Originally Posted by
jsloan
Why is booking a multi-city trip a concern?
Many UA international fares allow a free or inexpensive stopover at a gateway city, including the very cheapest economy fare on EWR/NBO:
Realistically speaking, not all of those destinations will work due to routing limitations, but any city that has a UA flight to EWR and a partner flight to NBO is a candidate -- e.g., FRA.
Yes, you have to use multi-city search to book it, but the price will be the same (plus/minus potential slight differences in taxes) as if you'd booked a simple transfer.
You're right, I guess its just laziness. Just seems like the idea of a long layover is easier than booking a multi city. As long as the fare is comparable I guess it makes no difference. I'll check out these stopover ideas.
Originally Posted by
ekwang
You know, if you're flying frequently domestically, there is still a chance you might be able to attain Gold on MP again. Especially since it isn't mileage based anymore but instead on the number of flights (PQF) and the amount of total spend at the end of the year (PQP: it would be the base fare amount counted, no taxes and/or fees). So don't lose all hope just quite yet.
Eric
These changes to their program really hurt my chances. Often, I am just taking the cheapest flight for work. But it could be a far flight, so the accumulated mileage method was far more beneficial for me. Although with the cut downs on status reqs for 2021, + trying to spend all my CC spends on the M+ Explorer card, there is a much better chance than would be in a normal year. Still fingers crossed though as I have had a fairly high rate of upgrades since making gold. I even did OK with Silver, I think because I typically fly at like 6AM type flights.