Originally Posted by expert7700

Note: canadiancow has probably already thought of or written the book on all of the below. But since this is FT perhaps it will help others or engage more conversation.....

I really think this is one of those puzzles where the adage 'good, cheap, fast -- you can only pick two' applies

With the 1 connection, starting in YYZ parameter I keep thinking the way to book would be to find an asia to singapore R/T nonstop in J then work backwards to find an AC round trip nonstop on the outside.

PVG-SIN J n/s shows $1400 on chinese carriers or $1700 on SQ. Of course YYZ-PVG J is over budget those dates (in hindsight yesterdays 15% off promo would have helped a bit).

If price of two separate tickets worked out within desired target, AC (or possibly best bet a travel agent) should be able to build a nested ticket manually with the AC over the ocean and SQ fare on one 014 ticket. Per my re-read of T&C, you would earn AQD for all *A carriers on a 014 ticket, regardless of whether they have or are ticketed with ACxxx codeshare flight #s .

Risk takers like me would consider waiting till T-7 to evaluate Eups, booking cheaper dates and hoping for YYZ weather waivers, or booking a fare with a cheaper return date way in the future that allows a change for a set change fee after outbound is flown without a full reprice of itinerary.