I can't change the title, but also can't delete the post. I thought I would update the post and basically ask what comes next?

Going home to see family CLT to either BOS/PVD. Normally, I fly non-stop because my wife hates travel. This time I am going home alone for dad's birthday. Ok, I have spent the weekend playing with ITA website.

I started with

From: CLT::US
To: BOS::US

for just a little more cost, I ended up with

From: CLT::US US US
To: BOS::US US US

produced a routing with 3 segments in each direction for $291.
Adding a 4th segment in each direction caused the fare to jump an additional $100.

For travel between two hub cities, I suspect there may not be alot of options for cost effectively maximizing segments.
Looking for something that might provide insight into building a true MR, I decided to play with a possible trip to see my sister in LA.

The most interesting thing that occurred while playing with CLT to LAX was I now understand the difference between hopping across the country and hopping up and down the coast.

Ok, what comes next? I keep looking for the "rules" that determine when and where you are allowed to connect without an increase in fare?