Originally Posted by
enviroian
I can fly UA to all the cities of course. I even though of connecting at SFO and fly to SAC for the refineries in Martinez. I know I can fly to SFO but don't want to deal with the bridges and traffic.
That's going to be your toughest one.
You can't fly to BIL nonstop, so a connection is required (UA through DEN will work).
DEN is easy nonstop on UA (SNA-DEN).
But SMF is not worth the hassle of connecting in SFO. SMF-SFO is often delayed or cancelled, and if it cancels, they're often full, so rebooking can be difficult, you'll end up driving anyway.
Plus it's takes a toll psychologically, if you take a delay you'll wish you would have flown WN nonstop anyway.
Your best bet for SMF would be WN nonstop.
But as has been pointed out, OAK is best for Martinez. But SFO is still quite doable. If you can time your arrivals appropriately, you can avoid most traffic, and the drive SFO-Martinez will be under an hour. If you drive at low traffic times, OAK is only 10 minutes closer than SFO.
Also don't forget LAX for longer, international, or reward trips. From time to time, it may be worth going out of there.