Thanks. I finally figured it out myself as well. However, I noticed something interesting in the process. If I pick a 1 stop itinerary in both directions via a stopover in Japan and even though one of the flight segments in both directions is an Asiana flight the taxes ans fees drop to $42. I understand that Air China does not assess fuel surcharges and Asiana does but my itinerary does still have a Asiana segment.

In any case I don't this is a viable option for me because on short 3-4 day trip I don't want to waste time in connections to save a bit compared to the UA 25K option or even buying a ticket outright between $250 - $300 hopefully.