Hi TheBOSman,
It looks like you are right. I found this through ITA. The fare codes at the end state:
Make sure to provide the exact booking and fare codes shown.
Fare 1: Carrier US EXA7SA6Y HOU to WAS (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code E
Covers IAH-PHL (Economy), PHL-DCA (Economy)
$101.40
Fare 2: Carrier US EBWA1SXX WAS to SJU (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code E
Covers DCA-CLT (Economy), CLT-SJU (Economy)
$84.00
Fare 3: Carrier US KBWA1SXX SJU to HOU (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code K
Covers SJU-CLT (Economy), CLT-IAD (Economy), IAD-IAH (Economy)
$138.00
I didn't realize I was just wrapping fares. In your experience, are US rules any more liberal than UA?
Thanks!
EmailKid,
$54.57 sounds more like IAH than the $0.05, doesn't it?
Thanks for the IAH-AUS suggestion. It looks like IAH-SAT pops up quite a bit as a cheap solution as well. I hadn't considered the quick TX jaunts, but that does seem like the easiest solution.
I will qualify more quickly with segments (only needing 8) than with miles (most of my flights have been short non-stops to ORD or CMH for business; I'm late to the mileage game), but I'd also like to collect some miles when possible, hence the potential SJU run. I think I may use some HHonors points to make a short vacation in early September - that's a great idea.
Thanks!