I have two trips to the UK upcoming.

Let's say I don't want to have to stay over a Saturday night. And non-Satuday night stay tickets are running to be very expensive of late.

Anybody have any experience with UA's ability to track two "nested itineraries"?

Such as:

JFK-LHR on Monday (Ticket 1)
LHR-JFK on Friday (Ticket 2)
JFK-LHR the next Monday (Ticket 2)
LHR-JFK the next Friday (Ticket 1)

How good are they at picking this up if I don't use my MP number on Ticket 2? (And ask for mileage credit later.)

Or if I buy from different sources (say Ticket 1 on UAL.com and Ticket 2 on Expedia).

How about if I make Ticket 2 an award ticket? Allowable?