Originally Posted by
nocigar
I'm just curious how you guys find some of these. I spent most my free time on ITA Matrix trying to discover fares to other places. Right now I'm looking at Maldives. Any tips appreciated.
I have the general theory but am not quite grasping 1) how you know where to look in the first place and 2) how you take a flight and add the extra segments. Is it just based on knowledge of different hub/spoke combos?
Thanks!
-B
I posted this fare, so I'll tell you how I found it.
I have been specifically looking for ways to top off my EQM for Alaska to get to MVP Gold 75k because I'm pretty close as a result of other paid travel this year and would love to get the bonus 50,000 RDM when I hit that milestone. If I can earn a pile of miles on the way, that'd be great, too. I generally look at PE or J fares because I'm not interested in much else.
I'm in Las Vegas so I generally enter LAS, LAX, SFO, SEA, SJC as my origin into Google Flights and a variety of Asian destinations in the destination field. I think for this one I was looking at TYO, HKG, SIN, PEK, and PVG. I then changed the airlines dropdown to filter flights to Alaska partners only. After that, I just played around with dates in the next few months and looked at the Google Flights price chart. I saw this interesting price and then checked it out on ITA Matrix and saw what I could build based on my knowledge of where AS and AA fly, where JL flies, and what dates would be best for me.
I took screenshots and posted then booked (although I probably should have reversed that order).