US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Mileage Run from ALB - Where to Go?

:confused I see $199 RT coast-to-coast fares from ALB. Which routes should I use to maximize mileage credits? Connect through PIT or PHL?

If the choice is between PIT and PHL for west coast travel, the obvious choice to route throught the PHL hub. Both are <500 air miles so that you would receive the minimum for those flights. The difference is that PHL is about 300 miles further from all west coast destinations.

For my money, PIT is a much better airport and is outside of the Northeast Air Corridor. This means fewer delays. I have spent too many Friday afternoons sitting in a plane on the tarmac in PHL.

If you are looking at just miles, consider connecting through Charlotte. It's another hub for USAir and will yield even more miles for you than either PIT or PHL.



[This message has been edited by BillMorrow (edited 04-01-2000).]

That's an excellent analysis. If you can go through CLT then do it. If not, PHL would be ok at off-peak times; I wouldn't risk anything less than an hour connection there. At peak times you're just asking for trouble with PHL and PIT might be your best bet, albeit at a loss of a few hundred miles.

Given that this would be a mileage run and nothing else (no real plans on the other end), if I were to connect through PHL and miss a connection would US offer/be obliged to provide travel vouchers, etc. for future use? That is, if I were to really set myself up and try to pass through on a Friday late afternoon (almost guaranteeing a snafu), could I make out OK in the long run?
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thanks dg1.

PHL can be a real PITA. With BWI, DCA and IAD to the south and EWR, JFK, and LGA to north; the airspace around there gets crowded very quickly.

My only question is how he was going to get from Maine to ALB? <g>

Sorry papallo, I missed your last post.

If you miss a connection due to a late incoming flight, you don't get much in compensation. They either put you on the next flight, reroute you, reassign your ticket to another airline and in some uncommon circumstances (if you missed the last connection of the day) put you up over night (if they are at fault, non-weather related, non-cancelled flights, etc).

In some cases, if the missed connection truly "kills" your trip, they may offer to return you to your original airport and allow you to rebook your trip for another time at no additional charge. You would probably accrue mileage for the flights you had taken that day.

Also, if you are assigned to another airline, make sure to ask for mileage on US and then make sure belong to the airline's FF program

Thanks for the reply Bill and all. I'm new at this game but have always loved to travel. I always book a window seat, and love just about everything about air travel (EXCEPT lines http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif ).

How do I get from Maine to ALB? I drive! It's only 5 hours or so. For all the miles at such a cheap fare I'll do it. PWM is my nearest airport, but I almost never use it if I'm paying for the ticket. I use MHT (much cheaper due to SW competition) and have even driven to PVD when taking my kids to FLL ($150 RT on SW - can't be beat!)

Friends look at me as if I have three heads when I say a five hour drive isn't bad. But, I love to travel, and honestly don't mind the drive. Anything over five hours is my daily limit. I used to live in Concord NH, and had a job with the State of NY in Albany. We waited to let the kids finish the school year, so I commuted 3x weekly from Concord to Albany. Not fun, but not completely unbearable. The thing you regret is all the time wasted in a car. But, if you're traveling for fun it's not time wasted http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I think we're missing the obvious--both PIT and PHL, or PIT and CLT:

ALB-PIT-PHL-West Coast---this would be 800 more miles.

I love the double connect on US... do it all the time. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Papollo, a kindred spirit. I drive two hours to CLE or three hours to CMH regularly; just to fly back to PIT and then onto my final destination. CMH is the best, like ALB, got Southwest, and no major airline hub. I write off the travel time as more miles on a leased car http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If I'm booking on-line, how do I "force" the double connect? When looking at ALB-SEA, for example, possible itineraries list only one connection, either through PHL or PIT. I don't even see connections through CLT. How do I manipulate itineraries on the US site?

Look at US's schedules, either online or in paper timetables. Then manually book the flights by segment -- ie ALB-PIT, PIT-CLT, CLT-LAX, and so on. The only problem I see is that US only allows four segments in the multiple segment option, so maybe ALB-CLT and then CLT-LAX, and choose the option through PIT for the first segment.

Complicated? Yes -- travelocity/US PTW bites when it comes to mileage runs. I doubt you want to pass on the 5k/1k bonus miles tho http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif