Thanks to you both for your replies! Good reminder about Basic Economy. Not a route we'd go.
Curious about the credit cards.... I've avoided big banks since 2008. And now Wells. They feel like sharks to me. Do you have good experiences with Chase?Would you have your young adult open a card there? I'm thinking hidden fees he might not notice... etc.
So just to confirm: there's not a shortcut to figure out the common routings, right? You just started pulling up kayak, momondo, skyscanner etc and looked for patterns.
Thanks again!