Round-the-World on Points in 2026: After ANA, JAL Wins
Updated as of 9 Oct 2026. Award charts checked on the official ANA, JAL, Qantas, EVA, Miles & More and THAI websites on 9 Oct 2026. Transfer ratios from DealUni’s transfer partner sheet (Oct 2026). Point values use our Program Values sheet.
For years, the dream redemption for Indian points collectors was simple: one ANA award ticket, eight stopovers, both oceans, all in business class, for about 1.15 lakh miles. That ticket is gone. ANA stopped issuing it in June 2025. So what’s left if you want to fly around the world on points in 2026? More than you’d think, and one programme has quietly taken ANA’s place.
TL;DR
- ANA’s round-the-world award ended: no new tickets after 23 June 2025.
- JAL is the new best deal. Its oneworld award prices a Delhi–London–New York–Tokyo–Delhi loop at 1.2 lakh miles in business and 90,000 in economy, almost exactly what ANA charged.
- Star Alliance RTW awards still exist (EVA, Miles & More, THAI) but cost 3.25–7.25 lakh miles in business.
- SkyTeam has none.
- Doing it yourself with one-way awards costs about 1.65–1.9 lakh miles in business. Worth it only if your points can’t reach JAL.
A short history of round-the-world tickets
Pan Am started the idea in June 1947 with scheduled round-the-world flights. One routing ran New York–London–Frankfurt–Istanbul–Beirut–New Delhi–Bangkok–Hong Kong–Honolulu, so Delhi was on the map from day one. When airline alliances formed in the late 1990s, they turned the idea into fares you could buy: the Star Alliance Round the World fare and oneworld Explorer, both still sold today.
Loyalty programmes then copied it as award tickets. One award, one direction, both the Atlantic and the Pacific, with stopovers along the way. Over the last decade they’ve been disappearing one by one:
| Programme | Round-the-world award |
|---|---|
| Korean Air SKYPASS (SkyTeam) | Ended in 2023 (reported) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | No new tickets from 1 May 2024 |
| ANA Mileage Club | No new tickets after 23 Jun 2025 |
| Asiana Club | Asiana leaves Star Alliance on 16 Dec 2026 |
The ANA round-the-world award: why everyone loved it
ANA priced the whole trip on total distance flown, with the same price all year. The rules were generous:
- Any Star Alliance airline, one Atlantic and one Pacific crossing, always in one direction.
- Up to 8 stopovers (3 in Europe, 4 in Japan) and 12 flights.
- At least 10 days between the first and last international flight.
- Booked by phone only. Fuel surcharges were added, so smart bookers avoided Lufthansa and used Turkish, Singapore Airlines, EVA and Air India.
| Total distance (miles) | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14,001–18,000 | 65,000 | 1,05,000 | 1,60,000 |
| 18,001–20,000 | 75,000 | 1,15,000 | 1,80,000 |
| 20,001–22,000 | 85,000 | 1,25,000 | 2,00,000 |
| 22,001–25,000 | 1,00,000 | 1,45,000 | 2,20,000 |
| 25,001–29,000 | 1,20,000 | 1,70,000 | 2,60,000 |
ANA announced the end in April 2025, alongside a wider devaluation and new one-way awards. Tickets issued by 23 June 2025 stayed valid for a year, so the last of these trips finished around June 2026. There’s no replacement.
Who still offers a round-the-world award in 2026
| Programme | Alliance | Economy | Business | Main rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Mileage Bank (oneworld award) | oneworld | 90,000 | 1,20,000 | By distance; 14,001–20,000 miles band shown. Up to 7 stopovers, 8 flights, 2+ oneworld airlines |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer (oneworld Classic) | oneworld | 1,41,400 | 3,34,000 | By distance; 16,801–19,200 miles band shown. At least 2 oneworld airlines other than Qantas |
| EVA Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance | 1,80,000 | 3,25,000 | Flat price. Up to 10 flights, 7 stopovers. Book through EVA’s service centre |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Star Alliance | 1,95,000 | 4,00,000 | Flat price. Up to 10 flights, 7 stopovers. Phone only. High surcharges on Lufthansa Group |
| THAI Royal Orchid Plus | Star Alliance | 3,50,000 | 7,25,000 | Flat price. 3–10 stopovers |
| Cathay Asia Miles (multi-carrier award) | oneworld | Still in Cathay’s terms, but no published chart since May 2026 | Up to 5 stopovers | |
| Any SkyTeam programme | SkyTeam | None that we could find | ||
The Star Alliance options are flat-priced, which is bad news for a typical trip from India: you pay the same 3–4 lakh miles in business whether you fly 18,000 miles or 35,000. The oneworld charts price by distance, and that’s where the value is.
JAL: the new round-the-world sweet spot
JAL’s oneworld award isn’t marketed as a round-the-world ticket, but it works as one. You can combine two or more oneworld airlines, take up to 7 stopovers and 8 flights, and the price depends only on total distance. It even allows one-way trips and ending in a different city from where you started.
The rules to know:
- No backtracking to your starting city or country, then flying on to a third country.
- Any one city can appear at most three times, with only one stopover there.
- One surface sector allowed (it counts as a stopover).
- The whole ticket is priced at the highest cabin you use.
- Fuel surcharges and taxes are added. Keep British Airways flights to a minimum; Qatar, American, Finnair, Iberia and JAL’s own flights are cheaper on surcharges.
Pricing a Delhi round-the-world trip today
Our sample trip, flying west to east: Delhi → Doha → London → New York → Tokyo → Delhi. That’s Qatar Airways to London, American Airlines across the Atlantic, and JAL across the Pacific and home. Five flights, three stopovers (London, New York, Tokyo), about 18,700 miles in total.
| How you book it | Economy | Business | Can this exact routing work? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANA round-the-world (for comparison) | 75,000 | 1,15,000 | Gone since June 2025 |
| JAL oneworld award | 90,000 | 1,20,000 | ✅ Yes |
| Qantas oneworld Classic | 1,41,400 | 3,34,000 | ✅ Yes |
| EVA (Star Alliance version of the route) | 1,80,000 | 3,25,000 | Star Alliance airlines only |
| Miles & More (Star Alliance version) | 1,95,000 | 4,00,000 | Star Alliance airlines only |
| Four separate one-way awards (see below) | ~1,20,000–1,30,000 | ~1,65,000–1,90,000 | ✅ Yes, as separate tickets |
At our JAL value of about ₹1.13 a mile, 1.2 lakh miles is roughly ₹1.35 lakh of points for four long-haul flights in business. A single Delhi–Europe business one-way often costs ₹1.2–1.8 lakh in cash. That’s the value of this ticket.
Doing it yourself with one-way awards across all three alliances
You don’t need a round-the-world award to fly around the world. You can book each leg as its own one-way award, mixing Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam to use the cheapest programme for each stretch.
| Leg (one-way) | Good option | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi → Europe | Aeroplan on Air India or LOT | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| Europe → US East Coast | Qatar Avios on Aer Lingus from Dublin, or Aeroplan on United from Paris | ~20,000–30,000 | 34,000–60,000 |
| New York → Tokyo | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club on ANA | 32,500 | 60,000 |
| Tokyo → Delhi | ANA Mileage Club on Air India (business), or Miles & More at 37,500 (Axis points); Aeroplan for economy | ~35,000–40,000 | 30,000–31,500 |
| Total | ~1,20,000–1,30,000 | ~1,65,000–1,90,000 |
The trade-offs:
- 👍 Unlimited stopovers: stay a month in Europe if you like.
- 👍 Uses points that can’t reach JAL: HDFC Infinia, Amex India (via Virgin, or Marriott to ANA) and Axis Magnus.
- 👍 Book each leg when award seats open, instead of finding all of them at once.
- 👎 Roughly 40–60% more miles than JAL in business, spread across three or four programmes.
- 👎 Separate tickets: if one flight is late and you miss the next, the next airline doesn’t have to help.
- 👎 Taxes add up across four tickets.
Which Indian cards get you there
| Programme | Indian cards that transfer (points : miles) | For 1.2 lakh JAL miles |
|---|---|---|
| JAL Mileage Bank | HSBC Premier/TravelOne 1:1; Axis Olympus 1:4; Axis Burgundy Private and Magnus for Burgundy 5:4; Axis Atlas 1:2 (30,000 EDGE Miles a year cap); Axis Magnus/Reserve 5:2; SBI Card MILES 2:1 | 1.2 lakh HSBC points, or 30,000 Olympus points, or 96,000 Burgundy Private points |
| Qantas | HSBC 1:1; SBI Card MILES 1:1; Axis Group A ratios | – |
| EVA | HSBC 1:1 | – |
| Miles & More | Axis Group B: Olympus 1:4, Atlas and Horizon 1:1 (2 lakh miles a year cap) | – |
| THAI | HSBC 1:1; SBI Card MILES 1:1; Axis Group A ratios | – |
| Aeroplan, Turkish, Flying Blue (DIY) | HDFC Infinia/Diners Black, Axis, HSBC and others | – |
| Virgin Atlantic (DIY, ANA flights) | Amex India 5:4 | – |
Is a round-the-world trip on points still worth it?
| You have… | Do this |
|---|---|
| HSBC, Axis Olympus or Burgundy points | ✅ Book the JAL oneworld award in business. It’s the best round-the-world deal left |
| HDFC Infinia or Amex India points | ✅ Build it yourself with one-way awards; business only, cash for economy legs |
| Only Axis Atlas | ⚠️ The 30,000 EDGE Miles cap gives only 60,000 JAL miles a year. Pool with a partner or plan the DIY route |
| Want to fly economy | 💸 Usually pay cash. Economy award legs rarely give more than ₹1–1.5 a point |
| Were saving for ANA’s award | 🔄 Switch to JAL. The price is almost the same |
DealUni take
The round-the-world award isn’t dead; it just changed alliance. With ANA gone, JAL’s oneworld award does the same job for about the same miles, and Indian HSBC and Axis cardholders can reach it easily. The Star Alliance versions that survive are priced to be ignored. If your points are stuck in HDFC or Amex, a do-it-yourself trip still works in business, but it costs 40–60% more miles across several programmes. Plan the route first, check JAL’s mileage calculator, and only then transfer points.
Duniya gol hai, aur points se poori ghoom sakte ho. (The world is round, and you can still go all the way around it on points.)
Sources: ANA Star Alliance Round the World; JAL oneworld award tickets and conditions; Qantas Classic Flight Reward tables (bookings from 5 Aug 2025); EVA Infinity MileageLands; Miles & More World Award Flight; THAI Royal Orchid Plus air awards; Cathay membership terms (2026). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
