Originally Posted by
beerup
Your trip does not constitute an international itinerary. It is one international itinerary and two domestic itineraries, unless all the flights are booked on the same ticket.
I think this is what OP is trying to do. Having the "international" part of the itinerary makes the entire ticket international (even if it has standalone domestic legs) and is one way of getting around baggage fees; it has worked for friends on AA and UA.