Dec 31, 2018, 11:01 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: Kmxu

For each request, please include the following information:

Departure Airport:
Miles Needed:
Required Spend or Maximum Budget (choose one, and state the value):
Available Travel Dates:
Required Metal or Codeshares Okay:
Route(s) You've Already Searched:
Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)?

For each response. Please quote the original request. DO NOT START A NEW THREAD.
There are many good fares to China (PEK or PVG). If you have a Chinese visa, these options will be provided. Otherwise, you may have to take advantage of TWOV (visa on arrival). Its information can be found: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/708095-china-24-72-144-hour-transit-without-visa-twov-rules-master-thread.html

If your requested PQM is in a few thousand, please give a more accurate amount. You will get fewer options with a roundup number (eg, 5000 instead of 4830; IAD-SFO nonstop will work for the latter.)

UA/Star Alliance: 2019 Consolidated Mileage/Status/Challenge Runs help needed

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Sep 9, 2019, 7:17 am

#256

BDC1

Join Date: Dec 2015

Posts: 5

15K+ PQM Needed

Moving from ATL to DEN. Currently PM on Delta, matching to PP on United. Need to cross 18K PQM. I will likely have 3K worth of flights the last Q of the year, but can't hurt to exceed.

As I'm tall (6'6), I would prefer fights in which I can select an immediate upgrade to Economy Plus.

Departure Airport: DEN (open to connecting for longer flights e.g. IAH - SYD)
Miles Needed: 15K+
Required Spend or Maximum Budget (choose one, and state the value): Lowest per mile ideally - prefer not to spend more than $1K but will consider more for interesting destinations worth the trip
Available Travel Dates: Any as long as it's a quick turnaround
Required Metal or Codeshares Okay: I believe the status match needs to be on United metal
Route(s) You've Already Searched: IAH - SYD
Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)? No

western likes this.

Last edited by BDC1; Sep 9, 2019 at 7:51 am Reason: Adding upgrade note

Sep 9, 2019, 7:19 am

#257

bbrend

Join Date: Aug 2019

Programs: United

Posts: 10

Hi all - still looking for ~17k PQMs out of NYC area for under $650.... Anyone have any good itineraries?

Sep 9, 2019, 7:55 am

#258

Kmxu

Join Date: May 2012

Location: ORF, RIC

Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum

Posts: 6,958

EWR-KUL

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbrend

Hi all - still looking for ~17k PQMs out of NYC area for under $650.... Anyone have any good itineraries?

$524. https://www.google.com/flights#flt=/...63*2.USD.52363

Sep 9, 2019, 8:39 am

#259

bbrend

Join Date: Aug 2019

Programs: United

Posts: 10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmxu

$524.

Great find!! 2 questions/challenges:
1. Anything similar but returning on the 3rd day instead of the 4th morning? For example leave October 1 and arrive October 3 evening?
2. Anything where as a UA 1K I can get economy plus seating or even maybe put in for a GPU?
Thank you!!

Sep 9, 2019, 8:53 am

#260

mpiotrow

Join Date: Oct 2013

Location: DEN

Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)

Posts: 1,272

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbrend

How about this for $653?
https://www.google.com/flights#flt=/...63*2.USD.65713

Bohemian1 likes this.

Sep 9, 2019, 8:57 am

#261

bbrend

Join Date: Aug 2019

Programs: United

Posts: 10

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpiotrow

How about this for $653?
https://www.google.com/flights#flt=/...63*2.USD.65713

Damn you’re good at this! Last challenge - same type of thing in October or November?

Sep 9, 2019, 9:09 am

#262

mpiotrow

Join Date: Oct 2013

Location: DEN

Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)

Posts: 1,272

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbrend

Damn you’re good at this! Last challenge - same type of thing in October or November?

I'm not seeing anything after doing a quick search, but maybe @Kmxu (who sent the last link for $524) will be able to come up with something.

Sep 9, 2019, 11:09 am

#263

western

Join Date: Dec 2014

Location: Denver

Programs: UA: 1k, AA: PL, Bonvoy: Plat, HHonors: Gold, Hertz: Pres

Posts: 23

UA Mileage run

Departure Airport: DEN - could reposition
Miles Needed: 20k
Required Spend or Maximum Budget (choose one, and state the value): max: 1k
Available Travel Dates: Flexible in Nov/Dec
Required Metal or Codeshares Okay: UA/LH (would like to use GPU)
Route(s) You've Already Searched:
Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)?Yes

Last edited by western; Sep 10, 2019 at 11:14 am

Sep 9, 2019, 11:16 am

#264

h0pper

Join Date: Aug 2011

Posts: 4

Weekend mileage runs

Would like to do weekend mileage runs to get as many BIS miles possible throughout the year.

Departure Airport: LAX
Miles Needed: 10k per round trip
Required Spend or Maximum Budget (choose one, and state the value): $600 per weekend
Available Travel Dates: every weekend starting first week of November
Required Metal or Codeshares Okay: UA
Route(s) You've Already Searched: none
Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)? No

Sep 9, 2019, 2:04 pm

#265

mpiotrow

Join Date: Oct 2013

Location: DEN

Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)

Posts: 1,272

Quote:

Originally Posted by western

Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)?No, my passport expired so I had to turn it in when I got new passport.

Is there a reason you weren't able to keep your old passport when you got the new one? From what I've read, China will accept a Visa in an expired passport as long as it's also accompanied by a valid passport as long as the personal data (name, sex, etc) has not changed.

Sep 9, 2019, 3:58 pm

#266

djsinc

Join Date: Jul 2016

Posts: 48

Just need a little bump to reach goal for the year

Departure Airport: IAD/DCA/BWI
Miles Needed: 3900 PQM
Required Spend or Maximum Budget (choose one, and state the value): $300
Available Travel Dates:11/1 - 11/13
Required Metal or Codeshares Okay: UA
Route(s) You've Already Searched:
Do you have a Chinese Visa (Yes/No)? Yes

Sep 9, 2019, 6:31 pm

#267

wh6cto

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: IAD/DCA/BWI

Programs: Hyatt Globalist (2020:Exp), United Gold

Posts: 1,525

UA:$281 IAD-SEA nonstop 4612PQM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djsinc

UA:$281 IAD-SEA nonstop 4612PQM

Tue 05 Nov
UA1964 IAD-SEA 0845-1142 B739
UA260 SEA-IAD 1300-2045 B739
-or-
UA326 IAD-SEA 1730-2030 B739
UA262 SEA-IAD 2330-0713(+1day) B739

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/yp4mG or https://flights.app.goo.gl/x2nNy

Also available a week later for the same price

Will update if I find anything cheaper. ($221 IAD-DEN is only 2904PQM, so that's too short.)

Sep 9, 2019, 7:08 pm

#268

wh6cto

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: IAD/DCA/BWI

Programs: Hyatt Globalist (2020:Exp), United Gold

Posts: 1,525

UA:$517 LAX-SJU, $468 SNA-HNL or $532 ONT-POS

Quote:

Originally Posted by h0pper

These' aren't quite perfect, but here's a few ideas...

UA:$517 LAX-SJU 8122PQM/BIS
UA248 LAX-EWR 0815-1615 B78X
UA1543 EWR-SJU 2009-0101(+1day) B73
UA1803 SJU-EWR 0201-0506 B73
UA240 EWR-LAX 0700-1001 B78X
(Reminder: this qualifies for UA*G access to UC. For whatever that's worth.)

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/ZCiXA

And this next one is almost too painful to be worth mentioning:

UA:$468 SNA-HNL (via LAX & SFO) 7112PQM/BIS (w/ 500mi min)

Sat 09 Nov
UA1616 SNA-SFO 1009-1150 A320
UA5959 SFO-LAX 1251-1428 E175
UA1170 LAX-HNL 1750-2153 B738
UA534 HNL-LAX 2250-0600(+1day) B772
UA1139 LAX-SFO 0800-0938 B73
UA631 SFO-SNA 1055-1234 A320

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/7EFAw

Next one is a bit outside your window, but is available every Fri in October:

UA:$532 ONT-POS 10562PQM/BIS (w/ 500mi min)
Fri 25 Oct
UA5416 ONT-SFO 1045-1213 E175
UA2239 SFO-EWR 1315-2145 B752
UA1905 EWR-POS 2345-0456(+1day) B738
(1h24m in POS)
Sat 26 Oct
UA1906 POS-EWR 0620-1140 B738
UA1584 EWR-SFO 1659-1956 B772
UA724 SFO-ONT 2235-0001(+1day) B73

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/uM3us

Sep 9, 2019, 7:42 pm

#269

wh6cto

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: IAD/DCA/BWI

Programs: Hyatt Globalist (2020:Exp), United Gold

Posts: 1,525

UA:$544 DEN-PEK 14224PQM(UA metal) or $561 DEN-PVG

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDC1

This one requires an overnight, but qualifies for China TWOV:

UA:$544 DEN-PEK 14224PQM on UA metal (15613PQM total)
Mon 21 Oct
UA143 DEN-NRT 1325-1625(+1day) B78
Tue 22 Oct
(25h55m in Beijing)
NH955 NRT-PEK 1820-2120 B78
Wed 23 Oct
UA88 PEK-EWR 1535-1705 B77
UA2217 EWR-DEN 2130-2343 B73

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/RPho7

Another similar option is:
UA:$561 DEN-PVG 14778 on UA metal (15921PQM total)
Tue 29 Oct DEN-NRT-PVG(overnight)-EWR-DEN
Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/pK3yg

I also believe PQM flown on NH doesn't count toward your challenge. If you reroute, make sure you route USA-China-Japan/Korea/etc (or reverse) to qualify for TWOV. On the other hand, if you get a China Visa, you can fly all segments on UA and easily exceed your 15k goal.

Good luck!

UPDATE: looks like you can do $217 DEN-FLL for 3400PQM, available on various dates. That would get you over for the 18k challenge, even without additional travel. If you only need a few more miles, then $161 DEN-AUS for 1500PQM is also an option.

Last edited by wh6cto; Sep 9, 2019 at 7:55 pm Reason: Added DEN-FLL, DEN-AUS

Sep 9, 2019, 8:18 pm

#270

wh6cto

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: IAD/DCA/BWI

Programs: Hyatt Globalist (2020:Exp), United Gold

Posts: 1,525

UA:$741 COS-TPE 16857PQM K-fare

Quote:

Originally Posted by western

Since you are looking for something GPU-able...what about using it for PE? Something like:

UA:$741 COS-TPE 16857PQM (w/ 500mi min) K-fare
Tue 05 Nov
UA5236 COS-DEN 0645-0743 CR(no)J
UA268 DEN-SFO 0930-1115 B753
UA871 SFO-TPE 1335-1950(+1day) B77W
(15h40m overnight in TPE)
Thu 07 Nov
UA872 TPE-SFO 1130-0650 B77W
UA507 SFO-IAH 1125-1730 B772
UA5817 IAH-COS 1807-1944 CR(no)J

Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/zUNHu

It's a bit shot of your goal, so you could do UA:$178 DEN-MIA-EWR-DEN for 4399PQM, for the additional miles needed.
Link: https://flights.app.goo.gl/EJ2j9

Last edited by wh6cto; Sep 9, 2019 at 8:27 pm Reason: Corrected arrival time in TPE