Mileage Run Discussion - Help planning MR: NYC to Seattle

Hello FT,

I have to fly to Seattle from an NYC airport (JFK LGA EWR) three times in the next 2 months (2,400 miles each way) and want to make them MRs. Fare is about $900 which I am fine with. I am flexible on airlines as I do not have status on any major carriers, just a couple thousand miles here and there (though United has the bulk of those miles).

What is my best bet to maximize miles? Or should I not bother (given my fewer miles and non-status) and stick to a non-legacy carrier like JetBlue?

I did some reading up here on FT. Went to the ITA website and entered UA UA UA in the routing codes box. Now I have a ton of 3-stop flights and am even more confused - how do I choose which one?

posting the details/routing for the ua flights might help.....

if you aren't trying for status, why not take the low bidder that has an acceptable schedule....

calculate the cpm for the 3 leg flights & take the low cpm....

if your outlook for 2013 shows some flying, factor in the status benes...

Doy you have exact dates that you intend to fly? You could probably with some creativity and not too much pain work those 15 miles into low level status on most of the major carriers (25K miles.)

For UA:
1) LGA-IAH-SEA is 3,290 miles one way
2) Also try routing EWR/JFK-LAX/SFO-SEA for close to the same
3) JFK-IAD for the first leg gets a few more elite minimum eqm's
4) Choose the one with the most miles :)

SunLover

if you aren't trying for status, why not take the low bidder that has an acceptable schedule....

calculate the cpm for the 3 leg flights & take the low cpm....

if your outlook for 2013 shows some flying, factor in the status benes...

not quite sure I understood, sorry, I still have some reading up on this to do! I am trying for status, that is the point of the miles. 2013 outlook - hard to say at this point.

Doy you have exact dates that you intend to fly? You could probably with some creativity and not too much pain work those 15 miles into low level status on most of the major carriers (25K miles.)

Sunday-Friday is the plan.

For UA:
1) LGA-IAH-SEA is 3,290 miles one way
2) Also try routing EWR/JFK-LAX/SFO-SEA for close to the same
3) JFK-IAD for the first leg gets a few more elite minimum eqm's
4) Choose the one with the most miles :)

SunLover

Oh, this is good. Just what I was looking for. (1) is what I am looking at right now. How does (3) work? Going to IAD gets more elite minimum eqms?

generaly, elites often 500 mi minimum per segment....so a jfk-iad would get 500 instead of 250ish....

you could look at other cities going south west like phx lax las etc to connect in...

also, you can fly us & get mi if its cheaper...

generaly, elites often 500 mi minimum per segment....so a jfk-iad would get 500 instead of 250ish....

He's not an elite so he wouldn't benefit in that manner.

He's not an elite so he wouldn't benefit in that manner.

correct....i was answering his ?

edit to add....a look showed the same cost via iah as the other lower routes

on DELTA -You can do one of my favorite tricks which is nest a clt-atl-sea RT inside of a NYC-ATL-CLT RT should net you 3943 MQMs /RDMs each way. NYC->CLT is usually very inexpensive on DELTA. Use your imagination - be creative....

the iad route priced @ $333 on 2 random dates i picked....@ ~ 5 cpm, its in the good deal range for mr's these days....

the iad route priced @ $333 on 2 random dates i picked....@ ~ 5 cpm, its in the good deal range for mr's these days....

And that is what I ended up getting.

Fare 1: Carrier UA VA0HNJ NYC to WAS (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code V
Covers JFK-IAD (Economy)

Fare 2: Carrier UA EA0QYD WAS to SEA (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code E
Covers DCA-IAH (Economy), IAH-SEA (Economy)


Thanks guys for all of the help.

PS: How do I do this myself? I mean, this time round, I used the stopover suggestions you guys provided. Someone said "be creative", what does that mean? Keep trying different city combinations on the ITA site till you find the right combination of time+price?

And that is what I ended up getting.

Fare 1: Carrier UA VA0HNJ NYC to WAS (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code V
Covers JFK-IAD (Economy)

Fare 2: Carrier UA EA0QYD WAS to SEA (rules)
Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code E
Covers DCA-IAH (Economy), IAH-SEA (Economy)


Thanks guys for all of the help.

PS: How do I do this myself? I mean, this time round, I used the stopover suggestions you guys provided. Someone said "be creative", what does that mean? Keep trying different city combinations on the ITA site till you find the right combination of time+price?

this one is a no brainer.....the routing shows on the ua site for the trip....
no multicity, tools etc required, just scan thru the routes shown...

this one is a no brainer.....the routing shows on the ua site for the trip....
no multicity, tools etc required, just scan thru the routes shown...

I just did a search for NYC-SEA on United.com and scanned the routes shown and did not find the NYC-IAD-IAH-SEA route on there. What am I missing?

I just did a search for NYC-SEA on United.com and scanned the routes shown and did not find the NYC-IAD-IAH-SEA route on there. What am I missing?

i think you would have to use multi city after finding it w/ the mr tools or a strange brute force search, but only if elite or needing segs...

i think the $333 fare is pretty good, wonderful for a have to trip....some would use it as a mr @ ~5 cpm....

i think you would have to use multi city after finding it w/ the mr tools or a strange brute force search, but only if elite or needing segs...

i think the $333 fare is pretty good, wonderful for a have to trip....some would use it as a mr @ ~5 cpm....

No doubt about it, that is a great fare. From your post, I understand that it's a brute force approach - start with the hubs for that airline and try to build those into the route and exploring combinations to get the best route. Thanks!

some watch mr deals & if a good fare is available for some city, they will try to hook up w/it...