Originally Posted by
baccarat_king
That is also how I understood it. Since any change prior to a USA-EU return segment is subject to re-pricing by the rate desk.
This trip is pretty fixed (so it's no big deal); but I learned the hard way that if I'm flying into the USA and returning from a different city, better to book the international separate from the domestic (that is between the international segments).
You get such better fares from the EU that the loss of SDC privileges doesn't seem unreasonable, although if you're doing a complicated itinerary and probably paying separate fares for some or all of your domestic flights, getting two tickets seems sensible. The downside is two change fees if your trip is cancelled.