Ok so it looks like I'm moving back to Las Vegas from Daejeon, South Korea. On the way home I would like to stop in 1 country and see at least 2 cities in that country. I want to stick to SE Asia so basically looking at ICN -> LAS with a stop somewhere in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam. I'm open to any other SE Asian countries as well granted they are cheap. I'm looking to spend 4-7 days in such country.

Im looking to do this trip the last week of January to the First week of February so basically a 2 week time slot of when to LEAVE ICN.

The part that gets tricky is right now the cheapest direct flight I can find to LAS from ICN is $746 which is quite high. I've done some rough searches and found I can have a "pit stop" in another country for about $300 more so I would like to keep the cost of the total airfare under $1100.

I have no previous elite membership with any airline. I do however have roughly 6,000 PQMs with UA however from a flight I just completed so I would like to somehow book with *A so and achieve PQMs with UA so that I can achieve some sort of status this year. The more I look though the more I realize that this seems to be a Sky Team part of the world, I think? For that reason this is just as much a mileage run as it is a vacation before I get back to the states.

This is why I need your help. You are far more experienced at doing these kinds of things and I hope you will be helpful in finding a route that not only provides good miles but also provides me with a great destination at a decent price. My GF and I would like to purchase in about 48 hours so PLEASE HELP

Thanks

You could buy a one-way fare ICN-REP, and separately REP-ICN->LAS which should be cheaper than just ICN -> LAS.

Thanks! This is definitely and option. I can't believe its cheaper to take a flight from REP-LAS with a stop in ICN than to go straight from here.

You'd be surprised...

If flying China Southern or China Eastern...can I get miles on any American carrier? If yes, will they also be PQMs?

China Southern and China Eastern are in SkyTeam (like Delta), but mileage credit is not good for most economy fares.

So essentially I'll be flying without accruing any miles towards any premier status in the US?