I'm currently 5,471 miles short of MVP status for next year. I am planning a round trip SFO-JFK in November, but no other trips this year. My last roundtrip on this route earned me a total of 5,172 miles. So I'll be 245 miles short to hit MVP.
My question is: If I make a connection through LAX on the outbound flight, the total travel distance on the trip will be 2,398 miles (73 miles short). Would the SFO-LAX segment earn the minimum 500 miles, even though it's booked as a short layover? I'm assuming it would be more expensive to book the segments individually, but the cost difference of connecting through LAX vs direct to JFK is negligible. If that segment counts as minimum 500, I'll earn 5,561 miles on the roundtrip, and just clear MVP by 90 miles...
Thanks for any help! I've never earned airline status before, so I'm not sure of all the details.