Max UA miles for ORD-ZRH?

I've got a trip coming up from ORD-ZRH that I'd like to max miles for. Corp policy is a non-stop (SwissAir in this case) as a "base fare" (about 1200 in this case), or I can take another route as long as the cost is <= the "base fare". I'd prefer to dump miles into UA (pushing to get to lowly 2P this year ).

I did this same flight last December and ended up doing ORD-IAD-ZRH and coming back (train to)MUC-SFO-SAN(1week layover for xmas)-ORD. I'd like to do something similar this time. Travel is May 6 (or even 7) and returning May 20 (or even 21). I posted over in the UA forum and was given a couple of mini-suggestions, but I cant seem to really figure out how to find all these long-way-around routes. Travel is coach

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here a nice itinerary that I found: (apologies for the jumbled state of the information)

Routing is ORD-BOS-FRA-ZRH-IAD-IND-ORD. All in price is $898.95. You can book this (hopefully) by clicking 'Multi-city' on united.com; if that fails, pay $5 more by booking with one of United's very capable and professional agents at the International desk.

Chicago, IL to Zurich, Switzerland: 4697 miles 14 hrs 0 min
United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA538 on a Boeing 737 (jet) in coach class
Departs Chicago, IL (ORD) Fri, May 6 5:00p 2 hrs 29 min
Arrives Boston, MA (BOS) 8:29p
Layover in Boston 1 hr 21 min

United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA8858 on an Airbus A340 (jet) in coach class
(operated by Lufthansa Airlines as Flight LH421)
(dinner, snack)
Departs Boston, MA (BOS) Fri, May 6 9:50p 7 hrs 5 min
Arrives Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) Sat, May 7 10:55a
Layover in Frankfurt 2 hrs 10 min

United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA9032 on an Airbus A320 (jet) in coach class
(operated by Lufthansa Airlines as Flight LH3724)
(refreshments for purchase)
Departs Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) Sat, May 7 1:05p 55 min
Arrives Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) 2:00p
Note: The flight from Boston (BOS) to Frankfurt (FRA) is overnight.
Note: You must change terminals in Boston (BOS).


Zurich, Switzerland to Chicago, IL: 4794 miles 15 hrs 17 min
United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA937 on a Boeing 767 (jet) in coach class
(lunch, snack, movie)
Departs Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) Sun, May 22 11:45a 9 hrs 15 min
Arrives Washington, DC (IAD) 3:00p
Layover in Washington 2 hrs 20 min

United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA7709 (unknown aircraft) in coach class
(operated by UNITED EXPRESS/CHAUTAUQUA)
Departs Washington, DC (IAD) Sun, May 22 5:20p 1 hr 49 min
Arrives Indianapolis, IN (IND) 6:09p
Layover in Indianapolis 41 min

United Airlines United Airlines Flight UA7709 (unknown aircraft) in coach class
(operated by UNITED EXPRESS/CHAUTAUQUA)
Departs Indianapolis, IN (IND) Sun, May 22 6:50p 1 hr 12 min
Arrives Chicago, IL (ORD) 8:02p

For future reference, consult: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/

By the way, the 'unknown aircraft' on the IAD-IND-ORD route is the new United Express Embraer E170; you'll enjoy it!

Thanks. Using your example I think I've finally figured out how to push the ITA software to do what I was looking for.

A couple of related questions.

1. How can I tell if a route is valid if I'm trying to push beyond ITA? I know I was able to book cheaper last DEC coming back (although with a slightly different city) ORD-ZRH(via IAD)-(train to MUC)-MUC-SFO-SAN(1 week LO)-ORD and the fare was cheap. I'd like to do something similar this time but I can't seem to coax any of the systems to route the whole thing (nor do any of them seem to have enough "slots" to book a detailed stop-to-stop route.

2. Breaking up the itenerary? I see that there is currently some bonuses for UA on flights departing IAD. I'm assuming they have to start from IAD, not simply be a connection. What do I need to do/ask to ensure the correct ticketing? I'm thinking I'll get more miles (althought not EQM) for the bonuses if I can't figure out how to get to ZRH via a the west coast