Mileage Run Discussion - Mileage Run Tools, Part 2

Greetings All – I’ve updated this thread to reflect the changes on FT and I’ve added some new ones that I found while searching for the old links. This thread was created to update the original MR Tools thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278049). I can’t find the Primer on FT, however, there’s an archived version of it below.

One of the first questions many people ask is... Why do Mileage Runs? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=392353) This thread may help enlighten you on why these take place. The posts that follow will then help you to put them together.


*******The Mileage Run Tools Thread*******

If you know of a tool or a website that would be helpful to Mileage Runners, please post it - I'll try to update this when new tools are posted. Thanks!

*******Mileage Running, Pricing & Availability Tools******

NEW! Glossary of Fare Rule terms (http://www.travelterminal.com/glossary.shtml) - Here's a glossary from TravelTerminal.com that outlines the definitions of terms used in fare rules.

The Mileage Run Primer (http://web.archive.org/web/20030228034821/http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum124/HTML/000027.html) A guide to all that is Mileage Running - Read first, then ask questions. Note: This is an archived copy that’s found at archive.org – Thanks to tvl4free for putting it together & StSebastian for finding it. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311978) Hopefully, it will be able to be found on the new FT so that it can be updated & “stickied” to the top of this forum.

[/b]Mileage Run Seminars (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=441606) FlyerTalker Viajero Joven has been running a series of free seminars for those who are interested. Please click on the above link for the most recent information.

Basics on how to Read Routing Rules (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344200) - As this often times is a question, I've added a link to a post that explains basic information about how to read the rules.

Discussion regarding Open Jaws, End-on-End, and Circle Trips (http://www.flyertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486394) - For those "trickier" mileage runs!

How to Construct & Book a Mileage Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391187) FT'er VPescado created this handy guide to mileage run planning - check it out! (Thanks, VPescado!)

Travelocity Fare List (http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE) Similar to the US Expedia Fare Lists, except you can search particular airlies, which you can only do on the Expedia UK list - different because it brings up rates using a date search as well. (Thanks nor4!)

Here's the UK version of the Travelocity Fare list (http://res.travelocity.co.uk/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE) (Thanks TrayflowInUK!)

Boarding Area's Fare Calendar (http://www.travelgalileo.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+CalendarShopForm) is a pretty neat tool to use - I found this link from a banner ad at Webflyer - it's got a pretty decent all-inclusive service (though 15.00 booking fees) - they've got a good interface for fare pricing & other things as well (although I haven't fully checked it out) - Note - I think this site uses cookies or something - I was having problems linking back to it for some reason - if the above link doesn't work for you, try going to www.boardingarea.com and clicking on the Calendar Shopper on the left hand column.

ITA Software Page (http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego) Kind of like a super Orbitz or Travelocity

The ITA Software page will allow you to search for multiple leg flights by entering your destinations & carrier information. For example, if you're looking for a flight from BWI to SAN and you want to have four flights each way on NW, you'd enter "BWI::NW NW NW NW" in the departure airport field & "SAN::NW NW NW NW" in the destination airport field. I tested this out and the first fare it brought up BWI-DTW-ORD-MSP-SAN-MSP-MDW-DTW-BWI (all on NW metal) for 350.30 on particular dates that I tried it. If you just wanted to search for a NW ticket for the same dates, it returned a fare of 232 (with CO codeshares) and if you wanted a NW ticket soley on NW metal, it was 339. Be aware that when you do this, that it's bringing up flights, but it's necessarily bringing up the cheapest options or even the ones that allow the most mileage. A useful feature, nonetheless. (Thanks for pointing out this functionality on this tool, USCheapskate! - If anyone's interested in further discussion of this extremely useful site, it can be found on this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278091))

Also, according to this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=327261), you can use ITA to search by booking class - i.e. if you need an L-far for a UA promo, you can search for pricing within that fare class! Check out that thread for future updates, including a Mac platform Mileage Calculator & Tracker. Good stuff! AND...to search by fare basis code, check out this thread! (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328156) (Thanks for posting it, SeattleFred!)

ITA Route Language (http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/help/advanced-topics) - learn the tricks of how to refine your ITA searches.

Travelocity Dream Maps (http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl?Service=TRAVELOCITY&SEQ=) - Enter your departure city & it will bring up where you can go for upto a certain dollar amount. It defaults to Dallas because Dallas is Travelocity's home base (a little fact that we can thank themicah for). However, you can change it's defaults, by using the information in this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=342105) that Choster put together so you don't have to use Travelocity's defaults.

Flyertalker stewyvr has created a new tool currently called the Dream Map Beta (http://www.homezonebc.com/fares/index.html) where one can enter the variables & reference Dream Maps (without the actual map) & pull up fares for the various regions (thanks stewyvr!)

Yahoo's Fare Chase (http://farechase.yahoo.com/) is still in beta right now - but it searches city pairs with specific dates - similar to Travelaxe, it tells you which sites have the best deals.

Flight Picks (http://www.flight-picks.com/) A website that allows you to search for itineraries based on either price, availability, or schedule. It shows some, but not all of the fare. (Thanks Super Larry!)

Kayak (http://www.kayak.com) Not sure if this will become a useful tool, but it's kind of neat. You can't use it to book, but you can look up options. No multi-city routing available yet because it's still in Beta - looks like it could be promising. It's self described as:
Kayak is a new online travel site created by the founders of Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity to establish a leadership position in online travel search. Our goal is to help consumers find and navigate the wealth of travel information available on the web.
We've launched a "beta release" to demonstrate some of our capabilities, and we’re adding new features constantly. Please feel free to use our site and give us suggestions on future improvements.

Kayak Buzz (http://www.kayak.com/h/buzz/) - another fare finding site, seems brand new - by Kayak (see above note) & see discussion here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484582). (Thanks, ldlha!)

NEW!!!Travelope (http://www.travelope.com) - This is a web-based interface created by FT'er shahn75 - it's kind of like a megasearch engine as it searches one-way & RT flights on Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak & Mobissimo. A useful site if you want to save yourself a few steps!

Air-Fare cuts (http://www.air-fare.com/allsav.htm) - A website that has the most recent major fare cuts from destination cities (Thanks thezipper!) The main page (http://www.air-fare.com) shows cities & some deals out of those cities.

Air Fare Watchdog (http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/) is another Air Fare listing site that has information by city. (Thanks, MrAOK!)

Shuly Wintner’s Flight Page (http://www.cs.haifa.ac.il/~shuly/flight.html) – note that the Availability information doesn’t currently work because of sites that it links to being down. This page also has useful links at the bottom, including the a link to:

The Great Circle Mapper (http://gc.kls2.com/) Fairly accurate estimates of distance earned for routings. Calculates exact distances between points – does not round up to the minimum 500 mile per segment that a lot of the US-based airlines give, which is good for calculating mileage on partner flights that don’t earn minimum mileage amounts. As always, YMMV based on airline.

drtravix's Fare Metrics (http://www.faremetrics.com) - self described as:

...a small site I developed to host some tools for MRs. At least a few more good ideas are coming in the next month or two beyond what's already up there. Current tools include a routing rule expander (which can calculate the maximum mileage for a given set of routing rues) and a flexible distance calculator.

Yahoo! Best Fares (http://search.travel.yahoo.com/bin/search/bfsearch?intl=us&oc=bwi) - Here you can enter your home airport & get the best fares to & from there. Currently, it’s set to BWI, but to change it, change the last 3 letters of the URL to your home airport code.

Flyertalker Steam Engine has a new tool that compiles Yahoo Best Fares information from different airports so you can see price differences. The tool is located here (http://www.indiakane.com/ff/ff.jsp). It's pretty interesting & is useful. I entered WASNYC to check fares just a sample & if one was to be going to SYD out of DC, they may consider that at the time of me writing this that it was over 500.00 cheaper to fly out of NYC & a RT IAD-JFK flight can be as low as 150 all-in. Great tool, thanks Steam Engine!

Flyertalker Ben Edelman’s Page (http://www.benedelman.org/travel) - (note URL is no longer at Harvard, but at benedelman.org, however the old Harvard link still works – I haven’t used this one in a long time because some of the tools are no longer valid, but there’s some interesting things if you fly AA or want to see the old TWA website. This is a fare-code listing site (http://www.benedelman.org/travel/farecodes/) that's part of Ben Edelman's site. There is a link to fare-codes of various airlines & what their definitions are on this page.

rmyadsk's Flying Fish Mileage Calculator (http://flyingfish.oscarfish.com/?zone=download), FT'er developed tool that does not need to be connected to the net to determine mileage distances - as always, YMMV by airline (Thanks Vasantn!) See more discussion here. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278074)

CoMETS is a new tool developed by SeattleFred - it's been around for a while on Mac, but it's been recently released for Windows.CoMETS is much more than a mileage calculator (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=360619). It is a mileage/flight info tracker. CoMETS will help you find the best routing to make the most of your mileage run. CoMETS makes it easy to track the miles and segments you earn; miles, EQM, BIS, segments, and EQS are all tracked separately. Monthly, quarterly, annual, and lifetime totals of all your miles and segments, for each of your frequent flyer programs, are available with a click of your mouse. CoMETS does…well, lots more. (Thanks, SeattleFred!)

Austrian Airlines Search Page (http://www.aua.com/at/eng/Flights/Search/) - lists and finds the cheapeast Star Alliance fares between 2 cities. (Thanks PappaG!) - If this link doesn't work for you, please try this one. (http://www.aua.com/at/eng/default.htm) (Thanks LGA!)

Matthew Clements's Mileage Runner (http://www.mileagerunner.com) - site created by an FT'er that has some information regarding MR's and information on United. The link for FFAssistant.exe on Mileage Runner is no longer valid, as of 3/22/04. However, FFAssistant is currently located here (http://www.ninedragons.com/oldweb/FFA_INST.EXE) as Mahjonguy changes his website around. It may be moved again in the future. Here, you can download Mahjongguy's tool called FFAssist (on the left hand side of the page) - which according to the description: "is a simple program that allows you to build a trip of up to 8 segments. The advantage FFassist offers is that it will save your trip request for your next session. It also has buttons that slide every date forward or back by 7 days." (Thanks Mahjonguy!) NOTE - This site seems to have changed a bit - however, apparently some of the same information is available - I have not checked it out all the way

Best Fares (http://www.bestfares.com) Check this site out for some more best fare listings - some parts require pay membership, which is expensive as hell & it doesn't appear to give information too much different from Yahoo! Best Fares which is listed above. It does have a functionality that allows you to search for the cheapest CPM from your home airport - but again, the listings don't provide a lot of information & you have to be paying member to access all the information. (Thanks SFOTraveler!)

Availability Tools

KVS Availability Tool (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244) - Click on the link for more detailed information - to be brief here - this tool searches various GDS systems for availability - there's a lite version & a full version available. Due to the method of getting registered (see thread) - this tool is only available to registered FT'ers. This tool also allows one to check award inventory buckets too!

flyaow’s page (http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm) – Another page with a wealth of knowledge & a ton of tools - this site is sure to be a VERY useful page. There's also a booking engine on this site that you can use should you decide to.

Since ITN.net is down (I've removed the link to the Amex-ITN site as it changed), FlyAOW's page has been very helpful. I recently came accross another tool that uses ITN's interface (you even have to set up an account with Expert Settings to view the fare buckets). Travel & Transport (http://www.tandt.com/online_reservation.asp)'s online booking tool has all the same functionality as ITN. They charge a 20.00 booking fee per ticket purchased, FYI.

V-tool (http://www.v-flyer.com/vtool.asp) - a downloadable tool that allows you to check the availability & seatmaps of the VS flights (thanks pixuk!) Note, some of the functionality of this tool is down, but I'll leave the link here anyways for archival purposes

ExpertFlyer (http://www.expertflyer.com) - Expert Flyert is a fairly full-service paid subscription site. The fare information, routing and fare rules are part of the Premium service for $9.99/mo or $99.99/year. The Basic $4.99/mo service does not include access to fare information. ExpertfFlyer will help the MR'ers not only by showing the routing rules but by showing ALL available fares. The fares can be further filtered by showing only those valid for the date of departure based on seasonality and advance purchase requirements, the user has the choice of whether or not to invoke this filter.
Also, for those interested in securing an upgrade, they also show upgrade inventory for a few airlines such as AA, DL, TN, and AC. Seat maps are also available for over 100 airlines.

***

The Mileage Run Checklist (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277896) - What you'll need for a Mileage Run - everything from the right food to the right documentation.

Why do it? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274242)

Discussion regarding Cost per Mile (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276409) - Is it worth it?

Continued below...

*******General Links*******

NEW!!! Mile Maven (http://www.milemaven.com) - This is a pretty cool tool developed by FT'er boazs - it's a great way to check promotions & to see if the routes you are flying will earn bonus miles. See the related discussion here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=491049) - I highly recommend you check this site out before every one of your future trips!

Check out ANDREWCX's website (http://www.andrewcram.com/frequentflyer_bookings.html) for information on how to earn points & miles, etc, when you are booking your runs. There's information on how to get money back & earn extra miles & points. For example, if you book on Expedia for a run, book through the Mileage Mall & earn Amtrak Guest Reward points or something. Details on Post #87 (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4394597&postcount=87)

More good stuff from gleff's blog. This time, its a quick, easy to understand summary of how to find cheap airline & hotel deals (not necessarily for MR's, but for general travel): How to Find the Best Airfare Deals (http://www.webflyer.com/blog/comment.php?entry=1585) and How to find the Best Hotel Deals (http://www.webflyer.com/blog/comment.php?entry=1586) (Thanks gleff!)

HRS - Hotel Reservation Service (http://www.hrs.de) - good for finding cheap lodging for Mileage Runs in Europe - in 25 languages. English Version Available (http://www.hrs.com), also. (Thanks Kurz!)

Travel Axe (http://www.travelaxe.com) - downloadable tool that allows you to search multiple websites at once for best prices on hotels. The negative thing about this is that it lists rates that we are not always qualified for (i.e Gov't rates, Senior Rates, AAA/AARP rates, etc.) - sometimes if you book these rates at a Super 8 or something, they'll let you get away with it without checking ID, but if you go to any of the majors (Hilton, Marriott, SPG, Hyatt), then generally, they'll check your ID - so make sure you're not booking improper rates.

Talk Links (http://www.flyertalk.com/talklinks.shtml) - General List of Links by Flyertalkers.

Webflyer’s Bonus Promotions Page (http://www.webflyer.com/deals/bonus_promotions/) – Wise to check whenever your flying so you can be registered for the latest promos for your airline.

Frequent Flyer Bonuses (www.frequentflyerbonuses.com) - a site run by FT'er superdawg that lists various airline promos & bonuses - similar to WebFlyars Bonus Promo page above

Discussion Regarding Bumps (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278082)

Seat Plans (http://www.uk-air.net/seatplan.htm) – So you can see the seating configuration of the planes – this is a pretty good site.

Sleeping in Airports (http://www.sleepinginairports.com/airports.htm) for those runs with quick turnaround or if you don't see the point in getting a hotel for 8 hours. Advice here is may be a little outdated - however, the best advice I've gotten from here was the 4th floor observation deck at BKK - only they failed to mention it is the coldest airport ever! Of course, they also said that the observation deck at ABQ was fine to sleep in – that’s not true – the police kicked me out around midnight. Don't forget a blanket and a pillow!

Seat Guru (http://www.seatguru.com) So you can see which are the best seats on your flights – not all airlines are listed.

Seat Expert (http://www.seatexpert.com/) Another seating guide – not all airlines are listed (Thanks JDiver!)

CheckMyTrip.com (http://www.checkmytrip.com) and ViewTrip.com (http://www.viewtrip.com) - two sites that let you view your itins if they were booked on the corrosponding GDS system. (Thanks johnep1

Industrial Patent’s Flyertalk’s Guide to NWA (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77211)

IP’s Guide to NW’s Equipment (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77275)

IP’s Guide to getting your seat bumped on NW (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77847)

lisamcgu's list of 2004 Q points for AA runners (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=343545)

PremEx's Overview of UA Upgrades (http://www.mileagerunner.com/article_read.asp?id=47) - Useful info if you're on a UA run to SIN and you want to fly in C vs. Y

ozstamps Guide listing all known UA fare codes (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113792) – very useful for the UA promos that require certain booking classes.

List of fare codes for NW, CO, UA, US, DL, AA, and AS (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3756133&postcount=63)

Link to a thread on the UA forum that shows the printout of the SWU rules (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111998)

Trying to find cheap weekend F fares? Izzik suggests It's using Orbitz's Flexible dates - power search for savings option.. starting at the homepage, click on Expanded Search Options at the bottom which brings you to the full search page. Then change the cabin to First and select the Flexible dates option. It will bring you to the regular screen but it is now set for searching F fares instead of the default Y fares.

Shopping and VAT on a MR to Europe (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277744) - Going to Europe for Mileage Run? FT'er Kurz outlines information regarding the taxes (which are as much as 19% in the Netherlands!)

Travel Links (http://www.rodndtube.com/_links/r_travel.shtml) – fairly generic, although thorough website – I like the fact that it’s got information about traffic to BWI – I live about 5 minutes from DCA, but BWI is always WAY cheaper to fly out of for me it – but there are a lot of general travel links on it.

Sidestep (http://www.sidestep.com) - A downloadable program that pops-up when you run a search for a fare or hotel on a major travel site. Seems to have good reviews by some - I personally dislike it & uninstalled it because it kept popping up & was just overall really annoying, but a lot of FT'ers will swear by it. I've listed it here because Natty Dread mentioned it below.

Mobissimo Search Engine (http://travel.mobissimo.com/travel/search_airfare.php) - as Natty Dread explains it below - You can search for flights and it consolidates results from airline web pages, wholesalers, and other resources, so that you can find who actually has the best offer. Best feature is that it includes international sites you can purchase from and converts their prices to dollars. You can exclude that feature from the results if desired.

Qixo.com (http://www.qixo.com) - mentioned in a Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB109277628659293941-IBjfoNplaN3o5yobIKHba2Gm5,00.html) article (not sure if the link will work as it was e-mailed to me by a coworker & I think they eventually expire if you're not a subscriber), along with Mobissimo (listed above) and Fare Chaser (http://www.farechase.com) (owned by Yahoo) and Sidestep (who actual now has a Sidestep for Cars (http://cars.sidestep.com/car/main_airport.jsp) & a Sidestep for Hotels (http://hotels.sidestep.com/hotel/search.jsp) tools) - All of these websites search other travel websites for the best deals. Only Sidestep is a downloadable tool. Qixo charges 20 bucks to book. Not necessarily something completely useful for booking, but it may help you research.

*******Mileage Run's Greatest*******

Some of the best runs are never published on Flyertalk - but some are...

86910 status miles for US$1740+taxes (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277886)

What's the Lowest cost per award mile you've ever encountered? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277713) - just trips that FT'ers have done to earn miles.

The Baht Run (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=site%3Awww.flyertalk.com+forget+latin+pass+baht+ run+ozstamps+1k) - Becoming a UA 1K for about 750 bucks & a week in Thailand - see, dreams to come true. (Thanks gleff, for finding this thread on Google’s history – This one actually made the Guinness Book of World Records (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112786)).

The Latin Pass Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2221) - The run that scored a million frequent flier miles!

Wondering how to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday? Here’s tvl4free's Turkey Day Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180159) - 22 UA segments in November.

What’s the maximum number of segments people have done in one day? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273263) Find out by clicking.

Best Award/Rewards Of All Time (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9459&) - A thread that Randy Petersen started in the Milesbuzz forum - what to do with all those miles that you earned from your business travel or Mileage Runs.

*******

Another thing that I can add is that see what other people do and how they do it – look at other people’s routings and try to figure them out. I’ve learned a lot just by reading posts from people like viajero joven, channa, keithguy, whlinder, tvl4free, and many others that I have failed to mention here – even if it’s hard to understand how a routing works, by reading what these & other MR Guru’s have to say, you can try to re-create & understand the logic behind it all.
Here's a recent example of an FT'er who was trying to do his first Mileage Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277883) - he got help with it, but as you can see, it's a process that requires understanding. If you read the primer first & use these links, you'll be able to get an understanding as well. People will also probably be more willing to help those who help themselves.

Hope this helps some…more info continued below...

*******Travel Discounts*******

Now that we have a Budget Travel forum, this post may not be as necessary. When I initially wrote it, we didn't have a Budget Travel forum - but we do now. The information there, combined with some information from here, should allow help out in planning a cheap MR. I figured, I’d add to the MR Tools List with some discount listings. There was a thread that was recently started called MR Checklist? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340789) that asked about the over all planning of a MR. Well, part of Mileage Runs is to keep overall costs as low as possible (for me, anyways) and a lot of people use hotel points for the MR’s or sleep in airports & so on.

Well, this part of the MR Tools Thread is for discounts that one can use on a mileage run – if you know of any special deal or any discount codes that are available 24/7 that (almost) anyone can use, feel free to post them. NOTE: I AM NOT CONDONING THE USE OF ANY DISCOUNTS THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR – ALL OF THE INFORMATION BELOW IS PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET – USE IT HOW YOU WILL & I’LL DO THE SAME! ;) But I will note that sometimes the volume discounts that these companies receive are due to the amount of traffic & business they generate, so not all will be disappointed if you decide to use their discounts. Use at your own risk & under your own ethical principles – if you know of a discount that you’d like added, please let me know & if you strongly feel that one of these should be removed, then also please let me know.

Here's an article on MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3081079/) regarding hotel discounters - there may be some best price guarantee's that can be filled with these wholesalers. I'm not 100% positive if they'll work, but hey, the information's free so it can't hurt to check it out.

I find that often times non-FT Forum chain hotels (Choice, Cendant, Baymont, etc) generally provide pretty affordable & safe lodging when going on an overnight mileage run. One can earn even airline miles (or with Choice, a free night after 2 stays with the promos they've had over the past two years). I've often tried to figure out how to get the best discounts. I've found that there's 2 types of general discounts for Choice Hotels - the 15% VIP discounts & the 20% Significant Organizations Savings discounts. Sometimes, when one is available in one hotel, the other is not. Sometimes both are available.

Travel Depot's Listing of Car Rental Discounts (http://www.traveldepot.net/car/) - Found this while searching for some Hertz discounts - has a listing of all major car company discounts.

Here's a couple of members only associations that have Choice & other random travel (and non-travel) discounts available for test selling:
IABC - 20% discounts on Choice & other random business discounts (http://www.iabc.com/members/memDiscounts.htm)
GPAC 20% off for Choice Hotels (http://www.gpacsports.com/choice.htm)
GPAC 20% off discount for Baymont Inns (http://www.baymontinns.com/corporate.jsp?rcode=GPAC)
Southern Illinois University's discount list - a variety of hotel & car rental companies (http://www.siu.edu/~humres/html/discount.html#LODGING)


50% off the rack rate at La Quinta Inns - use the following rate code: SWA50 - this is apparently a targeted 50% off rack discount that requires a postcard to use, however it has been reported that one doesn't actually have to have the card. The rack rate at LQ's are usually whatever they are selling regularly, so actually a useful 50% off discount (not that the SPG50 at SPG properties isn't, but it isn't always the best rate). (Thanks for the tip, Viajero Joven!)

Giant Eagle Discount Card (http://www.gianteagle.com/main/article7.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=1128281&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=17949) 10%-50% discounts on 1 & 2 star hotels (primarily Choice Hotels & Cendant Hotels) – you can get a free discount card by registering. (http://www.gianteagle.com/main/geac_reg.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=17949&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=1128281&bmUID=1091461101797)

Student Advantage Card (http://www.studentadvantage.com) – this card gives discounts on Amtrak & Choice Hotels – but costs 20/year for membership. It used to be free via Amtrak, but no longer. I’m not sure if its still free through a Greyhound ticket purchase or not. This may be worth it to some & not worth it to others, but at 20 bucks, it’s a decent deal. Note that it doesn’t really matter if you’re enrolled in college or not to get this. I graduated from college in 2001 & I’ve had one the past 2 years.

To get 2 cards for the price of one through the end of the year, try doing the following: Sign up for one at studentadvantage.com and use promo code: SAG04CBOGO (where the first 0 is a zero, and the second & third O's are the letter). The free offer is not valid for the 4 year cards or the bundle packages. A redemption code for the second card is provided after the purchase, so it's 22.50 total for the first card & second card free (not sure whether they will charge you shipping on the second card).

Also, when your card is about to expire, wait til the very end of the membership month to renew. They'll send you a renewal offer that has some freebies (like free movie tickets or something) - I can't recall what mine was, but if you change the last number of the renewal code, you get a couple of different offers (everything from free shipping to $5.00 off to Free movie tickets & popcorn).

Avis Discount Code Thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344152) – I like the Starwood discount & the USC Monroe School of Business discount. One thing to note is that when I was renting a car for KEF, American Express Travel (via ITN.net) gave the best rate on an unlimited mileage car.

Hertz Discount Code thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=349433) Started by snorkmaster, this thread is a great resource for PC codes that'll save you money. Using codes from this thread, I was able to drop a rental in LAS for a 2005 Mustang (such a cool car!) from ~75 to ~50 over a holiday weekend!

SE Asia's Visa Platinum discounts (http://www.visaplatinum.com/ap/platinum.shtml) - okay, so these aren't really great financial values, but if you're staying at a nice hotel, you may as well try to score a free upgrade & welcome drink. There are discounts for car rentals in SE Asia and many high-end things in SE Asia and Australia. I am placing it here because I wasn't sure where else to post this (see there's a need for a budget traveler/discount forum!)

Amtrak Discount Code Thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=460735) I used to manage this thread, however, the Amtrak Moderator, ByeByeDelta, has graciously offered to take over the management of the thread & keep it updated. The reason this is part of the MR tool thread is because sometimes we have to stage our MR's out of cities that we don't live in. Say you live in DC & there's a great fare out of NY - you could either drive the 5 hours & pay the tolls & gas, or you could hop on a flight from WAS-NYC, or you can take the train. May as well save if you've got to take the train!

UA 5% off discount (https://www.ua2go.com/ci/Login.jsp?stamp=NEWREC*itn/ord=NEWREC,itn/air/unitedairlines&return_to=ref&auth=0) – for online bookings - Currently not available, but I will leave the link up here in case that changes.

APA Discounts (http://www.poolplayers.com/discounts.html) – discounts on Red Roof Inn’s & other random discounts – no ID needed. (I occasionally play pool, not very good at it, but a guy I was playing against recently ran the table on me & completely kicked my butt – he did, however, tell me about this site).

ISU’s rates – include CDW insurance (http://www.ats.iastate.edu/vpbf/accounting/tr_carra.htm) – haven’t used this before, but found it online while searching for some discounts for an Alamo rental. Careful when using discounts that include insurance & not being eligible for them. As I’ve never damaged a car, I don’t know what the process is if you do damage a car.

Staying at the Crowne Plaza on your Mileage Run? (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/c/2/dec/cp/1/en/ppusair.html) Well, then you travel differently than I do on a mileage run! Here’s a little something to make your stay more enjoyable…

Union Plus (http://www.unionplus.org/pop_benefits.cfm) If you’re a member of a Union (or even if you’re not), you can get some discounts. Just enter a name, a zip & a union to see what’s available. I think it’s pretty generic from union to union.

A2Z Colleges Discount thread (http://www.a2zcolleges.com/misc/carrental.htm) - information on discount codes for various car rental & 1-2 star hotels - save some money while on those Mileage Runs! Note that although it says that there's a 50% off code for Enterprise, I couldn't get it to work on any of my rentals. Of course, I prefer Hertz.

Problems while traveling? Need Consumer Protection? Here’s information on protecting yourself & how to file a complaint with US Department of Transportation. If anyone has any information on countries other than the US, please post the information & I will incorporate it in this thread.

File a Complaint with the TSA (http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=1) – this link has information on the TSA & how to file a complaint with them.

Unfortunately, with damaged luggage these days, the airlines can shift blame (and sometimes rightly so) to the TSA, if that happens, fill out the form & report it (http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=1).

Tired of having to take off your shoes at Security? Then print this page (http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1050.xml) and show it to the TSA reps at the airport, chances are you’ll have a secondary, but sometimes it’s best to question authority. Most jackets (http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_multi_image_0083.xml) are still required to be removed, but not all.

What to do if you feel violated during a secondary screening (http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_multi_image_0082.xml)

Know in advance of pending delays at airports. (http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp)

File a complaint (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/problems.htm) about any incidents that occurred in the air.

Basic information about flying (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/pubs.htm)

Got a civil rights violation complaint? File it here (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/DiscrimComplaintsContacts.htm)

Industry Letters Guidance Regarding Aviation Rules and Statute (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/guidance.htm)

Customer Service issues? Know your airline’s customer service plans (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/customerservice.htm)

State Department Travel Warnings (http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html)

One Travel’s Rules of the Air (http://www.onetravel.com/RulesOfTheAir.aspx?DK=3&TOKEN=RARE&CFID=1020857&CFTOKEN=4acf03c-acc21cd2-a52a-4e93-8b6c-fcd6f4b4e837&Lang=English&PID=ac100610&Style=1&Module=WWW&Action=RulesoftheAir) – general information, including a link to most major carrier’s Contract of Carriage. Oddly, NW’s isn’t included, but it can be found here. (http://www.nwa.com/contract.html)

Rule 240 (http://www.mytravelrights.com/travellaw.cfm?ai=3) - general information - note, not all carriers have a rule 240 (DH for example)

Need to file a general complaint? Write to:

Aviation Consumer Protection Division
U.S. Department of Transportation
Room 4107, C075
Washington, D.C. 20590
Phone 202-366-2220 (24 hours)
E-Mail: airconsumer@ost.dot.gov

Austrian Airlines Search Page (http://www.aua.com/at/eng/Flights/Search/) - lists and finds the cheapeast Star Alliance fares between 2 cities. (Thanks PappaG!)

This link isn't working, but this is: http://www.aua.com/at/eng/default.htm

Thanks for these tips! They're great.

This link isn't working, but this is: http://www.aua.com/at/eng/default.htm

Thanks for these tips! They're great.

You're welcome! I didn't make them, I just helped compile them :)

As for the link - it worked for me just now - but I'll post your link as well.

Added a link to today's post on gleff's blog about how you can use Priceline via eBay and earn eBay points - which can be converted via points.com into airline miles. Approximately 1500+ AA mile if you do it gleff's way - not a bad deal for Pricelining a hotel room on a Mileage Run - see the second post for details.

Thanks for a great compilation, bhatnasx! ^

As an alternative to the interesting eBay deal with Priceline, you can get 3% back on any Priceline purchase through UPromise.

Although UPromise is geared toward (and marketed as) college savings, it's really just a rebate program. Although they don't say it on the front page of the website, looking through their FAQs reveals that you can get them to cut a check for your balance with them at any time.

The calculation of whether 3% cash or 1500 miles is a better deal is an excercise for the reader (but it probably depends on how much you're spending...)

New link added - link to a UA thread that shows the printout of the UA SWU so that you know what fares are upgradeable when you buy your tix for a UA MR.

Thank you for a very good compilation of links!

Not really for MR's, but for general travel - I added 2 links to gleff's blog that outline his suggestions for getting great airfare & hotel deals. And for someone who's sat down & had a beer and talked travel with this guy, I can promise you that his advice on trip planning is some of the best you'll get. If there's a deal to be had or a better way of doing something, he'll find it. Thanks, gleff!

A link to a (relatively) new thread on ITA's functionality to search by booking class - finally a way to try to help do some fare-based promos!

You can search for flights and it consolidates results from airline web pages, wholesalers, and other resources, so that you can find who actually has the best offer. Best feature is that it includes international sites you can purchase from and converts their prices to dollars. You can exclude that feature from the results if desired.

You can search for flights and it consolidates results from airline web pages, wholesalers, and other resources, so that you can find who actually has the best offer. Best feature is that it includes international sites you can purchase from and converts their prices to dollars. You can exclude that feature from the results if desired.

I'll add Sidestep above - please provide the link for the the other site - I personally don't like Sidestep because I hated the fact that it always popped up whenever I searched a travel site. I had to uninstall it because it was constantly annoying the hell out of me.

On another note - I'm adding the calendar from Boarding Area (http://www.travelgalileo.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+CalendarShopForm) - I linked to this site from a banner ad on Webflyer & I think it's got some potential - the calendar is just one of the tools.

It seems that this link has been pulled.

Alas. Almost like the airlines are trying to make life harder for their potential customers. Freaks! :td:


Expedia Airline Fare List U.K. version. This one allows you to search via a particular airline – which is useful if you need a specific booking class or need more complete routing rules as the lower fares don’t necessarily have all the rules listed because of space constraints. Use XE.com to convert currency if need be - however when you click on the Routing Rules, it should bring the fares up in US Dollars.

please provide the link for the the other site

Think that natty dread is referring to
http://travel.mobissimo.com/travel/search_airfare.php

It seems that this link has been pulled.
Agreed.

To recap what we're talking about: Expedia.co.uk used (until this past weekend) to offer an interface for searching all published fares on a given route (origin & destination) on a given carrier. Available data included booking code, price, and fare rules (routing, penalties, advance booking, ec.).

With the expedia.co.uk service gone, what to do? Expedia.com has substantially the same data but doesn't allow specification of a particular carrier. It only shows the top dozen or so results, and with many carriers publishing fares on most markets, this means Expedia.com is only useful for the absolute lowest fares. No good for finding YUPs, unrestricted medium fares, or other interesting gems.

Any other possibilities here? Other services?

What a pain! Who ever heard of an industry that won't tell you what products they're willing to sell!...

Agreed.



What a pain! Who ever heard of an industry that won't tell you what products they're willing to sell!...
did this industry EVER make sence? :p

Can anyone point me to 'free' sabre training materials ?

\
To recap what we're talking about: Expedia.co.uk used (until this past weekend) to offer an interface for searching all published fares on a given route (origin & destination) on a given carrier. Available data included booking code, price, and fare rules (routing, penalties, advance booking, ec.).
\.

how about http://www.expedia.ca/pub/agent.dll?qscr=ftap

Great link, pixpixpix, I'll update the site - thanks!

Does anyone have a copy of the mileage run primer, or know where else it can be found on the web? I tried clicking the link from the original post and received this message:

Failed Connection.

We're sorry. Your request failed to connect to our servers. We may be experiencing technical difficulties and suggest that you try again later.

I am trying to plan a few work-related mileage runs in the next few days and I have never done it before, so I would like to see how I get the best mileage bang for the boss' buck! ;)

Thanks,
Stevekoe

Does anyone have a copy of the mileage run primer, or know where else it can be found on the web? I tried clicking the link from the original post and received this message:

Failed Connection.

We're sorry. Your request failed to connect to our servers. We may be experiencing technical difficulties and suggest that you try again later.

I am trying to plan a few work-related mileage runs in the next few days and I have never done it before, so I would like to see how I get the best mileage bang for the boss' buck! ;)

Thanks,
Stevekoe


Some days it appears to be up & somedays it appears to be down. The MR Primer didn't make the transformation, so the only usable copy seems to be an archived copy. If anyone has a copy (i.e they pay have copied & pasted into a printable file or something when it was still active), or if the links start working again & they'd be willing to copy & paste it into a word document or a new post, that'd be really helpful - I realize that it links to a lot of other things in the Primer, but if anyone's got the initiative to try to recreate the Primer (or even chapters of it), I'm sure that'd be appreciated by all.

The June 5, 2003 link isn't working - but I've got the February 28, 2003 link posted.

Greetings All,

I've added some new content - Discounts - post #3 - hope they help you out a little.

Added a link to a thread that goes over the basics of how to read routing rules - very basic.

I've added content in the second post, above Mileage Run's Greatest for Qixo.com, Sidestep Hotels/Cars, & Fare Chaser based on an article in the WSJ. I don't know how useful these will prove to be for Mileage Runs directly, but they may help out. Qixo.com works similarly to Mobissimo from what I understand - searches multiple sites. I think it has a $20 booking fee though.

See the 2nd post for details.

Added a 50% off code for La Quinta, courtesy of WN - thanks Viajero Joven!

The expedia fare link site apparently doesn't work anymore? I get a 'we are upgrading our site to enhance your experience'

The expedia fare link site apparently doesn't work anymore? I get a 'we are upgrading our site to enhance your experience'
My link to expedia.ca -- second entry under "Published Fares" on http://www.benedelman.org/travel/ -- still works OK for me. Just retested it, and still got the expected functionality.

The expedia fare link site apparently doesn't work anymore? I get a 'we are upgrading our site to enhance your experience'

I just checked the links on the first page, both the CA & US versions seem to work. Maybe they were updating stuff.

Added commentary in post #3 about the Best Rate Guarantees to stay cheaper or for free (with the right hotel chains).

I think a lot of you subscribe to this thread because whenever I update it, the # of views increases relatively significantly - I'm sure the rest of you have some sort of discount travel secrets to share (well, I guess they wouldn't be secrets anymore) - if you've got any tips to save a little $$ while on a run, please let us know...

Thanks!

Just added info for a buy-1-get-1 free code for the student advantage card.

This isn't really a MR Tool, but as I recently mentioned, Best Price Guarantees can work wonders when you're on a trip in terms of saving $$$ on hotels. Check out http://www.expedia.com/daily/promos/vacations/Winter-Hotel-Sale/default.asp?rfrr=-36054 for a new Expedia promo where they give 15% off 2 nights & 20% off of 3 nights for November & December stays, with purchase by 9/15. As most hotels verify within 24 hours, if you find one that has a best price guarantee, submit a claim by 9/14 & print out a copy of your shop page. Most of the hotels & markets I looked were individual hotels, not chains, but some were chains.

This may be beneficial if you've got some stays coming up in Nov/Dec.

Cendant Hotels will start distributing rooms through Expedia soon (http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article12823.html) - this has some potential for people on Mileage Runs because it seems that Expedia sometimes has a better deals than the hotels own websites. In the past year, I've submitted about 7 Best Rate Guarantee claims with various chains, 5 of the lower prices were found on Expedia, and 2 on local CVB websites. With each of the Expedia one, it was done as the hotels either were introducing the BRG or as the hotel had just joined Expedia. I would recommend, if you have any MR's coming up, to check Expedia for Cendant branded hotels in the near future once the relationship b/t Cendant & Expedia starts & see if they have to work out any kinks in their system - it could prove to beneficial because usually MR's are a 1 night thing at most (for me anyways) & Cendant's BRG gives you your first night free. Things are always better when they're free! :)

Added a link to Air Fare Cuts in Post #1 - it's a VERY interesting link as it provides fare slashes in major (and not-so major) cities - I highly recommend checking it out - thanks to thezipper for pointing this one out!

Added a link to an MSNBC article on discounts (kind of dated article) & added a few more travel membership discounts sites in the top of Post #3.

Please don't shoot me as I'm a newbie and could use a couple of pointers. Is there a glossary to all the terms used here as I'm a little flumoxed by SWU and SPG50's amongst others?

I must say this is a really great site and that I wish I'd found it last year.

Please don't shoot me as I'm a newbie and could use a couple of pointers. Is there a glossary to all the terms used here as I'm a little flumoxed by SWU and SPG50's amongst others?

I must say this is a really great site and that I wish I'd found it last year.

There is a glossary. If you look at the toolbar across the top of the page - there's a dropdown tab for Quick Links - there's a Glossary there. A SWU is a System Wide Upgrade on United Airliens & an SPG50 is a Starwood Preferred Guest 50% off the rack rate coupon (Sheraton, Westin, etc) - sometimes it gives a great rate, sometimes it doesn't - it's not bookable online - only by calling Starwood directly.

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Check out Kayak (http://www.kayak.com) - a new travel search engine - completely free. It's still in beta & there's no multi-city option, but an interesting Travel Axe sort of feel to it as it searches multiple sites. It's self described as:

Kayak is a new online travel site created by the founders of Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity to establish a leadership position in online travel search. Our goal is to help consumers find and navigate the wealth of travel information available on the web.

We've launched a "beta release" to demonstrate some of our capabilities, and we’re adding new features constantly. Please feel free to use our site and give us suggestions on future improvements.


Registration is required & it's a free account.

Check out http://www.faremetrics.com - a small site I developed to host some tools for MRs. At least a few more good ideas are coming in the next month or two beyond what's already up there.

Current tools include a routing rule expander (which can calculate the maximum mileage for a given set of routing rues) and a flexible distance calculator.

Check out http://www.faremetrics.com - a small site I developed to host some tools for MRs. At least a few more good ideas are coming in the next month or two beyond what's already up there.

Current tools include a routing rule expander (which can calculate the maximum mileage for a given set of routing rues) and a flexible distance calculator.

I haven't had the opportunity to try it out, but I've posted it - Thanks!

Currently, the Expedia Fare Lists routing rules pages are down - you can still bring up the cheapest fares, but not all the route & rule information in a neat organized way you could before - if anyone knows of anything to replace, please let us know - currently, Travelocity is the best option, I think - however, it doesn't display routing possibilities

Added a new car rental discount list (not sure if all the rate codes work) & a $5.00 off coupon link for per night stays at US Travelodge hotels in the discounts sections....

Does anyone have any discount information or tricks they'd like to share? I know that Viajero Joven & I can't be the only ones! :)

I've filled in post #4 with lots of TSA & complaint information - I took a suggestion from snorkmaster & ran with it - hope it helps! :)

The Airline Fares List on expedia used to give Fare Rules. Lately, when I click on fare rules, it shows nothing. Does any one know what's going on?

There are several FT threads on this. It is gone, likely for good. Expedia didn't even know that link existed still so doubt they will restore it for our benefit. :(

There are two sites that are good for looking up your travel info (and for getting a receipt after you fly). One if www.checkmytrip.com. I forget what the other one is but I'm sure someone knows.

The other site is www.viewtrip.com.

Updated - added a link to Steam Engine's Fare Compare tool in Post 1

Also - added links to ViewTrip.com & checkmytrip.com in post 2.

Added the following discounts/links in post #3:

NEW!!! Hertz Discount Code thread Started by snorkmaster, this thread is a great resource for PC codes that'll save you money. Using codes from this thread, I was able to drop a rental in LAS for a 2005 Mustang (such a cool car!) from ~75 to ~50 over a holiday weekend!

NEW!!! SE Asia's Visa Platinum discounts - okay, so these aren't really great financial values, but if you're staying at a nice hotel, you may as well try to score a free upgrade & welcome drink. There are discounts for car rentals in SE Asia and many high-end things in SE Asia and Australia. I am placing it here because I wasn't sure where else to post this (see there's a need for a budget traveler/discount forum!)

Travel Depot's Listing of Car Rental Discounts (http://www.traveldepot.net/car/) - Found this while searching for some Hertz discounts - has a listing of all major car company discounts.

This is a pretty useful site as it's a good resource for discounts on car rental with all the major & many of the not-so-major car rental company's. If you're under 25, there's a 10% off coupon that you can use if you rent from Fox. I recommend utilizing this site before any major car rentals - has coupons for Europe rentals too.

Has anyone noticed that Orbitz.com's Flexible Dates search is now accepting all international destinations (instead of only US/Canada)? I wonder if this is an improvement or just a temporary glitch.

After Seven Successful Years, SmarterLiving.com, a Leader in Online Travel Publishing, Changes Name to SmarterTravel.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050105/55574_1.html

Last-Minute Web Fares from...
Akron, OH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=660) | Albany, NY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=79) | Albuquerque, NM (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=124) | Alexandria, LA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=877) | Anchorage, AK (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=77) | Arcata, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=249) | Atlanta, GA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=75) | Austin, TX (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=159) | Bakersfield, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=288) | Baltimore, MD (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=340) | Bellingham, WA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=188) | Billings, MT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=179) | Birmingham, AL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=109) | Boise, ID (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=38) | Boston, MA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=40) | Bozeman, MT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=760) | Buffalo, NY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=70) | Burbank, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=997) | Calgary, AB, Canada (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=29) | Charleston, SC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=18) | Charlotte, NC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=226) | Chattanooga, TN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=99) | Chicago, IL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=126) | Cincinnati, OH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=93) | Cleveland, OH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=104) | Colorado Springs, CO (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=112) | Columbus, OH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=83) | Dallas, TX (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=176) | Dayton, OH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=217) | Denver, CO (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=147) | Detroit, MI (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=114) | El Paso, TX (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=52) | Eugene, OR (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=213) | Fairbanks, AK (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=218) | Ft. Lauderdale, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=45) | Ft. Myers, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=85) | Ft. Wayne, IN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=235) | Greensboro, NC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=190) | Greenville, SC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=504) | Harrisburg, PA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=296) | Hartford, CT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=87) | Houston, TX (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=157) | Huntsville, AL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=1157) | Indianapolis, IN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=181) | Jackson Hole, WY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=282) | Jackson, MS (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=135) | Jacksonville, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=242) | Kalispell, MT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=925) | Kansas City, MO (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=22) | Las Vegas, NV (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=20) | Los Angeles, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=82) | Manchester, NH (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=101) | Medford, OR (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=494) | Memphis, TN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=61) | Miami, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=125) | Milwaukee, WI (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=119) | Minneapolis, MN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=49) | Missoula, MT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=755) | Montreal, QC, Canada (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=28) | Myrtle Beach, SC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=212) | Nashville, TN (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=120) | New Orleans, LA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=116) | New York, NY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=127) | Newark, NJ (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=331) | Norfolk, VA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=44) | Oakland, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=389) | Oklahoma City, OK (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=7) | Ontario, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=342) | Orlando, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=128) | Palm Springs, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=202) | Pasco, WA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=184) | Pensacola, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=252) | Philadelphia, PA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=8) | Phoenix, AZ (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=165) | Pittsburgh, PA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=154) | Portland, ME (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=50) | Portland, OR (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=106) | Providence, RI (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=15) | Raleigh, NC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=14) | Redding, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=601) | Redmond, OR (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=239) | Reno, NV (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=62) | Richmond, VA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=243) | Rochester, NY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=4) | Sacramento, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=102) | Salt Lake City, UT (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=172) | San Antonio, TX (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=219) | San Diego, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=12) | San Francisco, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=89) | San Jose, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=6) | San Juan, PR (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=90) | Santa Ana, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=341) | Santa Barbara, CA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=182) | Savannah, GA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=411) | Seattle, WA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=132) | Spokane, WA (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=131) | St. Louis, MO (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=27) | Syracuse, NY (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=194) | Tallahassee, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=330) | Tampa, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=343) | Toronto, ON, Canada (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=65) | Tucson, AZ (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=46) | Tulsa, OK (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=55) | Vancouver, BC, Canada (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=166) | Washington, DC (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=222) | West Palm Beach, FL (http://www.smartertravel.com/air/search/rates.php?id=205)

SideStep Launches Web Version of the Traveler's Search Engine
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050105/sfw068_1.html

SideStep, Inc. (www.sidestep.com (http://www.sidestep.com/)), the traveler's search engine, today announced the launch of SideStep.com, the Web-based version of its award-winning travel search offering. More than 7.7 million people have downloaded the SideStep toolbar to help them search for flight, hotel and rental car values. With the introduction of SideStep.com, consumers can now search for travel immediately -- no download required.

Finally, SideStep now works for Macintosh users (with Safari--it failed miserably in another browser). It's slow as molasses--but given that it wasn't available at all before, this counts as real progress.

Anybody having trouble with the Travelocity flexible date searching option recently? I can't get it to work -- they've added a disclaimer which "strongly advises" using their +1/3 day search tool rather than the flexible dates. When I try to use it (on Firefox) it gives me errors on the dates.

Anybody having trouble with the Travelocity flexible date searching option recently?
I've been using the direct link at http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE with considerable success (#1 Google result for "fare listings"). This page is considerably faster than the main "flexible" search. It is clearly imperfect -- for example, I've recently noticed a couple markets where its fare listings are incomplete. (It lists the weekday fare without listing the corresponding weekend fare at ~$40+ more per passenger, even when AA.COM prices out with this fare when expected, and gives this fare's name in the AA.COM Fare Rules dialog box upon a user's request.) Anyway, worth a try.

Just added a link to VPescado's thread on how to construct & book a mileage run...see post 1

From some of my frustrating experiences it seems that in addition the the fare and miles, the next important steps are:
1-Fare class to see what percent ff or ?(such as status qualifyers) you get.

2-Looking for bonus/ promo flights where you get 2x or 3x of the miles flown.

As a newcomer to the MR concept, I was wondering where to actually draw the line in terms of purchasing travel I do not need just to get miles/status.
I found this question in an ancient posting. Many stupendous finds have been recorded by others (did they spend days finding these?), but the basic question remains unanswered:


Neglecting the higher frequent flyer status, at what cost per award mile is a mileage run economically worth it?

And if status is what you're after, what does it cost to PURCHASE enough miles directly to achieve status--if possible at all?
************************************************** ****
The following good stuff from earlier in this thread may not be easily searchable if you are just joining in the conversation and wondering about the same issue.

Some of the best runs are never published on Flyertalk - but some are...

86910 status miles for US$1740+taxes (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277886)

What's the Lowest cost per award mile you've ever encountered? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=277713) - just trips that FT'ers have done to earn miles.

The Baht Run (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=site%3Awww.flyertalk.com+forget+latin+pass+baht+ run+ozstamps+1k) - Becoming a UA 1K for about 750 bucks & a week in Thailand - see, dreams to come true. (Thanks gleff, for finding this thread on Google’s history – This one actually made the Guinness Book of World Records (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112786)).

The Latin Pass Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2221) - The run that scored a million frequent flier miles!

Wondering how to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday? Here’s tvl4free's Turkey Day Run (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180159) - 22 UA segments in November.

What’s the maximum number of segments people have done in one day? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273263) Find out by clicking.

Best Award/Rewards Of All Time (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9459&) - A thread that Randy Petersen started in the Milesbuzz forum - what to do with all those miles that you earned from your business travel or Mileage Runs.

Neglecting the higher frequent flyer status, at what cost per award mile is a mileage run economically worth it?

And if status is what you're after, what does it cost to PURCHASE enough miles directly to achieve status--if possible at all?

Welcome to Mileage Running, landrew!

To answer your second question - you can't purchase status unless you're willing to spend an arm & a leg for it from United ($10k for Premier or something?)

To answer you first question, see this thread - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276409 - also note that there's no one final answer - there's only opinions - the only "correct" answer is whatever you're comfortable with.

To make a mileage run economically sound in terms of redeemable mileage earned, one must determine what the value of mile is. It used to be that a mile was worth about 2 cents - therefore, 25K miles = $500, 50K = $1000, 75K = $1500, and 100K = $2000, and so on...

With the increase in overall awards (i.e. the amount it takes to earn an award) in relation to the overall decrease in fares (domestically anyways - don't worry, these costs are sure to go up in the future), the 2 cent valuation has changed a little bit, IMHO. I, personally, wouldn't cash out 25K for a domestic ticket that's below 300 bucks (that's assuming you can find availability) - but others differ in their opinions. Most people, I think, use their miles to a) Upgrade - say buying a $1000 RT UA H-class fare to Asia from the east coast & using 30K each way to upgrade to Business Class or B) using them for international or premium cabin award travel.

Although I try to earn redeemable miles below 2 cents each (ideally at 0.8-1.5 at the worst, some times below that), I believe that each person's valuation of miles is a personal thing - it all depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to fly in business or first to Asia or Africa, then the cost of tickets is generally pretty expensive out of pocket - however, if you use your miles, it's generally cheaper - and, you can spread your earning/spending out over time - sure, you're paying maybe 2 cents/mile, but it's not all at once - it's over a few years maybe and you get to experience new things in the mean time. I originally found MR's to be a good idea because I wanted to fly in C or F to Australia - now I've got a ton of miles that I could use for that at less than a paid ticket would cost.

Then, you have to take into account the fact that a lot of people on this board are doing MR's to supplement their already rich mileage earning because of their work travel (I imagine that most people that are gold or above travel for work and are doing MR's to fill the void that work doesn't take into account - so their personal cost per mile in a calendar year is much less than those of use who are primarily leisure travelers since their companies pick up the tab) - so their MR's don't necessarily need to be as economically viable (although it's just a waste of money if you don't make it as economically-sound as possible - of course, that also depends on how many connections, how far, how much time you want to spend, etc, etc...)

This is just the tip of the iceberg - I'm sure someone could write an essay on the value of miles - there are a lot of factors at play as to what makes it a good value. Most people aren't earning their miles soley off of air travel - a lot of people earn from credit cards, phone service, shopping, etc, so the actual mileage run is generally a small piece of the pie of their overall mileage earning method (although the MR can contribute more than the CC's & shopping can).

It appears that Smiley67's availability tool is currently down - not sure whether it's for good or just for a little while.

It was good while it lasted - thanks, Mathais!

Greetings All,

Below is a listing of the fare codes for the US airlines that the majority of people in this forum seem to do mileage runs on. These include: NW, CO, UA, US, DL, AA, and AS. I will create a link to this post in the Mileage Run tools forum so it's found easily. If you so desire, please feel free to add to this thread for other airlines that people do runs on - I chose these airlines because it seems that the majority of people on FT that do runs are US-based & these are the airlines they use the most.

Northwest
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B ECONOMY
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E SHUTTLE SERVICE
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
H ECONOMY
HN ECONOMY
I DISCOUNT BUSINESS
J BUSINESS
K ECONOMY
KN ECONOMY
L ECONOMY
M ECONOMY
N ECONOMY
P FIRST CLASS
Q ECONOMY
R SUPERCOACH
S STANDARD
T ECONOMY
U SHUTTLE SERVICE
V ECONOMY
W ECONOMY
X ECONOMY
Y ECONOMY
YN ECONOMY
Z BUSINESS

Continental
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B COACH
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E SHUTTLE SERVICE
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
H COACH
HN ECONOMY
I COACH
J BUSINESSFIRST
K COACH
KN ECONOMY
L COACH
M ECONOMY
N COACH
O COACH
P FIRST CLASS
Q COACH
R BUSINESSFIRST
S COACH
T COACH
U COACH
V COACH
W COACH
X COACH
Y COACH
YN ECONOMY
Z BUSINESS CLASS

United
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B ECONOMY
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E ECONOMY
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
H ECONOMY
HN ECONOMY
I BUSINESS
J BUSINESS
K ECONOMY
KN ECONOMY
L ECONOMY
M ECONOMY
N ECONOMY
NC BUSINESS
NF F/C UPGRADE
NS COACH
O FIRST CLASS
P FIRST CLASS
Q ECONOMY
R ECONOMY
S STANDARD
T ECONOMY
U ECONOMY
V ECONOMY
W ECONOMY
X COACH
Y ECONOMY
YN ECONOMY
Z BUSINESS

US Airways
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B COACH CLASS
BN ECONOMY
C ENVOY CLASS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E FIRST CLASS
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
G COACH CLASS
H COACH CLASS
HN ECONOMY
I ENVOY CLASS
J ENVOY CLASS
K COACH CLASS
KN ECONOMY
L COACH CLASS
M COACH CLASS
N ECONOMY
O FIRST CLASS
P FIRST CLASS
Q COACH CLASS
R ENVOY CLASS
S COACH CLASS
T ECONOMY
U COACH CLASS
V COACH CLASS
W COACH CLASS
X COACH CLASS
Y COACH CLASS
YN ECONOMY
Z BUSINESS

Delta
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B COACH
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS CLASS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS CLASS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E SHUTTLE SERVICE
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
G FIRST CLASS
H COACH
HN ECONOMY
I BUSINESS
J BUSINESS
K COACH
KN ECONOMY
L COACH
M COACH
N COACH
O BUSINESS CLASS
P FIRST CLASS
Q COACH
R FIRST CLASS
S COACH
T ECONOMY
U ECONOMY
V FIRST CLASS
W PREM ECONOMY CLASS
X BUSINESS CLASS
Y COACH
YN ECONOMY
Z BUSINESS CLASS

American Airlines
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B ECONOMY
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS AADV/UPG
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E ECONOMY
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
H ECONOMY
HN ECONOMY
I BUSINESS
J BUSINESS
K ECONOMY
KN ECONOMY
L ECONOMY
M ECONOMY
N ECONOMY
O ECONOMY
P FIRST CLASS
Q ECONOMY
R BUSINESS UPGD
S ECONOMY
T ECONOMY
U BUSINESS
V ECONOMY
W ECONOMY
X FIRST CLASS UPGD
Y ECONOMY
YN ECONOMY
Z FIRST CLASS

Alaska Airlines
A FIRST CLASS
AN FIRST CLASS
B ECONOMY
BN ECONOMY
C BUSINESS
CN BUSINESS
D BUSINESS
DN DELUXE NIGHT
E SHUTTLE SERVICE
F FIRST CLASS
FN DELUXE NIGHT
H ECONOMY
HN ECONOMY
I DISCOUNT BUSINESS
J BUSINESS
K ECONOMY
KN ECONOMY
L ECONOMY
M ECONOMY
N ECONOMY
P FIRST CLASS
Q ECONOMY
R ECONOMY
S STANDARD
T ECONOMY
U FIRST
V ECONOMY
W ECONOMY
X ECONOMY
Y ECONOMY
YN ECONOMY
Z DISCOUNT BUSINESS

Since ITN.net is down, FlyAOW's page has been very helpful.

I recently came accross another tool that uses ITN's interface (you even have to set up an account with Expert Settings to view the fare buckets). Travel & Transport (http://www.tandt.com/online_reservation.asp)'s online booking tool has all the same functionality as ITN. They charge a 20.00 booking fee per ticket purchased, FYI.

Since ITN.net is down, FlyAOW's page has been very helpful.

I recently came accross another tool that uses ITN's interface (you even have to set up an account with Expert Settings to view the fare buckets). Travel & Transport (http://www.tandt.com/online_reservation.asp)'s online booking tool has all the same functionality as ITN. They charge a 20.00 booking fee per ticket purchased, FYI.

hmmm...i set up an account and used advaced but it still won't show me the buckets. any suggestions? thanks.

FCTSTY,

I think that if you go into your profile & click Display Preferences - from there, change the Availability Format to "an Expert" and that should enable you to see the fare bucks same as the old Amex ITN site did - it's the exact same interface & set-up. Hope this helps!

Another link for you, http://www.v-flyer.com/vtool.asp

A bucket class checker (and airport/airline/code lookup, mileage manager & UK arrivals/departures tool) for Mac, Windows & Linux. Although born from the V-Flyer (Virgin) site, most of its features are airline-agnostic.

Pete

*******Mileage Running, Pricing & Availability Tools******

Smile67's Availability Tool - created by an FT'er, a valuable tool for checking availability. The link to download is in the first few posts. Registration is requested - please do it - also Smile67 will send you updates if there are any program changes & new versions. (Thanks Smile67!)

ITN.net - American Express' online booking tool - functionality is down - see this thread for details - instead, FT'er flyaow's page (below) can provide us with some useful links - thank you, flyaow
Smile67's Tool is forever gone and so is ITN-AMEX, so these links should probably be removed.

There is, however, a comprehensive alternative: KVS Availability Tool (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244)

Smile67's Tool is forever gone and so is ITN-AMEX, so these links should probably be removed.

There is, however, a comprehensive alternative: KVS Availability Tool (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244)

True - it's been a while since I've updated - I'll take care of it today - thanks!

Fare rules are back on Expedia!! :)

Another link for you, http://www.v-flyer.com/vtool.asp

A bucket class checker (and airport/airline/code lookup, mileage manager & UK arrivals/departures tool) for Mac, Windows & Linux. Although born from the V-Flyer (Virgin) site, most of its features are airline-agnostic.

Pete


Added this - sorry about the delay!

Also added stewyvr's tool that interfaces with Dream Maps & Yahoo's FareChase

Fare rules are back on Expedia!! :)

Mileage Runners:

Start your engines.

Sorry but I'm getting errors on both US and Canadian sites for even looking up city pairs.

I think they shut it down altogether.

Sorry but I'm getting errors on both US and Canadian sites for even looking up city pairs.

I think they shut it down altogether.

You're right - it looks like that's the case...posted in the thread about the tool coming back...i'll edit

bump bump

And ExpertFlyer.com has now added routing rules, along with the fare rules, for all the fare buckets.

sorry if this is repetitive

I'm wondering if there is a tool that i could search by fare class. As I have to stay within a certain fare class (student).

Also would anyone know where i can find a list that would tell me what the class's are called on the different airlines for student class (on KLM it's Q, and on Delta I'm pretty sure it's U-class)

Thanks

I'm wondering if there is a tool that i could search by fare class. As I have to stay within a certain fare class (student).You can use an Availability Tool for that. A link to the KVS Availability Tool is in my signature below. There is also a list of other Availability Tools at the top of this thread.

Also would anyone know where i can find a list that would tell me what the class's are called on the different airlines for student class (on KLM it's Q, and on Delta I'm pretty sure it's U-class)It is unlikely that such a list would exist, so you would need to check each airline forum directly for that kind of info.

which of these tools is currently most useful for:
1-multi stop flights?
2-one way flights?

Are there sites which you recomend for Business or F class searches?

Are there sites which you recomend for Business or F class searches?

Most people don't do J/F fares for MR's given their CPM - however, Izzik, in post #2 suggest the following for cheaper weekend F fares:

It's using Orbitz's Flexible dates - power search for savings option.. starting at the homepage, click on Expanded Search Options at the bottom which brings you to the full search page. Then change the cabin to First and select the Flexible dates option. It will bring you to the regular screen but it is now set for searching F fares instead of the default Y fares.

***
As for your previous question, I think ITA would be best - some of those itins found on ITA are easily booked on AA's site.

Travelocity Dream Maps (http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl?Service=TRAVELOCITY&SEQ=) - Enter your departure city & it will bring up where you can go for upto a certain dollar amount. It defaults to Dallas because Dallas is Travelocity's home base (a little fact that we can thank themicah for). However, you can change it's defaults, by using the information in this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=342105) that Choster put together so you don't have to use Travelocity's defaults.

When using Dream Maps, make sure to check National Parks, Hike West, Hike East and Hike Rockies too. More often than not, you will find lower fares for these options than for All Cities' fares.

Is this the right place to mention the full page 6/26/5 ad in WSJ by Travelocity about hteir new guarantee to get everything right?

Maybe I missed this, but is there a tool to batch search for cheap Biz / First fares? I was reading about the AA LAX-LIM Biz class $966 fare and realized how great it would be to search premium seating like you can coach on Dream Maps, etc.


I have been lurking for about a week and really appreciate all of the info you all post. I can only hope that I can contribute even a small percentage of useful info.

-LeavingLAS

Maybe I missed this, but is there a tool to batch search for cheap Biz / First fares? I was reading about the AA LAX-LIM Biz class $966 fare and realized how great it would be to search premium seating like you can coach on Dream Maps, etc.


I have been lurking for about a week and really appreciate all of the info you all post. I can only hope that I can contribute even a small percentage of useful info.

-LeavingLAS


Welcome to Flyertalk!

From the second post on this thread:

Trying to find cheap weekend F fares? Izzik suggests

It's using Orbitz's Flexible dates - power search for savings option.. starting at the homepage, click on Expanded Search Options at the bottom which brings you to the full search page. Then change the cabin to First and select the Flexible dates option. It will bring you to the regular screen but it is now set for searching F fares instead of the default Y fares.

Thanks for the welcome!

I tried using that tool too...

I'm actually more looking for something that will bring up all F or J class flights out of Vegas or LAX to anywhere (like dream maps on travelocity). I don't think that tool can do that... Or at least I can't make it do it.

If people are using Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, CheapTickets, Priceline, Hotwire etc they should check my comparison table (http://www.andrewcram.com/frequentflyer1.html) to see which programs you can get points, miles, or cashback with from making the booking. For example Expedia is partnered with 10 different programs out of the 30 my table covers at the moment, Orbitz with 5, Travelocity with 7, Priceline with 8 etc etc.

Several airlines are also partnered with these programs so you can get bonus points, cashback etc from airlines such as Alaska, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic.

Hotels, Rental Cars and many other companies (over 1700 at the moment) are also included in the tables

All of which will give more value to your mileage run :)

Andrew

Thanks for the heads up, Andrew - I'll definitely add this to the main page!

Is there a tool where you can enter pairs of cities (or airports), a price and if something comes up cheaper than the entered price, you immediately get an email with the details? I am sure I have seen such a website but can't recall where.

FWIW, I found the Travelocity UK fare lister by twiddling with the US website's URL... try http://res.travelocity.co.uk/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE. Apologies if this has already been posted.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have SITI fares from the UK, at least on the few queries I tried. C class on KLM is many thousands of pounds when KLM.com has C class (not Z) for £1590.

FWIW, I found the Travelocity UK fare lister by twiddling with the US website's URL... try http://res.travelocity.co.uk/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE. Apologies if this has already been posted.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have SITI fares from the UK, at least on the few queries I tried. C class on KLM is many thousands of pounds when KLM.com has C class (not Z) for £1590.

Thanks for the link - I've added it!

Has the fare list link on travelocity's US site disappeared? I did not see it on the flight info page the other day.

Has the fare list link on travelocity's US site disappeared? I did not see it on the flight info page the other day.

The link on the first page of this post is still working for me:

http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE

It would appear some of these links are getting a little long in the tooth.

For instance gleff's still very useful 2004 blog item linked to about how to find the best hotel stuff, still mentions the possibility of getting ebay anything points which is no longer possible.

And one of the posts mentions the 5% off on united link which I don't believe works any longer.

also I'm not sure one of the new most useful tools, http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/ is mentioned. And while a secondary link to www.air-fare.com is mentioned (the one that shows changes in fares), I don't think the primary link is there, but haven't checked in detail.

Probably about time to do a little updating.

Probably about time to do a little updating.

Definitely time to do some updating. I'll try to take care of it this weekend.

Thanks for the heads up!

Updated by adding MrAOK's links above & removing some invalid links...

I've done a couple of searches and unfortunately couldn't find it-- (so don't shoot me!), but I'm looking for a site that I had found awhile ago on FT that allows you to get the amount of miles on a flight from any airport to any airport, also allows for flight connections as well as having the ability of adjusting those miles for bonuses, fare classes etc. I use to have the icon, but my computer system was recently updated and I lost it. It was excel based and was great for figuring out how many miles you'd earn on trips with various connections.

Can anyone help?

mauld,

In post #1, there's a link to rmyadsk's Flying Fish Mileage Calculator - its a non-web based application, but I think I know the one you are talking about - however, I don't have that one book marked.

Thanks so much, that's it! :cool:

Thanks so much, that's it! :cool:

Sure thing - the one that I was thinking about was different though - it had a web-based interface where you had to enter segments seperately - not sure if its still around - of course, I could be thinking of something completely different altogether.

I've done a couple of searches and unfortunately couldn't find it-- (so don't shoot me!), but I'm looking for a site that I had found awhile ago on FT that allows you to get the amount of miles on a flight from any airport to any airport, also allows for flight connections as well as having the ability of adjusting those miles for bonuses, fare classes etc. I use to have the icon, but my computer system was recently updated and I lost it. It was excel based and was great for figuring out how many miles you'd earn on trips with various connections.

Can anyone help?
In post #1, there's a link to rmyadsk's Flying Fish Mileage Calculator - its a non-web based application, but I think I know the one you are talking about - however, I don't have that one book marked.

Have a look at CoMETS (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=360619). It does all that and lots more.

I've added CoMETS to the first page - sorry for not adding it sooner, SeattleFred!

Kayak Buzz (http://www.kayak.com/h/buzz/) - another fare finding site, seems brand new - by Kayak

See discussion here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484582). (Thanks, ldlha!)

Here's a good thread that defines round trips, open jaws, circle trips, etc.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486394

It would a great addition to the first post of this thread.

I am looking for cheap fairs and many runs for the remainder of the year. If anyone can give me ideas on how to proceed it would be appreciated. I am new to this but so close to Platinum that I want to secure by Dec. 31st.

I have found some cheap fares to FLL, PVD, TPA, and LAS, but not what I see others are getting in the realm of $99.00.

I am open for hints, help, and any ideas... (all on NWA)... thanks!

Any more seminars planned? Contemplated? Possible?

Here's a good thread that defines round trips, open jaws, circle trips, etc.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486394

It would a great addition to the first post of this thread.


Thanks for the tip, I've added it to the first page!

I am looking for cheap fairs and many runs for the remainder of the year. If anyone can give me ideas on how to proceed it would be appreciated. I am new to this but so close to Platinum that I want to secure by Dec. 31st.

I have found some cheap fares to FLL, PVD, TPA, and LAS, but not what I see others are getting in the realm of $99.00.

I am open for hints, help, and any ideas... (all on NWA)... thanks!

Hi Nutzz,

The purpose of this thread is provide you with the tools to find your mileage runs. Should you require assistance with a fare once you find something you like, then please start a new thread in the mileage run forum - this thread is not for mileage run help.

Some things that you'll want to start with:

1) People will need to know where you are located - there may be a 99.00 fare from say FLL to SAN - however, if you're based out of PVD, that probably won't do you too much good.

2) Show people what you have found - people are more likely to help those that help themselves.

3) Read this thread - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454485

Hope this helps - please don't use this thread for your mileage running questions as that is no the purpose of this thread.

Again, Welcome to Flyertalk!!!

bhatnasx
Mileage Run Moderator

Any more seminars planned? Contemplated? Possible?

That question would probably be best answered in the MR Seminars thread. That thread is located here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=441606

Thanks!

bhatnasx
Mileage Run Moderator

A link has been added to the MR Seminars that Viajero Joven has been teaching this summer...

Added a link to www.travelope.com in post 1 & a link to www.milemaven.com in post 2.

Oh, and am I the only one to notice ITA now has fare rules? (There's a link once you click on "Show booking details")

Hey, its not ITA, but kayak.com just came out (today) with a beta version of a multi-city search that is pretty sweet. I like it already! ^ ^ ^

Kayak.com Beta Multicity Search:
http://www.kayak.com/s/kayaksearch.jsp?tab=flights&mc=y

peace,
~Ben~

PS> The one thing it does have going for it is that you can book from the links with their search results. Will take me right to nwa.com with the itin pulled up and ready to book. Not shabby.

sorry if this is covered somewhere else..I was unable to find an answer to my question.
Does the specific fare code query no longer work on ITA? I tried this formula and it does not seem to work for me:
From: HKG:: cx+ / f bc=a
To: JFK:: cx+ / f bc=a

Am I doing it right?

Sure thing - the one that I was thinking about was different though - it had a web-based interface where you had to enter segments seperately - not sure if its still around - of course, I could be thinking of something completely different altogether.

Sounds like Great Circle Mapper http://gc.kls2.com/

sorry if this is covered somewhere else..I was unable to find an answer to my question.
Does the specific fare code query no longer work on ITA? I tried this formula and it does not seem to work for me:
From: HKG:: cx+ / f bc=a
To: JFK:: cx+ / f bc=a

Am I doing it right?It does not appear that there are any A-class fares currently published for that route -- have you tried requesting booking class B, Y, C, J, or F?:

[KVS Availability Tool - Sabre: Fares/US-USD] (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2804833#post2804833)
HKG Hong Kong Int'l HK [VHHH]
JFK New York John F Kennedy Int'l NY US [KJFK]
SUN 01 Jan 2006

Carrier From To Fare Cur Fare Basis
--------- ------ ---- --------- ---- --------- ---- -- ----------
CX HKG NYC 2163.00 USD BLXAP
CX HKG NYC 2194.00 USD BLAP3M
CX HKG NYC 2303.00 USD BLWAP
CX HKG NYC 2418.00 USD BHXAP
CX HKG NYC 2440.00 USD BHAP3M
CX HKG NYC 2560.00 USD BHWAP
CX HKG NYC 2996.00 USD YX2R
CX HKG NYC 6171.00 USD C1234R
CX HKG NYC 6757.00 USD CR
CX HKG NYC 7435.00 USD JR
CX HKG NYC 11766.00 USD FR

It does not appear that there are any A-class fares currently published for that route -- have you tried requesting booking class B, Y, C, J, or F?:[/CODE]


Thank you.. I was only using that as the example I was given to try. However, I have used several combinations of fares like CO 'I' 'Q', etc and I still get:
"No Trips Found
I'm sorry, we could not find answers to your query. "

I tried CX in F and it does work... I must just be hitting searches where the fare is not available. thnaks again

Hey, its not ITA, but kayak.com just came out (today) with a beta version of a multi-city search that is pretty sweet. I like it already! ^ ^ ^

Kayak.com Beta Multicity Search:
http://www.kayak.com/s/kayaksearch.jsp?tab=flights&mc=y


"KAYAK.COM UNVEILS AIR SEARCH ENGINE BASED ON ITA SOFTWARE"

http://corp.kayak.com/newsroom/2005-03-03.html

"KAYAK.COM UNVEILS AIR SEARCH ENGINE BASED ON ITA SOFTWARE"

http://corp.kayak.com/newsroom/2005-03-03.html

Right... That's kind of old news and kayak.com has been inthe first post of this tools thread for a while. The new thing I was pointing out is that Kayak.com now has a shiny new front-end interface that allows for mulitcity searches. Which it never had before+. ;) ^

peace,
~Ben~

I noticed that Great Circle Mapper will now show the % change in miles between two routes.

For example: abc-def, abc-ghi-def and +xx% shows up for the difference in miles flown. This seems to be new.

A relatively new tool, www.farecompare.com, is worth looking into.
It quickly shows various fares, for example:
http://search.farecompare.com/search/fareSummary?departure=WAS&destination=LAX
In addition, there are RSS feeds for every city pair.
Last but not least, they claim that

FareCompare's engine updates new fares in under 3 minutes. The GDSs typically take 2-4 hours to publish fare updates. Using our tools industry analysts benefit from knowing what is going to happen in a given market before the changes actually occur.

Currently they cover U.S. domestic routes only, but international coverage is on their list.

Is Travelocity Dream Maps deliberately misleading or just being stupid?

Every low fare we tried we get the following without doing what they suggest:

You have received this error because your request has been canceled

Possible causes of this error include:
Clicking the cancel button during the reservation process, using the back button, and then resubmitting the canceled request.
Submitting a request, using the back button, then resubmitting the previous request again.

Could be useful in future. Presently could not get any foreign destinations.

A relatively new tool, www.farecompare.com, is worth looking into.
It quickly shows various fares, for example:
http://search.farecompare.com/search/fareSummary?departure=WAS&destination=LAX
In addition, there are RSS feeds for every city pair.
Last but not least, they claim that

Currently they cover U.S. domestic routes only, but international coverage is on their list.

Speaking of foreign destinations, I'm trying to remember a booking site where you could plug in your actual desired fligts on all airlines and see the seating chart for each particular flight. Amex or ITA use to have it (I think), where at the end of chosing your dates, flights, class etc and just before booking you could 'choose your seats' and the seat map would come up. I'm thinking of doing a trip on UA but LH metal to FRA and wanted to use my SWU to get a seat in C. I would like to see how full the actual flights are in C prior to booking with UA. Right now ITA only shows seats available on UA metal. I do also vaguely remember seeing a link recently that was on a japanese site, but if you put in your desired flight & class of service & dates the seating chart would come up for any carrier you entered.

PS--yes I did do a full search thru all 9 + pages for the MR tools and found lots of interesting stuff but nothing specific to F or C seating charts on non US carriers.

Besides ExpertFlyer, are there any web sites (or other systems) that give routing rules?

I don't need this information often, so an ExpertFlyer subscription is not a good fit for me. (Ordinarily, Travelocity's Fare Listings (http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE) are sufficient.) I know I could buy a one-month ExpertFlyer subscription, which I might do in a pinch, but then I have to remember to cancel, etc. A casual free site is so much easier...

Dummybook on Expedia and click "rules and restrictions," you will see routing rules. Priceline also has them, but I forget what to click to find them. Also, I've read elsewhere in the forums that Marriott flight booking also will show the routing rules.

Good luck!

Besides ExpertFlyer, are there any web sites (or other systems) that give routing rules?

I don't need this information often, so an ExpertFlyer subscription is not a good fit for me. (Ordinarily, Travelocity's Fare Listings (http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE) are sufficient.) I know I could buy a one-month ExpertFlyer subscription, which I might do in a pinch, but then I have to remember to cancel, etc. A casual free site is so much easier...

Hi, based on the opening post, I saw this quoted, and tried to link to mileagerunner.com, but apparently it's just a disused domain - any leads??:

"PremEx's Overview of UA Upgrades - Useful info if you're on a UA run to SIN and you want to fly in C vs. Y"

Thanks in advance!

Also, I've read elsewhere in the forums that Marriott flight booking also will show the routing rules.
Yes, see this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=549845).

Hi, based on the opening post, I saw this quoted, and tried to link to mileagerunner.com, but apparently it's just a disused domain - any leads??:

"PremEx's Overview of UA Upgrades - Useful info if you're on a UA run to SIN and you want to fly in C vs. Y"

Thanks in advance!
Ozstamps' thread below has some UG information & the UA info thread in the UA forum has some info as well - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336354.

It's been a while since I've updated & I'm on a 3-week non-stop work travel set of trips right now, so I won't have time to update - but I will try going through the thread & update and remove bad links in the near future.

As of this morning the page seems to experience problems. After entering flight request (city pairs, dates, preferred carrier) it jumps directly to an blank page with "price" icon. If you click this an error page appears.

Certainly hope, this is just a temp hick-up, as I find this tool very helpful.

Edited to add:

The site is back up running again. ^

This morning it is down again.

try this one:

http://flyaow.com/classtandt.htm

try this one:

http://flyaow.com/classtandt.htm

Sure works!. Many thanks,SchmMSP.

Getthere seems to be moving a lot of their clients off the old ITN backend which makes the availability tools available. There are still several left, and all are listed at http://flyaow.com/class.htm

But I imagine they will start to disappear. :(

There is a thread discussing this at: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6053505

Cheers!

NEW! Glossary of Fare Rule terms (http://www.travelterminal.com/glossary.shtml) - Here's a glossary from TravelTerminal.com that outlines the definitions of terms used in fare rules.

There are still a couple of backends to ITN left for getting fare/class availability and I've made a search form of my own so that nothing disappears until ITN pulls the plug. Here's the address:

http://availability.publicbackup.com/

Please let me know when/if it stops working.

Hope this helps some people out there.

What happened to FareMetrics? I've been getting "Cannot find server" for the last few days. :(

What happened to FareMetrics? I've been getting "Cannot find server" for the last few days. :(
Someone may have forgotten to pay their webhosting bill . . . or they're changing/moving webservers and haven't gotten it back up again.

For mileage calculations, try http://www.milemaven.com/advanced-mileage-calculator or http://gc.kls2.com.

For routing rules expansion -- well, you should really know how to do that by hand. ;) Read the stickies. ^

There are still a couple of backends to ITN left for getting fare/class availability and I've made a search form of my own so that nothing disappears until ITN pulls the plug. Here's the address:

http://www.publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/

Sorry it's a bit long . . . but that's what bookmarks are for. ;) Please let me know when/if it stops working.

Hope this helps some people out there.
Thank you SO much. Every time I'm about to fly a complicated itin, I try to print a couple of logical reroutes *just in case*, and it's hard to do that without knowing which flights have seats available!

Thank you SO much. Every time I'm about to fly a complicated itin, I try to print a couple of logical reroutes *just in case*, and it's hard to do that without knowing which flights have seats available!


This evening both: http://www.publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/


and: http://www.publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/


are not working. They time out at "contacting www.itn.net"


Is this something that others are noticing?

They time out at "contacting www.itn.net"

Is this something that others are noticing?
Yes. It appears that ITN is having difficulties right now. None of their availability tools seem to be working for me either. I would suggest trying again later.

wrong thread

http://www.geocities.com/farebuckets still works.

For availability, check out SeatCounter (http://www.seatcounter.com).
It allows you to sort flights by the number of seats in each booking class.

http://www.geocities.com/farebuckets still works.
FYI, that site was down that evening, as well as the one I host (http://availability.publicbackup.com). It was a problem with ITN that affected all the tools going through ITN. They started coming back around 8pm CDT from my recollection...

For availability, check out SeatCounter (http://www.seatcounter.com).
It allows you to sort flights by the number of seats in each booking class.
Very nice…thanks!

Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=610934

Is there a way to know which seats are available for award travel when using seatcounter?

Is there a way to know which seats are available for award travel when using seatcounter?

There's a "secret" option to see UA award buckets:
Enter UA twice as "Favorite airlines".
You will then see the E, N, I, O, X & R inventories.

There's a "secret" option to see UA award buckets:
Enter UA twice as "Favorite airlines".
You will then see the E, N, I, O, X & R inventories.

Entered ORD-NRT, 10/31, UA, UA.
Query failed. Click here to retry. For a new search, click here.

From one developer to another, thought you'd like to know. ;)

Entered ORD-NRT, 10/31, UA, UA.


From one developer to another, thought you'd like to know. ;)
Are there really 31 days in October? ;)
I just checked and it works - it was probably a glitch.

How does one know that E, N, I, O, X & R are award inventories?

Are there really 31 days in October? ;)
Bill Gates and Microsoft seem to think so. And I checked with Mr. Torvalds, too, and he concurs. ;)

Must have been a glitch as I'm seeing a result now. Any similar tricks for NW? :)

... Any similar tricks for NW? :)
With NW, I wonder if it's worth the trouble... ;)

Been using SC now for a good month. This site rocks! ^

I also bookmarked their "Support SeatCounter ....." link. Whenever I go to Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. or need to go to a hotel or carrental website, I do it thru that link. There are even some airline links on there too. This way I guess SC gets a small "referral" commission, which I am glad to see going their way.

great info, thanks!

Are there really 31 days in October? ;)
I just checked and it works - it was probably a glitch.

Yes, there are really 31 days in October @:-)

Just in case anyone is checking, Zuji has apparently very recently (within past 2-3 days) restricted the fare lister to list fares only from countries that Zuji offers air fares from. Trying to search fares from Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka returns: There are no available schedules between the selected cities.

Just in case anyone is checking, Zuji has apparently very recently (within past 2-3 days) restricted the fare lister to list fares only from countries that Zuji offers air fares from. Trying to search fares from Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka returns:

A response to the Flyertalk barrage of bookings of the cheap Bucharest tickets?

Not sure how much of Mileage Run tool this can be but I now try to update a seat sale listing on a weekly basis at:

http://www.rewardsusatravel.com/seatsale.html

This might help some as a starting point to see perhaps what airlines may be putting on good fares but remember that in this day and age of FFP's that some Seat Sale fares only earn certain % of or no miles at all so please make sure that you find out all the details before your book (as FTers I'm sure most of you do! :D ) and as always YMMV

Please forgive if this is the wrong thread or forum, but it seemed the most appropriate.


I'm not interested in accruing frequent flyer miles, but I do want a tool that will let me see the cheapest time to fly to a destination within a wide range of dates, like Travelocity's old feature. I tried Zuji, but it gave me a nondescript error - I think it may be aware that PDX for departures is outside of its market.

Anyways, does anyone have a suggestion for this kind of tool? Thanks!

ITA software will do that with their month-long search (http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego/calendar)

Please forgive if this is the wrong thread or forum, but it seemed the most appropriate.


I'm not interested in accruing frequent flyer miles, but I do want a tool that will let me see the cheapest time to fly to a destination within a wide range of dates, like Travelocity's old feature. I tried Zuji, but it gave me a nondescript error - I think it may be aware that PDX for departures is outside of its market.

Anyways, does anyone have a suggestion for this kind of tool? Thanks!

If at least one of the airports is in North America, check out FareCompare.com

Check out www.Flightstats.com
Very useful air travel site(DOH!)
Even has a tie in to FC
also Mobile version at mobil.flightstats.com

There should be a sticky or a link on this thread of the basics of buying discounted tickets abroad. My two cents.

There should be a sticky or a link on this thread of the basics of buying discounted tickets abroad. My two cents.

There's some information on that in the Budget Travel forum.

can a one leg each way trip be considered a mileage run? I've been looking sporadically at fares, don't have the inclination to make extra take-offs and landings, so my mileage run would be for a quick weekend getaway. I haven't seen any cheap fares out of NYC (on AA) that look like they would "qualify".

www.airfaredig.com -- great site that lists handpicked deals (that actually work) and hard-to-find bargains which I normally can't find without extensive search. Also very convenient. It's actually mantained by a 17 yr old kid.

www.airfaredig.com -- great site that lists handpicked deals (that actually work) and hard-to-find bargains which I normally can't find without extensive search. Also very convenient. It's actually mantained by a 17 yr old kid.

Just wondering as a newbie, are the tickets purchased through travelocity or priceline eligible for miles?

Just wondering as a newbie, are the tickets purchased through travelocity or priceline eligible for miles?

Most of the time, online travel agencies are selling the same tickets as the airlines are. There may be some international fares sold through consolidators that don't earn miles, and some airlines around the world routinely don't offer mileage credit (or offer much reduced mileage credit) on their cheapest fare classes. Priceline's name your own price airline tickets don't earn mileage, get you very poor schedules that you can't change, and you lose your status with the airline - you cannot help but find this info if you go to their website. I'd stay away from that product, it's almost always not a good deal.

My 2 cents - It's tough to use the info on Mileage Run tools and how to construct a mileage run - so, so much is out of date now. I see that the most important thing is to know the routing rules, but I also see now that the routing rules are no longer available at any public site. Having trouble making it past step 1.

I decided to read the MR tools again and quite a few of the links do not work anymore - does anyone check them?

I decided to read the MR tools again and quite a few of the links do not work anymore - does anyone check them?

yeah, it's a major bummer - that homezone was the only one I used - checked it regularily and got a few dozen ft'ers a $0+tax deal from MAN-BOS as a result, couple years ago. No longer works, and no idea what to use now, so I don't bother. No doubt a small part of the reason why not many great deals posted here anymore...unless you're up for £100 off an economy trip to hnl.

OP here...

Many of the links don't work - I recognize that & wanted to update everything (I even started a thread on requesting other's help). I think it would be really beneficial if we actually moved this to a Wiki-style format.

Any thoughts on that & anyone interested in taking a lead role in creating a Miileage Run wiki in the FlyerTalk Wiki area?

yeah, it's a major bummer - that homezone was the only one I used - checked it regularily and got a few dozen ft'ers a $0+tax deal from MAN-BOS as a result, couple years ago. No longer works, and no idea what to use now, so I don't bother. No doubt a small part of the reason why not many great deals posted here anymore...unless you're up for £100 off an economy trip to hnl.

The homezone site is mine, It is no longer working as it was based on the dream maps functionality from Travelocity, which has been degrading in value. I will likely remove at some point but havent had time to be working online much over the last little while. Glad it was useful for you though.

Any thoughts on that & anyone interested in taking a lead role in creating a Miileage Run wiki in the FlyerTalk Wiki area?

Where is that located on FT? I wasn't aware of wiki capabilities here.

Where is that located on FT? I wasn't aware of wiki capabilities here.

Top of your screen, under "Extras" is the link to the Frequent Flyer Wiki (http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

Another mileage calculator that I like to use (and didn't find in this thread, so am hoping not to be just repeating what everybody already knew!):

Webflyer.com's Mile Marker calculator:

http://www.webflyer.com/travel/milemarker/

It allows you to enter up to 5 airport codes worldwide and will give you the O/W and R/T mileage, as well as allowing you to add elite and class of service bonuses. You can also specify minimum miles/km per segment.

I've used it for several years now, and it always seems to be right on with what actually gets posted to my accounts (very rarely it underestimates slightly).

Apologies if I have missed something obvious, but is there a site where I can enter an itinerary and it calculates taxes and fees for me?

*******General Links*******

Frequent Flyer Bonuses (www.frequentflyerbonuses.com) - a site run by FT'er superdawg that lists various airline promos & bonuses - similar to WebFlyars Bonus Promo page above



You will now also find a UK version of the website at
www.frequentflyerbonuses.co.uk

Top of your screen, under "Extras" is the link to the Frequent Flyer Wiki (http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).
Unfortunately a lot of the wiki pages still need to be updated. It would only take a few minutes for some FTers to make them quite useful. I just added some simple updates to http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Best_Frequent_Flyer_Award_Values for example. Maybe each individual program forum should have a sticky to encourage them to update their program specific page.

Hi, I'm a newbie, but I promise I've read the sticky on Mileage Runs, searched around in several other threads, and thus I think I've learned that routing rules are no longer available on any websites, except possibly ExpertFlyer.com. Is this accurate?

(http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676403 this thread died with out a final resolution)

(http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666185 this thread references expedia.ca, but I've been there and had no luck finding routing rules. It seems to be a dated reference)

Thanks for any update.

Hi, I'm a newbie, but I promise I've read the sticky on Mileage Runs, searched around in several other threads, and thus I think I've learned that routing rules are no longer available on any websites, except possibly ExpertFlyer.com. Is this accurate?

(http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676403 this thread died with out a final resolution)

(http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666185 this thread references expedia.ca, but I've been there and had no luck finding routing rules. It seems to be a dated reference)

Thanks for any update.

First, ...:-: Welcome to FT :-:

Next thanks for trying to search to find the answer to your question ^

fwiw, I just checked "XP to the north" and on the sample booking I picked at random, the routing rules (albeit w/o the complete city to city routing examples) were still there

for example:

yhpm on how to pull this up

From: New York, NY, United States (JFK-Kennedy)
To: Las Vegas, NV, United States (LAS-All Airports)
(and return)
Fare Basis Code: VA14N4E

V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 VA14N4E V X 191.45 R07AU 14/1 -/ - 35
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-NYC TO-LAS CXR-UA TVL-10MAY08 RULE-4124 DFR/11
FARE BASIS-VA14N4E SPECIAL FARE DIS-N VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SIP OW-INSTANT PURCHASE
USD 166.51 0035 E09APR08 D07AUG09 FC-VA14N4E FN-B
SYSTEM DATES - CREATED 09APR08/2155 EXPIRES INFINITY

50.RULE APPLICATION AND OTHER CONDITIONS
NORMAL FARES
APPLICATION
CLASS OF SERVICE
THESE FARES APPLY FOR BUSINESS/ECONOMY/COACH CLASS
SERVICE.
TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION
THIS RULE GOVERNS ONE-WAY AND ROUND-TRIP FARES.
CAPACITY LIMITATIONS
SEATS ARE LIMITED.
01.ELIGIBILITY
NO ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS APPLY.
02.DAY/TIME
NO DAY/TIME TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
03.SEASONALITY
NO SEASONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
04.FLIGHT APPLICATION
NO FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
05.ADVANCE RESERVATIONS/TICKETING
CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS FOR ALL SECTORS ARE REQUIRED AT
LEAST 14 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE.
STANDBY PERMITTED FOR EARLIER / LATER SAME DAY FLIGHTS
OTHERWISE WAITLIST AND STANDBY NOT PERMITTED.
TICKETING MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 1 DAY AFTER
RESERVATIONS ARE MADE OR AT LEAST 14 DAYS BEFORE
DEPARTURE WHICHEVER IS EARLIER.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
THE TKTG AFTER RES REQ WILL NOT APPL WHEN FARES
ARE COMB W/OTHER FARES TO CONST THRU INTL TRANS
T/F PTS OUTSIDE THE US/CA/MX/BM/BS/WEST INDIES
PROVIDED AT LEAST ONE INTERNATIONAL SEGMENT
OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA IS VIA UA.
NOTIFICATION OF THE TICKET NUMBER IS REQUIRED AND
MUST BE VIA A TKNA OR TKNM SSR.
06.MINIMUM STAY
NO MINIMUM STAY REQUIREMENTS APPLY.
07.MAXIMUM STAY
NO MAXIMUM STAY REQUIREMENTS APPLY.
08.STOPOVERS
2 STOPOVERS PERMITTED - 1 IN EACH DIRECTION IN DEN AT
USD 55.81.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
NOT VALID ON NONSTOP ROUTINGS OR ROUTINGS THAT DO
NOT HAVE DEN AS AN INTERMEDIATE POINT.
09.TRANSFERS
4 TRANSFERS PERMITTED ON THE PRICING UNIT.
FARE BREAK AND EMBEDDED SURFACE SECTORS PERMITTED ON
THE FARE COMPONENT.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
FARE BREAK SURFACE SECTORS ARE NOT PERMITTED.
10.COMBINATIONS

ADD-ONS NOT PERMITTED.
FARES MAY BE COMBINED ON A HALF ROUND TRIP BASIS WITH
ANY FARE FOR ANY CARRIER IN ANY RULE AND TARIFF TO
FORM SINGLE/DOUBLE OPEN JAWS/2-COMPONENT ROUND TRIPS/
MULTI-COMPONENT CIRCLE TRIPS.
END-ON-END PERMITTED. VALIDATE ALL FARE COMPONENTS.
TRAVEL MUST BE VIA POINT OF COMBINATION.
NOTE - THE CITY PAIRS BELOW ARE CONSIDERED THE SAME
POINT -
BUR-LAX BUR-ONT BUR-SNA BWI-WAS EWR-HPN
EWR-HVN EWR-ISP EWR-NYC FLL-MIA FLL-PBI
HVN-HPN HVN-ISP HVN-NYC ISP-HPN ISP-NYC
LAX-ONT LAX-SNA MIA-PBI NYC-HPN OAK-SFO
OAK-SJC ONT-SNA SFO-SJC
11.BLACKOUT DATES
FROM LAS -
IF TRAVEL OCCURS 200AM TO 759PM DAILY
TRAVEL IS NOT PERMITTED ON 27APR08 OR ON 11MAY08 OR
ON 16MAY08 OR ON 18MAY08 OR 21MAY08 THROUGH 23MAY08
OR 25MAY08 THROUGH 27MAY08 OR ON 30MAY08 OR 01JUN08
THROUGH 02JUN08 OR ON 06JUN08 OR ON 08JUN08 OR
12JUN08 THROUGH 14JUN08 OR 15JUN08 THROUGH 16JUN08
OR 19JUN08 THROUGH 25JUN08 OR 26JUN08 THROUGH
30JUN08 OR 06JUL08 THROUGH 07JUL08 OR ON 20JUL08 OR
ON 24JUL08 OR 27JUL08 THROUGH 28JUL08 OR ON 01AUG08
OR ON 03AUG08 OR ON 08AUG08 OR ON 10AUG08 OR ON
17AUG08 OR ON 01SEP08 OR ON 07SEP08 OR ON 14SEP08 OR
ON 21SEP08 OR ON 28SEP08 OR ON 05OCT08 OR ON 12OCT08
OR 19OCT08 THROUGH 20OCT08 OR ON 26OCT08 OR ON
02NOV08 OR 09NOV08 THROUGH 10NOV08 OR ON 16NOV08 OR
23NOV08 THROUGH 25NOV08 OR ON 30NOV08 OR ON 07DEC08
OR ON 14DEC08 OR 18DEC08 THROUGH 21DEC08 OR 23DEC08
THROUGH 28DEC08 OR 30DEC08 THROUGH 31DEC08 OR ON
11JAN09 OR ON 19JAN09 OR ON 25JAN09.
TO LAS -
IF TRAVEL OCCURS 200AM TO 759PM DAILY
TRAVEL IS NOT PERMITTED 15MAY08 THROUGH 16MAY08 OR
ON 18MAY08 OR 22MAY08 THROUGH 23MAY08 OR ON 29MAY08
OR ON 01JUN08 OR 05JUN08 THROUGH 06JUN08 OR ON
08JUN08 OR 11JUN08 THROUGH 13JUN08 OR 15JUN08
THROUGH 16JUN08 OR 18JUN08 THROUGH 21JUN08 OR
22JUN08 THROUGH 23JUN08 OR 25JUN08 THROUGH 29JUN08
OR 06JUL08 THROUGH 07JUL08 OR ON 18JUL08 OR 26JUL08
THROUGH 27JUL08 OR ON 01AUG08 OR ON 03AUG08 OR ON
08AUG08 OR ON 10AUG08 OR ON 17AUG08 OR ON 29AUG08 OR
ON 12OCT08 OR 19OCT08 THROUGH 20OCT08 OR 09NOV08
THROUGH 10NOV08 OR 23NOV08 THROUGH 25NOV08 OR ON
30NOV08 OR 18DEC08 THROUGH 21DEC08 OR 23DEC08
THROUGH 28DEC08 OR ON 04JAN09 OR ON 16JAN09.
12.SURCHARGES
FUEL SURCHARGE OF USD 23.26 PER FARE COMPONENT WILL BE
ADDED TO THE APPLICABLE FARE.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
THE SURCHARGE APPLIES IN ADDITION TO ALL OTHER
CHARGES AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO ANY DISCOUNT.
----
RULES GOVERNING FARES FOR TRAVEL ON A SEGMENT
ON WHICH A SURCHARGE APPLIES WILL ALSO GOVERN
THE SURCHARGE.
EXCEPTION - THE FOLLOWING PASSENGERS ARE EXEMPT
FROM THESE CHARGES-
1. PASSENGERS WHO ARE TRAVELING ON ANY UA FREE
TICKET OR ON UA/OTHER AIRLINES EMPLOYEE
REDUCED FARE TICKETS.
2. PASSENGERS TRAVELING ON FARES EXCLUDED WITH
CATEGORY 12 - SURCHARGE - IN THE FARE RULES.
AND - FROM LAS -
MISCELLANEOUS/OTHER SURCHARGE OF USD 9.30 PER FARE
COMPONENT WILL BE ADDED TO THE APPLICABLE FARE ON
SUN.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
THIS PEAK TRAVEL SURCHARGE IS ASSESSED ON A FARE
COMPONENT BASIS.
13.ACCOMPANIED TRAVEL
ACCOMPANIED TRAVEL NOT REQUIRED.
14.TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
TRAVEL ON THIS FARE COMPONENT MUST COMMENCE BY
MIDNIGHT ON 07AUG09.
15.SALES RESTRICTIONS
TICKETS MAY BE ISSUED BY MAIL/MECHANICAL MEANS.
16.PENALTIES
CANCELLATIONS

TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
- A WHOLLY UNUSED NON-REFUNDABLE TICKET MAY BE
APPLIED TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF A NEW TICKET
PROVIDED NEW TICKET IS ISSUED NO LATER THAN
ONE YEAR FROM ORIGINAL TICKET ISSUE DATE.
- PASSENGER MUST CANCEL TICKETED FLIGHT
RESERVATION ON/BEFORE THE ORIGINAL TICKETED
DEPARTURE DATE OTHERWISE REBOOKING IS NOT
PERMITTED AND TICKET HAS NO VALUE.
- PASSENGERS TRAVELING ON COMPANION FARES MUST
PRESENT ALL TICKETS AT THE SAME TIME.

CHANGES

CHARGE USD 100.00 FOR REISSUE/UNTICKTED PTA.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
ITINERARIES MAY BE REBOOKED UP TO ONE YEAR FROM
ORIGINAL TICKET ISSUE DATE PROVIDED THE PASSENGER
CANCELS THE TICKETED FLIGHT RESERVATION ON/BEFORE
TICKETED DAY OF DEPARTURE. IF NOT CANCELED
REBOOKING IS NOT PERMITTED AND TICKET HAS NO VALUE
IF MULTIPLE CHANGES ARE MADE AT THE SAME TIME ONLY
ONE CHANGE FEE WILL APPLY PER TICKET. IF FARES
WITH DIFFERENT CHANGE FEES ARE COMBINED ON THE
SAME TICKET THE HIGHEST FEE OF ALL CHANGED FARE
COMPONENTS WILL APPLY.
TICKETS MUST BE REISSUED WHEN ANY VOLUNTARY CHANGE
IS MADE.
-------------------------------------------------
GUARANTEED AIR FARE
IF A DECREASE IN FARE AMOUNT OCCURS AFTER THE
TICKET IS PURCHASED AND PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF
TRAVEL OR A NEW FARE FOR WHICH THE PASSENGER
QUALIFIES BECOMES EFFECTIVE THE DIFFERENCE IN FARE
WILL BE CREDITED/REFUNDED PROVIDED-
1. THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO ORIGIN/DESTINATION/STOP
OVER POINTS/FLIGHTS/DATES.
2. ALL PROVISIONS OF THE NEW/REDUCED FARE MUST BE
MET.
3. THE ORIGINAL TICKET DATE OF ISSUE MAY NOT BE
USED TO SATISFY THE ADVANCE RESERVATION AND
TICKETING REQUIREMENTS.
4. THE BOOKING CODE OF THE NEW/REDUCED FARE MAY
DIFFER FROM THE BOOKING CODE ON THE ORIGINAL
TICKET.
THE PASSENGER MAY CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING
OPTIONS-
1. REFUND TO THE ORIGINAL FORM OF PAYMENT MINUS
A 100.00 USD SERVICE CHARGE.
2. REFUND THE DIFFERENCE IN FARES WITHOUT A
SERVICE CHARGE TO A NON-REFUNDABLE UNITED MCO
WHICH CAN BE USED TOWARD FUTURE TRAVEL. THE UA
MCO MUST BE EXCHANGED FOR A UA TICKET WITHIN
ONE YEAR OF THE MCO ISSUE DATE.
--------------------------------------------------
CHANGES OTHER THAN GUARANTEED AIR FARE
---
PRIOR TO DEPARTURE-
1. CHANGES TO CONTINUING/RETURN FLIGHTS WHEN THERE
IS NO CHANGE TO THE FIRST FLIGHT/COUPON..STOP
OVER POINTS OR FARE BREAK POINTS.
A. CHANGES TO CONTINUING/RETURN FLIGHTS MAY BE
MADE AT ANY TIME FOR THE SERVICE CHARGE
WITHOUT REGARD TO THE ADVANCE RESERVATION
PROVIDED THE CHANGE MEETS ALL OTHER
REQUIREMENTS OF THE ORIGINALLY TICKETED FARE
- ATTEMPT TO REPRICE THE ITINERARY USING THE
SAME FARES THAT WERE IN EFFECT ON THE DATE
THE ORIGINAL TICKET WAS ISSUED.
- ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARES PLUS THE SERVICE
CHARGE MUST BE COLLECTED.
B. IF THE NEW ITINERARY RESULTS IN A CHANGE TO
THE DAY OF WEEK REQUIREMENT ON THE RETURN/
CONTINUING FLIGHTS AND THERE IS NO CHANGE TO
OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE ORIGINALLY TICKETED
FARE-
- ATTEMPT TO REPRICE THE ITINERARY USING
FARES FROM THE SAME TARIFF/RULE THAT WERE
IN EFFECT ON THE DATE THE ORIGINAL TICKET
WAS ISSUED.
- ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE ORIGINAL FARE
EXCEPT ADVANCE PURCHASE REQUIREMENT MUST
BE MET.
- ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARES PLUS THE SERVICE
CHARGE MUST BE COLLECTED.
- IF THE REPRICE RESULTS IN A LOWER FARE NO
RESIDUAL VALUE APPLIES AND THE FULL
SERVICE CHARGE WILL BE COLLECTED.
2. CHANGES TO CONTINUING/RETURN FLIGHTS WHEN THERE
IS NO CHANGE TO THE FIRST FLIGHT/COUPON-
A. IF CHANGES ARE MADE THAT PROHIBIT KEEPING
THE ORIGINALLY TICKETED FARE-
- REPRICE ENTIRE NEW ITINERARY USING CURRENT
FARES IN EFFECT ON THE DAY OF REISSUE.
- ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARES PLUS THE SERVICE
CHARGE MUST BE COLLECTED.
- IF THE NEW FARE IS LESS THAN THE ORIGINAL
TICKETED FARE - SUBTRACT THE SERVICE
CHARGE FROM THE RESIDUAL AMOUNT AND APPLY
THE BALANCE TO A NON-REFUNDABLE UNITED MCO
OR UNITED TRAVEL VOUCHER.
---
OR
- CANCEL ITINERARY AND START OVER.
- COLLECT THE SERVICE CHARGE AND ANY
DIFFERENCE IN FARES BETWEEN THE ORIGINALLY
TICKETED FARE AND THE NEW FARE.
- IF THE NEW FARE IS LESS THAN THE ORIGINAL-
LY TICKETED FARE - SUBTRACT THE SERVICE
CHARGE FROM THE RESIDUAL AMOUNT AND APPLY

Interesting. I've been able to see these rules at expedia.ca as well. But is this an example that reflects no mileage run possiblitites, or am I ingorantly missing the routing rules?
<clipping:>
From: New York, NY, United States (JFK-Kennedy)
To: Las Vegas, NV, United States (LAS-All Airports)
(and return)
Fare Basis Code: VA14N4E

V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 VA14N4E V X 191.45 R07AU 14/1 -/ - 35
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-NYC TO-LAS CXR-UA TVL-10MAY08 RULE-4124 DFR/11
FARE BASIS-VA14N4E SPECIAL FARE DIS-N VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SIP OW-INSTANT PURCHASE
USD 166.51 0035 E09APR08 D07AUG09 FC-VA14N4E FN-B
SYSTEM DATES - CREATED 09APR08/2155 EXPIRES INFINITY
<end clip>

I see FROM-NYC and TO-LAS. No connections allowed? I tried a sample of my own: LAX-RDU. There are no direct flights between these two airports, so at least one connection has to be in there. Here are the rules expedia.ca returned:

From: Los Angeles, CA, United States (LAX-Los Angeles Intl.)
To: Raleigh, NC, United States (RDU-Raleigh Durham Intl.)
Fare Basis Code: SXA0NJ4

V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 SXA0NJ4 S X 272.94 ---- -/‡ -/ - 300
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-LAX TO-RDU CXR-US TVL-21APR08 RULE-3030 DFR/11
FARE BASIS-SXA0NJ4 SPECIAL FARE DIS-N VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SIP OW-INSTANT PURCHASE
USD 249.30 0300 E13MAY07 D-INFINITY FC-SXA0NJ4 FN-I
SYSTEM DATES - CREATED 18MAR08/1157 EXPIRES INFINITY

Note that it says FROM-LAX TO-RDU. There isn't any connection listed in there, which is impossible.

What am I missing? Thanks for your help, bk3day.

Sometimes lower price fares have more rules & the rules aren't always show in full. Try looking at a First class fare on your airline for the same route - that should bring up the full amount of rules. Sorry that this thread hasn't been updated in many many many many moons...

I've been hoping someone would take the initiative to shift the info to the FlyerTalk Wiki on Mileage Running, but that hasn't happened & I've been traveling so much over the past two years (weekly...literally) that it hasn't been a priority for me to update it. I hope to eventually get the time & inclination to do it.

From: Los Angeles, CA, United States (LAX-Los Angeles Intl.)
To: Raleigh, NC, United States (RDU-Raleigh Durham Intl.)
Fare Basis Code: SXA0NJ4

V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 SXA0NJ4 S X 272.94 ---- -/‡ -/ - 300
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-LAX TO-RDU CXR-US TVL-21APR08 RULE-3030 DFR/11
FARE BASIS-SXA0NJ4 SPECIAL FARE DIS-N VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SIP OW-INSTANT PURCHASE
USD 249.30 0300 E13MAY07 D-INFINITY FC-SXA0NJ4 FN-I
SYSTEM DATES - CREATED 18MAR08/1157 EXPIRES INFINITY

Note that it says FROM-LAX TO-RDU. There isn't any connection listed in there, which is impossible.That's just the city pair, here is the routing:

[KVS Availability Tool 3.1.0/Platinum - WSpan: LAX-RDU/US/SXA0NJ4/536 USD] (http://www.KVSTool.com/?R)
LAXRDU-US 1MAY08 *RULE DISPLAY* TARIFF 0011 RULE 3030

FARE BASIS USD TAX TOTAL PTC FT
SXA0NJ4 249.30 18.70 268.00 ADT NL
SXA0NJ4/IN00 0.00 0.00 0.00 INF NL

BOOKING CODES S
FIRST TRAVEL -18MAR08
SEASONS - NO RESTRICTION
PENALTIES - CANCEL-NON REF
CHANGE-100.00 USD
SEE TEXT RULE
FOR ALL CONDITIONS SEE TEXT RULE
DAY/TIME - NO RESTRICTION
ADV RES/TKT - TKTG WITHIN 1 DAY
AFTER RESERVATIONS OR AT LEAST 30
MINUTES BEFORE DEPART WHICHEVER IS EARLIER
WAITLISTING NOT PERMITTED ALL SEGMENTS
MIN STAY - NO RESTRICTION
MAX STAY - NO RESTRICTION
BLACKOUTS - DAILY 2:01A THRU 7:59P 15MAY08-16MAY08
18MAY08 22MAY08 01JUN08 08JUN08
13JUN08-14JUN08 15JUN08 19JUN08-20JUN08
21JUN08-23JUN08 26JUN08-29JUN08 03JUL08
05JUL08-07JUL08 13JUL08 17JUL08
FURTHER RESTR APPLY SEE TEXT RULE
SURCHARGES - SEE TEXT RULE
FURTHER RESTR APPLY SEE RULE TEXT
4.65 USD FUEL PER TICKET
STOPOVERS - NOT PERMITTED
TRANSFERS - 6 PERMITTED OUTBOUND 3 INBOUND 3
FLT APPLIC - MUST NOT BE VIA IAD
CHILD DISC - 1ST INF UNDER 2 YRS FREE NO SEAT
OTHER DISC - SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNTS DO NOT APPLY.
OTHER/GROUP DISCOUNTS ARE PERMITTED - CHECK
CARRIER FOR DETAILS.
COMBINABLTY - SEE TEXT RULE
ELIGIBILITY - NO RESTRICTION
ACCOM PSGR - NO RESTRICTION
TVL RESTR - OUTBOUND MUST BEGIN ON/AFTER 13MAY07
DEPARTURE OF EACH TRIP
SALES RESTR - PERIOD OF VALIDITY
ALL TICKETS WILL BE VALID FOR
TRANSPORTATION FOR ONE /1/ YEAR FROM DATE
OF ORIGINAL ISSUE UNLESS A SHORTER PERIOD IS
INDICATED ON THE TICKET.
NEGOTIATED - NO RESTRICTION
TKT ENDORSE - ORIGINAL/REISSUED TKT -
STNDBY/CHG FEE/NO RFND/ MUST APPEAR IN
ENDORSEMENT BOX ORIGINAL/REISSUED TKT -
CXL BY FLT DT/ MUST APPEAR IN ENDORSEMENT BOX
APPLICATION - SEE TEXT RULE
INDUSTRY FARE TYPE - SIP - INSTANT PURCHASE
PFCS MAY VARY BY RTG
ROUTING 300 FROM-TO LAX-BOS/CLT/LAS/PHL/PHX/PIT/WAS-RDU*

Ah ha! kvstool.com appears to be the most detailed way to pull the routing rules. Thanks KVS!

I tried pulling the rules from expedia.ca, using the first class suggestion from bhatnasx. No luck, same thing as econ: just the city pair, no routing. For those who read this thread as time goes on, I'd say expedia.ca is no longer a reliable source for routing rules. Not an easy one, at least.

Wandering off topic... I'd love to help update the wiki, since that's a great format for this type of information. Encyclopedic, versus discussion based. My problem is I have no idea what I'm doing ! :)

I'm off to play with the kvstool.com site, thanks for the heads up!

I have read the FAQ, and searched around, but I can't find the answer to this question. Is there any site that will allow me to get a listing of available fares on one specific weekend (ie Memorial Day weekend) on a specific airline WITHOUT specifying a destination? I really don't care where I go. :-) I know I can use FC to get a listing of fares, but that wont allow me to filter by date...Before I go entering every possible city as a destination, I thought I would at least ask...

Can't get you to a specific weekend, but would a one-week period (http://www.farecompare.com/maps/compareDestinations.html)help? Select a region & then you can narrow the time frame by month & week.

Can't get you to a specific weekend, but would a one-week period (http://www.farecompare.com/maps/compareDestinations.html)help? Select a region & then you can narrow the time frame by month & week.

It would be great, if the fares actually existed...ie I see a NYC-MSP fare on UA for 208rt...but it doesn't even exist...the normal problem with FC. :-( It would be great if some travel site, like Orbitz, had "where i can go this weekend" as a button...right now all there is are the lastminute.com links from the sites, and those include hotel etc...

It would be great, if the fares actually existed...ie I see a NYC-MSP fare on UA for 208rt...but it doesn't even exist...the normal problem with FC. :-( It would be great if some travel site, like Orbitz, had "where i can go this weekend" as a button...right now all there is are the lastminute.com links from the sites, and those include hotel etc...Ah... you want fares you can actually book! Well, that's an entirely different problem. ;)
You suggested "FC... won't allow me to filter by date". I was just showing where you can find such a filter on FC.

What you are asking for would be GREAT. I would use such a tool as well, so if you find one please let me know.

I have read the FAQ, and searched around, but I can't find the answer to this question. Is there any site that will allow me to get a listing of available fares on one specific weekend (ie Memorial Day weekend) on a specific airline WITHOUT specifying a destination? I really don't care where I go. :-) I know I can use FC to get a listing of fares, but that wont allow me to filter by date...Before I go entering every possible city as a destination, I thought I would at least ask...

Going back to this question, is there a tool that will let you just put in a departure city, no dates at all and give you a list of cheap destinations from say, now till the end of the year?

farecompare.com


Going back to this question, is there a tool that will let you just put in a departure city, no dates at all and give you a list of cheap destinations from say, now till the end of the year?

farecompare.com

Thanks ! ^

Posted this in the FC thread but thought it warranted a post here. FC now has a fare listing tool.

http://www.farecompare.com/fare-display/index.html

Anyone cross checked it with KVS?

Going back to this question, is there a tool that will let you just put in a departure city, no dates at all and give you a list of cheap destinations from say, now till the end of the year?

just for the flyertalk people FareCompare Flyertalk Search (http://www.farecompare.com/search/flyertalk.html)

The new farecompare tool is quite nice.

The new farecompare tool is quite nice.

My god, farecompare sucks. I just tried it again, and it crashed. totally painful. what are you doing to make it work?

Does anyone recommend a particular travel agency to book these MR flights since they aren't available on AA.com, etc? Personal favorites, places to stay away from, etc...

Hi,

I've been reading FT for a while, but just signed up now to ask a question :) I've been scouring the interweb and FT threads for freely available routing rules. It seems like they used to be available in the past, but now only KVStool and ExpertFlyer seem to have them. Is there a reason for this? Did the GDS's change their format on how they report routing rules?

Thanks!

Hi,

I've been reading FT for a while, but just signed up now to ask a question :) I've been scouring the interweb and FT threads for freely available routing rules. It seems like they used to be available in the past, but now only KVStool and ExpertFlyer seem to have them. Is there a reason for this? Did the GDS's change their format on how they report routing rules?

Thanks!

http://www.itasoftware.com/

Do a search via QPX. When you do a search, and you click on details, then Show booking details, you can see a link to show fare rules next to each leg of the trip.

http://www.itasoftware.com/

Do a search via QPX. When you do a search, and you click on details, then Show booking details, you can see a link to show fare rules next to each leg of the trip.

I have seen that and read through them. I was looking for the rules describing the routes you can take for the same fare described using airport codes that you can fly through, i.e., LAX-DFW/CHI/WAS-NYC, or something like that.

However, I've found that it has been very difficult to find outside of KVS and ExpertFlyer and I now assume that this information is only released via a higher level access to the GDS which requires payment?

The problem I find with this tool:

http://www.farecompare.com/search/flyertalk.html

is, it lists a bunch of fares from your designated city, some of them are really good, but I cant actually get those fares when you go the actual airline or even any of internet sellers, not any where near the fares that are listed by the tool??

Yeah. What is Farecompare exactly? I've been checking flights for ORD-MDE for the past several days. It keeps showing that the cheapest fare is $286, but when I click on it the lowest option is $350+.

I'm sure this is somewhere in one of these "tools" threads, but does anyone have the handy string of cities that will effectively search either the entire contiguous U.S. and/or the U.S. + Canada using ITA?

I figure a list of about 15 airports should cover 90% of the available UA seats using the "+300 miles" option. Maybe a few more to hit every UX possibility out there...

I'm mainly interested in a quick, easy United trip during DEQM. Sort of looking for city ideas. And I just figure it'd be a good thing to have for the future.

http://publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/

Fly aow's page very slow today, strange, as it usually work like a charm.

Would you be so kind as to let me know what is loading slowly for you today? We have not had any reports of trouble. It would be helpful to know if it is slow loading the initial data entry page, or slow returning results after you submit the form?

Thank you for helping us to diagnose it.

Would you be so kind as to let me know what is loading slowly for you today? We have not had any reports of trouble. It would be helpful to know if it is slow loading the initial data entry page, or slow returning results after you submit the form?

Thank you for helping us to diagnose it.


Flyaow: sorry for not getting back to you, as I got distracted and then franky forgot about it. It seem to be an issue only that particular day.

Next day & going fwd it worked fine. ^

Thank you for the additional information. I am glad it is working once again. I ran some checks on this end and could not figure out what may have caused that.

At this point I'm just glad it is working again, and if you notice any sluggishness at all, please do not hesitate to contact me directly by PM so I can look into immediately as it is occurring.

Thank you!

Nowadays, when the air travel is widely accessible more than ever before, the faraway places have become easier to reach to both businessmen and tourists. The world has not changed in size, however, it has relatively become smaller and crossing the continents became a weekend get-away or a short business trip.
The airlines, hotels, car rental companies and even retailers have introduced loyalty schemes and programmes to attract their customers. The travellers interested in doing the business and exploring those faraway places, have also realized that those loyalty schemes can open new windows to the world they aim to see, especially if they acquire a product offered by those schemes’ loyalty partners, banks.
However, sadly, the American travellers are much more privileged than the British customers what comes to the loyalty. To illustrate, let’s have a look into certain benefits of some loyalty schemes in the UK and in the US.
American Airlines provides its customers an opportunity to earn miles using their credit card partner, Citibank. An American Citibank customer receives as much as 20000 bonus miles for becoming a Citi A Advantage credit card holder; however, the British customer gets only 5000. To a greater disappointment, the A Advantage card will no longer be provided by Citi bank and the loyalty scheme will cease on the 31st of December 2009.
In the US, a Hilton Honours American Express card brings you up to 30000 bonus points and even 100 USD voucher should you open a new account with them. Their Visa Signature partner is also generous in giving points that are enough at least for one free night, however, in the UK, Barclays provide its customer with only 7500 points for opening Hilton Honours Platinum Visa card enough to redeem for ¼ of the night in the category 3 hotel.
Starwood Preferred Guests in the US receive their 25000 points which gives a value for up to 6 nights for free, and the UK customers don’t really have this option at all.
The Americans get 30000 Priority Club Points for their Chase bank Visa cards, and British receive a modest 10000 from their Visa from Barclays.
British Airways only give 1000 miles for their card from American Express UK, and only 6000 miles for the American Express Plus (UK), however, in the US they provide 20000 miles for a Chase credit card and in addition they also receive a free companion ticket.
The only match in the UK stands for bmi credit card where the bmi amex from MBNA UK provides its customers with 20000 destination miles and bmi amex plus with an annual fee of 60 GBP provides with 24000 bonus miles, some of them elite qualifying and even Plus status in the bmi Diamond Club frequent flyer programme.
Delta airlines have treated the American residents with a great bonus opening their American Express card and receiving up to 40000 bonus miles 5000 of which become elite qualifying miles, the Delta customers receive 5000 SkyMiles from the HSBC’s partnership with Delta in Brazil, and in the UK, there is no opportunity at all. The Americans get the miles for each dollar shopping at www.skymilesshopping.com and the British get miles for their pounds spend at www.skymilesshopping.co.uk however, buying the same product from the American shopping site earns more miles than shopping in the UK.
Moreover, the exchange rate between GBP and USD is different and spending on the above mentioned card can be more challenging for the UK customers. Those loyalty schemes give one point for one British Pound whereas in the US, the American residents get 1 point per dollar spent.
In the 21st Century which brought so many EQUALITY issues, we can see such an inequality in the frequent travel loyalty schemes in the two countries, the UK and the US. Calling it discriminatory would not solve the strange sensation of feeling underprivileged as a customer in the U.K. but maybe the travel industry should reconsider and make the UK loyalty scheme a more favourable one.

Yes, I believe the plight of the UK business traveler is likely the pressing civil rights issue of the 21st century.

Where is the outrage?




You forgot to mention that we can now get Diamond status with that HH Amex...so we can cavort in our luxurious secret lounge far away from the unwashed lower castes. :D