drvannostren

I'm just wondering...

I browse the mileage runs often, usually finding they don't apply to me. Do most of you guys doing runs operate out of hubs? Or do you just find ways to get there? Or do you just play with ITA and try to replicate it from your city?

Specifically I was looking at the IAD-CUZ for $400 kinda dreaming of doing it. But living in YVR it really doesn't work. Canada in general is kinda MR prohibitive, but I'm tempted whenever I find stuff from SEA. But LAX for instance (which seems to have lots) is too far and cost prohibitive to get there just to start an MR.

AvidFlyer1990

You have to be flexible on dates, and willing to do same day turns, in many cases! AFAIK, starting an MR from a hub is usually expensive, so FT'ers tend to start their MR from non-hub cities. And I believe I have seen a couple of MRs from Canada.

Also, what airline/alliance are you looking for/on?

drvannostren

Mine would be strictly Star. I know there are MRers here and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the concept a little bit (not the execution so much as the intention) but just even when booking my vacations it seems it's always kinda pricey to vacation within Canada and pricey for the US too (when rivaled against driving to Seattle).

UA has some cheap fares to south florida, which is perfect, but I've already been there , I'm not exactly looking for MRs, more like short vacations with good prices (cuz my work is 14 on 7 off, so I've got time to spend 2-3 days in say...PHOENIX, if they price/miles/segments work well).

Not looking for anyone to really do any research for me, hope it didn't come off that way, I'm more just looking for anecdotal comments. Because I always see MRs that do interest me (even for my short vacation type purposes) but it's always like "SFO-_____" "LAX-_____" "JFK-_____" rarely seems to come up YVR and when it does they haven't worked out for me.

Oh well at the very least I get some entertainment in browsing the thread.

Madone59

Some MR's operate out of hubs like the LAX-BAH fares on UA that have been great since late 2013. Many don't like the BOS-ICN mistake or the various cities to HKG on UA. Where you life determines what YOU consider a deal. When I lived in ROC it was 7cpm or below, now that I am in SAN and get drive to SAN, CLD, LAX, SNA It's 5cpm or below. So take all of the deals with a grain of salt based on location.

Many people find ways to get there, some used RDM's and just buy an award ticket. Some MR's work as an open jaw where you can return to your home City and only need to get to a different city for the outbound. Some times the MR is so good the positing flights don't matter to you.

Picking at ITA, and learning to do it quickly is key. When the great deals pop up, you will need to act fast to get one. Look at the MR forum, put in your cities, put in different cities, see how they are constructed, read the fare rules, and educate yourself.


Good luck ^

chunky649

OP, because you are based in Vancouver, you get all the good SEA based MR recently... Surprisingly, there has been lots of Canadian deals recently with various airlines...

You can't take advantage of all the opportunities. North America alone is quite big... :-)

Here are some ideas to make yourself more flexible/reactive to deals:

- Know your regional airports that you can fly from: I.e. for me, I am based in DTW (Detroit), so I know I can fly out as far as YYZ (Toronto) and ORD (Chicago). Once in a while, something in PIT, CLE,CVG that may be interesting as well.

- Be familiar with positioning flights. I.e. If you are based in Toronto, getting to EWR/LGA is fairly cheap via Westjet. If you have a cache of BA miles, you can also do short hops very economically. Also, some MR deals are open jaw or one-way, so you may need to be flexible and get home from a different continent.

- Know which country requires visa for you(Brazil, China (generally), Russia, etc.) and be able to factor in the VISA cost.

- Its not always "economical" to do pure MR. Know where you may want to go for a MR/vacation, do some research on how much time you need there, and best season to visit. This knowledge makes it easier/faster for you to make a decision when the deal show up.

- I've been reading this forum for a few years now, and found that the best MR deals show up for Sept - November, and mid-Jan to ~mid-april. Clear your personal/business calendar to spend on those dates. :-)

drvannostren

I'm ALWAYS looking for SEA haha, living in YVR Seattle is like a second home of sorts, I've been to various Mariners/Sounders/Seahawks games, a couple live events at Key Arena...though I was too young to go when the Grizzlies played the Sonics, I wish I had though. The drive is always farther than I think, and then there's the parking (which can be had at just under $10 a day, but that has to be factored in)...seems to me the biggest problem with SEA MRs that I've seen (anecdotally) is that the best ones are always on DL.

Whenever I'm booking a vacation though, I check YVR first then my next look is always SEA since there's a lot more availability to make UA connections from SEA. I'll keep my eyes peeled, it doesn't sound like anyone has a magic trick I'm missing out on, even if it kinda feels that way I'm also always on the lookout for cheap vacations, I just like to travel, doesn't always matter where it is so in that sense I'm very flexible as well.

I gotta move to the East Coast at some point, so many more possibilities with Europe right there and the Carribean just a stone's throw away. I'm jealous!