I have read about the airline's problem with people buying RT flights for a one-way trip, and the issues with that. But here is what I'm planning:

I am flying outbound from city A to B, and then returning from city B to city A,connecting in city C (where I live). I plan to just get off the plane in city C, abandoning the last leg of the return.

What are the (i) potential and (ii) likely repercussions, if any? Can or will I lose my FF miles or EQM for the trip? If it matters, I do have elite status.

If you do not make it a regular practice, I doubt any airline will even notice.

However, do not check luggage... that would cause a problem.

Also, dont call the airline and ask for a credit of the unflown segments... that would tip them off...

William

Whether you risk your miles and status for this trip...

(1) You're talking about 'hidden city ticketing', throwing away the final segment of your itinerary.

(2) Some carriers prohibit this and others do not.

(3) For those that prohibit it, you could eventually be in some difficulty, especially if you do it alot.

When customers frequently violate tariff rules, it's most often the travel agent (if there is one) that would get a debit memo for it.

Generally speaking when flagrantly breaking an airline's rules it is best to (a) not use your FF number and (b) use multiple carriers if possible (esp. in the case of back to back ticketing).

A FF account lets an airline track you. Lots of 'questionable' activity does entail some risk.

That's the one scenario you usually still get away with, though just take the FF miles for the flown segments and definitely don't check any luggage. As wharvey said.

Back in the good old days you could have them print boarding passes in advance and sometimes hop off and on in the middle of itineraries. Those days are long gone, though.

The LIKELY repercussion is that nothing will happen. The only downside is that you'll have to "suffer" as a non-elite for the trip, since you won't want to use your FF#.

The POTENTIAL repercussion is that they could freeze your FF account. Unlikely because if you don't use your FF account for the flight, their IT people probably don't go digging too hard looking for you. Especially if you aren't a habitual offender.

International fares are easier to get away with compared to domestic fares (main reason is that you can use multiple airliens, and any "stay" less than 24 hours is considered a "connection", while in the U.S. it is 4 hours).

If you try to engage in "throw-away" ticket on INTERNATIONAL fares (one-way), ALWAYS book TWO airlines with INCOMPATIBLE frequent flyer programs/alliance networks.

For example, on SQ (Star Alliance), the SFO-HKG-TPE fare (with the HKG-TPE segment being on any carrier you want [this is what's good about international normal fares]) is lower than the SFO-HKG fare in First Class.

You can buy a ticket with the SFO-HKG segments on SQ and the HKG-TPE segment on CX (oneworld, which is incompatible with star alliance). Try to book a connection that is >10 hours (or a long connection), but LESS than 24 hours (after 24 hours, the ticket will be priced at the higher fare of SFO-HKG).

When checking in at SFO, ask the agent to tag you bags up to HKG only (tell them you have a long connection in HKG).

in the uk this style of ticketing was actively promoted and bookable on Stelios' website easyvalue.co.uk
don;t think it still is in use..(its powered by kelkoo now) there was alot of discussion around the time it was launched
but you could actually search for options that involved dumping certain flights.

I've done this with both domestic and international tickets and nothing has happened. I even told an check-in agent what I was doing on an international flight and she just shrugged her shoulders.

Officially with some airlines your ticket will be repriced at the full fare rate even after the fact if this is determined, and any associated FF account may be debited for the miles and/or frozen. While sometimes you might be able to "get away without anyone noticing" (such as Justice Scalia apparently did recently) it would be in your best interest to not say anything about it, just in case. That might be an extreme example, but it does happen occasionally.

Or, pick an airline that doesn't mind. There are some out there that really care, some that look the other way, and some that have official policies that you're welcome to do this.

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