Is this the best round-the-world routing using Avios?
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A HfP reader sent in his round-the world itinerary and was wondering if it was the best way to travel around the world using Avios points?
I liked his itinerary but, as the reader was not based in the UK, I thought I could tweak it to start in the UK and add some extra destinations. This is what I came up with.
My suggested routing trip takes in Berlin, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Doha and Venice.
The total cost (in Economy) is just 110,500 Avios plus £194 tax.
This is how I did it:
London to Berlin, British Airways (4,000 Avios + £17.50 off-peak)
Berlin to New York JFK, airberlin (20,000 Avios + £60)
New York to Chicago, American (7,500 Avios + £14)
Chicago to Los Angeles, American (10,000 Avios + £3)
Los Angeles to Tokyo (American, 25,000 Avios + £3)
Tokyo to Doha (Qatar, 25,000 Avios + c £40)
Doha to Venice (Qatar, 12,500 Avios + £39)
Venice to London (BA, 6,500 Avios + £17.50 off-peak)
You could chop the cost down sharply by ignoring Doha and Venice and doing this:
Tokyo to London (BA, 19,500 Avios + £61 off-peak)
This would reduce the cost to 86,000 Avios plus £158.50 but you miss out on Doha and Venice.
You could also swap Berlin for Dublin and fly Aer Lingus to New York for roughly £60 of tax.
If you have any ideas for improving on this (whilst keeping a good balance of Avios, taxes and destinations) please post your ideas below.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2023)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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