Planning a round the world journey requires strategy, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Master these steps to build your complete itinerary while maximizing rewards through Emirates Skywards.
Building an RTW itinerary around a single alliance's network is a constraint that, handled well, can actually produce a more coherent route than open-ended planning.
Updated in March of 2026
This post brought to you by Emirates Airlines.
Planning a round the world trip itinerary takes work, but it's absolutely achievable. By following a structured approach and leveraging Emirates Skywards benefits, you can build an efficient route that connects your dream destinations while accumulating rewards for upgrades, future travel, or premium experiences.
Define Your Destinations and Budget
Start by mapping out your destinations. Whether you're flying to India, Australia, Mauritius, or lesser-known markets now connected by Emirates' expanding network, create a concrete list of places you want to experience. Consider the experiences themselves - a specific museum, cultural festival, or natural wonder - rather than just ticking boxes.
Remember that a round the world trip doesn't require visiting every location you can imagine. Quality beats quantity. Spending a full week in one destination lets you absorb the local culture, build deeper connections, and actually relax - all crucial for sustainable long-term travel. Cramming too many stops exhausts you and diminishes the value of each destination.
Budget planning is equally critical. Research the cost of living in each country - Southeast Asia, for example, stretches your budget further than Western Europe or North America. Factor in accommodation, daily expenses, activities, and local transportation. Be realistic about your comfort level. If you need reliable Wi-Fi and private rooms, your daily costs will differ significantly from someone comfortable in hostels and backpacker hubs. A flexible budget lets you adjust your route and duration based on how you're feeling as you travel.
Join Emirates Skywards Before Booking
Register with Emirates Skywards, the airline's frequent flyer program, before making any bookings. This step is non-negotiable if you want to maximize your rewards. As a member, you earn Skywards Miles on flights with Emirates and over 70 partner airlines, plus earning opportunities through hotels, car rentals, restaurants, shopping, and financial partners.
Skywards membership also earns you Tier Miles, which unlock higher status levels - Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum - each providing additional benefits like priority boarding, baggage allowances, lounge access, and upgrade opportunities. For a round the world journey, achieving status during your trip can significantly enhance your comfort on subsequent flights.
Registering in advance ensures your booking is linked to your account from purchase, capturing all miles automatically without manual claims later.
Understand Fare Types and Miles Options
Emirates offers several ticket types, each with different mile-earning potential and flexibility. Skywards Saver Fares are the most economical but come with restrictions like fixed travel dates or minimum/maximum stay requirements. These work well if your itinerary is locked in.
Skywards Flex Fares cost more but offer genuine flexibility - you can change dates for a small fee, cancel and rebook, and earn significantly more Tier Miles and Bonus Miles. For round the world travelers, flexibility is often worth the premium since plans evolve as you travel. Many RTW travelers revise their itinerary in real time based on weather, encounters, or simply changing priorities. Flex tickets accommodate this reality.
Emirates also offers Bonus Miles selection - specific flights marked with extra mile opportunities, searchable up to 11 months in advance. Even while planning, start monitoring these flights to build your itinerary around high-value options.
Build Your Route Using the Multi-Destination Planner
Emirates operates to over 140 destinations globally, with partner airlines extending your options to over 350 cities. The multi-destination planner on the Emirates website lets you build a complete round the world itinerary in one booking rather than piecing together separate tickets with different carriers.
This approach offers substantial advantages. One airline means unified customer service if issues arise. You have contractual protection - a delayed connection or missed flight through no fault of your own won't unravel your entire journey. Luggage typically flows through to your final destination without rechecking at each stop (verify this for your specific routing). And you have a single booking reference and accountability.
As you add each leg, review flight details including departure times, aircraft type (helpful for understanding your comfort level and in-flight amenities), cabin classes available, and any highlighted Bonus Miles opportunities. The website shows all options with clear pricing and mile requirements, letting you compare value across your options.
If the planning process feels overwhelming, contact your local Emirates office to speak with an agent who can guide you through options, discuss connections, and help optimize your itinerary. Sometimes a 15-minute conversation clarifies choices significantly.
Maximize Miles Across Your Journey
Once your flights are booked, aggressively pursue miles through all available channels. Skywards partners include rental car companies, hotel chains, dining establishments, and retail partners - most concentrated around emirates destination cities. You're paying for hotels and meals anyway, so earning miles is essentially free value capture. A week in a hotel and rental car across multiple destinations can easily generate 50,000 miles toward your next upgrade or award flight.
Some credit cards also offer accelerated Skywards earning when used for purchases, sometimes providing 3-5x miles on qualifying transactions. If you're using a credit card for trip expenses, pairing it with a Skywards earning card amplifies your rewards.
One critical reminder: Skywards Miles expire after three years of inactivity. If your miles are sitting unused, you'll lose them. Any miles-earning activity - flights, hotel stays, partner purchases - resets this expiration clock. If you're approaching expiration and won't earn more miles naturally, the Miles Shop sometimes runs special offers where you can purchase additional miles at discounted rates to unlock a pending reward.
Execute Your Booking and Plan Ahead
Once you're satisfied with your itinerary, proceed with booking. Emirates allows you to manage your entire booking online post-purchase - you can check flight status, request seat changes, access digital boarding passes, and apply miles to upgrade requests for specific flights. This online control is particularly valuable if your circumstances shift during your journey.
Before your trip begins, download the Emirates app. It consolidates your booking information, provides real-time flight updates, allows mobile check-in on supported flights, and keeps your itinerary accessible from anywhere. This single resource reduces travel stress significantly.
Consider investing in travel insurance that covers trip disruption, medical emergencies, and equipment loss - important for extended journeys where single issues can cascade. Some premium frequent flyer status levels provide limited coverage, but dedicated travel insurance fills gaps.
Your Round the World Adventure
You're now equipped to launch a genuinely rewarding round the world journey. You have a structured itinerary connecting your chosen destinations, an active frequent flyer account capturing miles at every opportunity, and a booking managed through a single airline providing coordinated service and protection. The planning phase transforms into reality, and you're ready for the experiences you've been imagining.
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