a quick glance tells me renting a car is better than trying stopovers . i assume that residency is a md in a hospital? does she have to do all 3? what if the first 1 clicks? i guess that u r looking for cost reducing info. i think that i would look @ advance purchase tickets vs awards to start. the time between the trips seems to be long enough to get a good fare w/o going thru the award process. maybe do an award for the first one.