SC Run help

Old Aug 25, 2006, 5:43 pm
  #1  
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SC Run help

Hopefully the brains trust out there can help me with a quandry I've been givien.

I know someone who wants to do a status credit run to get ~400 SC. They want to do it as quickly as possible, with as little time away as possible. They have no problems with flying around the world, and this was currently is their plan. They believe they can get a round the world fare with enough sc's for around $4k. My suggestion was to fly jetstar star class a couple times and get the business class bonuses. It came to under $4k, and there would have been no lay overs. However there was only 85 minutes between landing and the return flight (i think it was BKK or phuket, i forget), and jetstar refused to allow the flights in the end.

Does anyone have some suggestions on a good way to work this one out?

Thank you!

I'm sure i've left out valuable information, so please ask if you wonder. Oh, they live in Sydney, so sydney or melbourne would be the start off.
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Old Aug 25, 2006, 6:52 pm
  #2  
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Originally Posted by abcedaria
Hopefully the brains trust out there can help me with a quandry I've been givien.

I know someone who wants to do a status credit run to get ~400 SC. They want to do it as quickly as possible, with as little time away as possible. They have no problems with flying around the world, and this was currently is their plan. They believe they can get a round the world fare with enough sc's for around $4k. My suggestion was to fly jetstar star class a couple times and get the business class bonuses. It came to under $4k, and there would have been no lay overs. However there was only 85 minutes between landing and the return flight (i think it was BKK or phuket, i forget), and jetstar refused to allow the flights in the end.

Does anyone have some suggestions on a good way to work this one out?

Thank you!

I'm sure i've left out valuable information, so please ask if you wonder. Oh, they live in Sydney, so sydney or melbourne would be the start off.
Couple of options as I can see:

(1) if doing the MEL-BKK thing on Jetstar, the beauty of the system is that you can book one-way flights. So while it will not let you book a return (says minimum connecting time is 90 mins and the aircraft is only on the ground for 80 mins), you could book two one ways... I would enter in the FF number for one segment only, then add the FF number for the return once at BKK. If they are travelling with hand baggage only, then it depends on whether they can get the return boarding pass without having to clear immigration? I got a return fare in SatrClass for AUD1971 (but does this earn enough SCs??)

(2) they could do a SYD-HNL in discount Y on QF. Then from HNL, take an AA YUP fare out of HNL. We did this earlier this year for AUD1700 all up (for the YUP) - total SCs netted was over 800 ex SYD. PM me for some good routes and deals nthe YUPS if you need them. Total cost AUD2900. The connection ex HNL is a 4 hour wait (use QC there however). on the way back you will need to overnight. Time away 4 days.

Regards

L/M/E FF
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Old Aug 25, 2006, 10:11 pm
  #3  
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Whats a YUP fare??? That sounds like great value 800SC's for $2900.
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 2:21 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by bensyd
Whats a YUP fare??? That sounds like great value 800SC's for $2900.
Hi Bensyd

A YUP fare (might be called KUPs as well now) are fares sold by American carriers for NON point-to-point travel where you fly via one of their main hubs. The fare books under Y class, but tickets automatically into First at the time of booking. It was originally (maybe still is?) seen as a solution to companies not letting their executives fly First Class - as the ticket is technically in economy.

Being in economy, the fare is also usually well below the normal First Class fare (although AA sell their fares as discounted First anyways).

AA, UA and US all offer them that I am familiar with, I am sure the other carrier do as well. Examples of where a YUP would be applicable would be on a LAX-DFW-BOS flight (ie via AA's hub), but would not be available on the direct AA LAX-BOS flight. The fare is also an incentive to get pax flying via the airlines' hubs.

YUPs are not available on all routes, and are typically available in markets where there is competition.

I have posted a guide below on YUPs on AA which I originally posted in another forum.

As the YUP books into First, you get F SCs and mileage. The downside to a YUP is that should you need to change travel plans at short notice and First is not available in either A or P class, then you get to fly coach (with no refund of course), although you will be ticketed in Y as opposed to a discount economy code.

The figures I gave above (over 800 SCs for 2900) was because that included the flight SYD to HNL, it is even cheaper if you exclude your flight to the States.

Now that you know about them - enjoy!

Guide to YUPs:

The booking procedure for YUPs is fairly simple provided you do the following:

1) on AA.com, you must select pricing by fare, not schedule

2) select 'First Class with restrictions'

As for routes with YUPs:

3) a YUP fare is usually only available if you connect, at least once, via a carrier's hub (the best fares are via DFW)

4) look for flights on which AA has competition from other airlines, particularly low cost carriers such as Southwest, Jetblue, Airtran

5) good starting points for YUPs are HNL, BWI, BOS.

6) enter in your starting point, then a destination, hit 'enter'. The fare will appear. If it looks high, try another destination. Always select flights with multiple stops if you can as this will increase your SCs. If you want a head-up on some good routes, PM me.

Bear in mind the following:

7) some YUPs are only available on certain days of the week (like Tuesdays through Thursdays). If you are getting a high fare for other days, try T/W/T.

Advanced:

8) once you have mastered the above, you can play around with the booking engine on AA to maximise flight segments through using the multi-city tool

9) you do the above by taking a simple YUP and then adding in segments. You will know if the routing you have chosen is not valid because the fare will jump significantly

10) when using the multi booking tool you should select the following flight times: early morning, noon, afternoon, evening (for segments 1-4 respectively)

11) for multi segment bookings, always allow a minimum of 2 hours connecting time to allow for delays (late incoming aircraft). You should always try to book on the first flight out in the morning, and make sure that you have at least one other flight choice for segments 2, 3 and 4 so that a delay in segment 1 doesn't mean the end of your itinerary.

12) if you are doing a run to get SCs, try not to fly during known bad weather seasons (like winter / tornado season) - these all cause severe delays

13) if you are doing back-to-back 4 segment runs, try and allow one day off in between to accommodate flight delays (for example, go outbound Tuesday with four sengments, rest Wednesday, fly back Thursday). This means if you miss the last flight of the day on Tuesday (ie segment 4), you can fly that segment on the Wednesday, then you haven't mucked up your return flight.

Finally:

14) Now I don't want to give away all the great YUP fares, but you can do a 4 segment trip (or you could as of late last year) from a certain city in Florida to a certain city in Texas for USD 247. (I can't check if the fare is still available at the moment because the AA site is undergoing maintenance.)

15) all of the above being said, some of the great 4 segment flights are getting harder to find because AA is giving routes to American Eagle which only operate in one class and hence the fare prices out very high.

Regards

L/M/E FF etc etc

Last edited by LHR/MEL/Europe FF; Aug 26, 2006 at 5:36 pm
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 3:03 am
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
Hi Bensyd

A YUP fare (might be called KUPs as well now) are fares sold by American carriers for NON point-to-point travel where you fly via one of their main hubs. The fare books under Y class, but tickets automatically into First at the time of booking. It was originally (maybe still is?) seen as a solution to companies not letting their executives fly First Class - as the ticket is technically in economy.

Being in economy, the fare is also usually well below the normal First Class fare (although AA sell their fares as discounted First anyways).

AA, UA and US all offer them that I am familiar with, I am sure the other carrier do as well. Examples of where a YUP would be applicable would be on a LAX-DFW-BOS flight (ie via AA's hub), but would not be available on the direct AA LAX-BOS flight. The fare is also an incentive to get pax flying via the airlines hubs.

YUPs are not available on all routes, and are typically available in markets where there is competition.

I have posted a guide below on YUPs on AA which I originally posted in another forum.

As the YUP books into First, you get F SCs and mileage. The downside to a YUP is that should you need to change travel plans at short notice and First is not available in either A or P class, then you get to fly coach (with no refund of course), although you will be ticketed in Y as opposed to a discount economy code.

The figures I gave above (over 800 SCs for 2900) was because that included the flight SYD to HNL, it is even cheaper if you exclude your flight to the States.

Know that you know about them - enjoy!

Guide to YUPs:

The booking procedure for YUPs is fairly simple provided you do the following:

1) on AA.com, you must select pricing by fare, not schedule

2) select 'First Class with restrictions'

As for routes with YUPs:

3) a YUP fare is usually only available if you connect, at least once, via a carrier's hub (the best fares are via DFW)

4) look for flights on which AA has competition from other airlines, particularly low cost carriers such as Southwest, Jetblue, Airtran

5) good starting points for YUPs are HNL, BWI, BOS.

6) enter in your starting point, then a destination, hit 'enter'. The fare will appear. If it looks high, try another destination. Always select flights with multiple stops if you can as this will increase your SCs. If you want a head-up on some good routes, PM me.

Bear in mind the following:

7) some YUPs are only available on certain days of the week (like Tuesdays through Thursdays). If you are getting a high fare for other days, try T/W/T.

Advanced:

8) once you have mastered the above, you can play around with the booking engine on AA to maximise flight segments through using the multi-city tool

9) you do the above by taking a simple YUP and then adding in segments. You will know if the routing you have chosen is not valid because the fare will jump significantly

10) when using the multi booking tool you should select the following flight times: early morning, noon, afternoon, evening (for segments 1-4 respectively)

11) for multi segment bookings, always allow a minimum of 2 hours connecting time to allow for delays (late incoming aircraft). You should always try to book on the first flight out in the morning, and make sure that you have at least one other flight choice for segments 2, 3 and 4 so that a delay in segment 1 doesn't mean the end of your itinerary.

12) if you are doing a status run to get SCs, try not to fly during known bad weather seasons (like winter / tornado season) - these all cause severe delays

13) if you are doing back-to-back 4 segment runs, try and allow one day off in between to accommodate flight delays (for example, go outbound Tuesday with four sengments, rest Wednesday, fly back Thursday). This means if you miss the last flight of the day on Tuesday (ie segment 4), you can fly that segment on the Wednesday, then you haven't mucked up your return flight.

Finally:

14) Now I don't want to give away all the great YUP fares, but you can do a 4 segment trip (or you could as of late last year) from a certain city in Florida to a certain city in Texas for USD 247. (I can't check if the fare is still available at the moment because the AA site is undergoing maintenance.)

15) all of the above being said, some of the great 4 segment flights are getting harder to find because AA is giving routes to American Eagle which only operate in one class and hence the fare prices out very high.

Regards

L/M/E FF etc etc
Great post, thanks. I know it's not core to the QF FF scheme, but does affect your ability to earn SCs, so I motion that this gets incorporated into the sticky.
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 3:23 am
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I second that.

I should also add that there are presently fares between two European cities which for approx $400 AUD will net you 120 SCs which is not too shabby.

Personally I don't need to do a SC run so I am probably going to pass this little deal up this year, although next year I might need to do it should I wish to retain WP.

FWIW, now is the time to buy cheap fares in the Northern Hemisphere. There are loads of deals out there if you look in the right places.

Last edited by Traveloguy; Aug 26, 2006 at 8:35 am Reason: price revised upwards as price was due to fare error
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 8:29 am
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Back in the Southern Hemisphere; it appears JetStar StarClass BNE to BKK and return will nett 360 QF SC's for about AUD2200 (at the moment). You are routed via MEL so it's BNE-xMEL-BKK and BKK-xMEL-BNE; the MEL/BNE flights are codeshares in QF J class.

Ex SYD, it's about the same cost but 40 SC less.

Last edited by serfty; Aug 26, 2006 at 8:48 am
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 10:30 am
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Great information, but one question? Why didn't anybody tell me about this earlier!!!!

Just found a fare that nets 660 Status credits for 780 (GBP!).

God bless American Airlines!
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Old Aug 26, 2006, 5:22 pm
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I should add my thanks to hauteboy for alerting me to the possibility of 4 segment YUPs!

Just checking AA today, it looks like the really cheap 4 segmenters have gone (has AA wised up??), they are now roughly double the price (USD570). The long hauler YUPs are still there though.

Regards

L/M/E FF etc etc
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Old Aug 27, 2006, 2:29 am
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Originally Posted by sn00p
Great information, but one question? Why didn't anybody tell me about this earlier!!!!

Just found a fare that nets 660 Status credits for 780 (GBP!).

God bless American Airlines!
Just found one on the same trip, 750 SC for 780 - that's including all taxes.

WP for 1560!
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Old Aug 27, 2006, 12:25 pm
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Originally Posted by Traveloguy
I second that.

I should also add that there are presently fares between two European cities which for approx $400 AUD will net you 120 SCs which is not too shabby.
Veeeery interesting Traveloguy!! Any hints for where to find these fabulous fares?
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Old Aug 27, 2006, 5:49 pm
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Rather than messing around with longhaul, I would take a couple of trips to NZ on LA business class to get 320 SCs. Add in some cheapy domestic (australia or NZ) flights to get the rest (or do 3 SYD-AKL round trips instead).

Alternatively, if have time to wait for a sale for AKL-CNS/PER in business (ie when QF matches NZ), then take one round trip SYD-AKL on LA and combine with AKL-CNS/PER round trip, all in business for 480 SCs.
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Old Aug 27, 2006, 5:52 pm
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Originally Posted by sn00p
Great information, but one question? Why didn't anybody tell me about this earlier!!!!

Just found a fare that nets 660 Status credits for 780 (GBP!).

God bless American Airlines!
If you don't need as many SCs in one go, then you can do quite a bit better than this.
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Old Aug 27, 2006, 5:54 pm
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Originally Posted by alwaysinvogue
Veeeery interesting Traveloguy!! Any hints for where to find these fabulous fares?
Ready the BA forum ultimate guide (stickied). Best routes for QFF involve flights over 600 miles (and via another OW airline hub).
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Old Aug 28, 2006, 4:40 am
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
If you don't need as many SCs in one go, then you can do quite a bit better than this.
I'm sure you can, but AA are kind of making a mockery of the whole thing....

...my J class flight from LHR-SYD nets me 480 SC at a cost of ~2800 (not even retaining gold). Two of those trips (i mentioned above) net me 1500 SC at a cost of ~1500. Over 1000 cheaper and I'd be a WP.

If you were to include my return flights from LHR to BOS (in Y), it'd add an additional 380 to the return - and also adding a further 50 SC into the pot.
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