)

4. Mexico City to Frankfurt: Chasing the 747-8 Dream

This segment of my journey was a bit unusual—plenty of flight options from Mexico City to Frankfurt using frequent flyer points. However, I wanted to fly on a Lufthansa 747-8. This would mark my 100th flight on a Boeing 747 and my first-ever flight on the 747-8 model—a true airline nerd’s dream come true. And I needed to use Lifemiles to do it.

Booking this flight wasn’t straightforward. Lufthansa is notorious for not releasing frequent flyer award seats to partners like Lifemiles until very close to the departure date. This meant I had to take a gamble. If I couldn’t secure a frequent flyer ticket, I’d be forced to purchase a paid ticket. How close? A week!

I obsessively monitored Lufthansa’s availability, checking every day for open seats. Finally, they released the award seat I needed, and I grabbed it immediately, thrilled to lock in the flight that perfectly aligned with my aviation goals.

Lesson: Patience and calculated risk-taking are needed when booking with frequent flyer points. It’s essential to have a backup plan if you cannot get your points ticket, whether it’s using a paid ticket or considering alternative routes.

5. Budapest to Bangkok: Flexibility with a Finnair Sale

Initially, I planned to use points to book this leg of my journey. Finnair had a fantastic sale, which meant I could also earn miles and status credits through my Qantas Frequent Flyer program, making it even more appealing. I used Google Flights to search for the best options, and Budapest was the cheapest. To take advantage of this sale, I booked an internal European flight and a train trip to Budapest via Croatia.

a woman in a yellow helmet walking down a street with a church

The Finnair option gave me another stopover in Helsinki which gave me a day to re visit some of my favourite haunts. The Finnair flight to Bangkok, sitting in their non reclining business class seat was a delight. I have written about this seat previously.

a seat with a pillow and a cushion on it

Lesson: Sometimes, ticket payment is the better option because it is cheaper, especially when it helps you achieve long-term travel goals like retaining elite status.

Repositioning Flights: A Stop in Kuala Lumpur

From Bangkok, I explored several options for flights back to Sydney. Frequent flyer seats on direct flights out of Bangkok to Australia are as rare as hen’s teeth. The only ones I could find were in Economy Class. Since I wanted to fly Business Class, repositioning became a necessity.

The option I chose was to reposition to Singapore from Bangkok and use American Airlines points to book a Qantas A380 from Singapore to Sydney.

I flew to Singapore via Malaysia Airlines, with a stop in Kuala Lumpur. I spent a day and a night exploring KL before continuing on to Singapore. This extra stop added variety to the trip and gave me a chance to experience Kuala Lumpur, which was a fun and unexpected addition to the journey. I had a day in Singapore as well.

a body of water with boats and buildings in the background

Lesson: Know which routes are difficult to secure award seats and be prepared to reposition. Repositioning flights not only help unlock award availability but can also add enriching experiences to your trip. In this case, the extra stop in Kuala Lumpur made the journey even more memorable.

Conclusion

As mentioned at the top of the article, the total points used for the trip was 230,950 points, and the total cash cost was $1,772.12 USD—about the same as the taxes on a 300,000-point Round-the-World (RTW) ticket. However, I managed to squeeze in more stops than those packages typically allow.

Here’s the breakdown of points used by program:

Qantas Frequent Flyer: 108,400 points
LifeMiles: 82,550 points
American Airlines AAdvantage: 40,000 points

The trip consisted of 18 air legs in total and one rail connection. This included three legs within Colombia and two in Panama. My goal was to enjoy a fantastic journey while strategically using multiple frequent flyer programs to make it more affordable and truly customized.

How about you? What have been your most successful frequent flyer “wins”? Have you ever attempted a Round-the-World fare?een your most successful frequent flier “wins”? Have you ever attempted a Round the world fare?