Originally Posted by abelscc
Until I attend a MR seminar, I have no idea on how to build in extra segments and make the trip a good trip for the money. I have read the stickies and tried to follow them. I have picked up some hints and made some changes but my brain just can't figure out all of the info. If I could, I wouldn't need the seminar.
I understand your situation. It's sort of a chicken and egg thing. But keep this in mind: you're not totally helpless. There are threads such as this one (
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391187), listed in the MR tools sticky, that outline how to book and construct a MR. You could take some of those ideas and easily apply them to a trip for the MR seminar. Or you could just do a search by schedule/price (nwa.com has that feature, for instance) or just look for odd connections when trying to book normally. A lot of times the search engines (other than Travelocity) will give you options to connect somewhere else, usually for about $5 more per segment. These would be a great way to add in some extra mileage without knowing much of the mechanics.
I know it's a bit daunting at first, but the more you can pick up before the seminar, the more you could apply into getting to the seminar, and the more you'll actually get out of the seminar. ^