I'm looking at a fare with the following rules in the stopover section:

UNLIMITED FREE STOPOVERS PERMITTED ON THE PRICING UNIT IN
LIS/OPO/BRAZIL.
A STOPOVER MAY NOT EXCEED 120 HOURS.
OR - UNLIMITED STOPOVERS PERMITTED ON THE PRICING UNIT IN
LIS/OPO/BRAZIL AT EUR 75.00 EACH.

The OR clauses seem mutually exclusive so I'm a bit confused as to when the free stopover rule is applied and when it is not.

I also have a constructed fare with this fare basis that has 2 stopovers (> 24 hours) and yet one of the stopovers is pricing as a transfer. Would appreciate any hints as to why this might be happening.

I interpret the rule as allowing an unlimited number of stopovers at LIS or OPO or anywhere in Brazil, with each stopover free if under 120 hours, and $75 if 120 hours or longer.

One would have to carefully examine the entire set of fare and routing rules to try and determine if the one flight is not permitted and hence is pricing separately. Pay attention to booking inventory, permitted/excluded flights and routes, day of week, etc. And of course, if either of the stops is 120 hours or more there should be a $75 charge for it.

This makes sense, thanks!

I don't think the flight is pricing separately because ITA shows the right fare basis. My flights are:

RAK-LIS Oct. 9
LIS-SSA Oct. 9
SSA-GIG Oct. 12

I'm expecting SSA to be the free stopover since it is over 24 hours but under 120 hours, but fare construction shows: RAK TP X/LIS TP SSA G3 RIO 29.78JMAEXI9B 1S168.51 [...] indicating that I am being charged 168.51 (approximately 150 euro) for the stopover. So it seems like the stopover is being treated as a transfer (transfers cost 150 according to the fare rules).

Do the fare rules say something such as "Not qualified for auto-pricing?" It could be a situation where the fare in a record needs to be reviewed by an airline's tariff desk.

Yes they do infact say that. What does this mean? I have to go to the airline directly to price this out correctly?

I'm not an expert, but I think some fare rules are written in a way that automated pricing engines can follow them, and in that case what Matrix or an airline or online travel agency shows as the price is accurate, but some rules are more complex and need to be interpreted by a person, generally a tariff desk agent at an airline. So, in this case, it may be that to get the lower fare you need to price it with an airline (or a travel agent that will send it to an airline's tariff desk). You could try using an airline web site and see if it prices it the way you think is correct.

I'm quoting this as a timely reminder. Even more counterintuitive is that, once an alert has been set for a flight, clicking on the magnifying glass returns "did not detect a flight schedule change" for flights that have been cancelled.

Because, normally, a canceled flight doesn't result in a change to the published schedule. The schedule alert is using the Flight Details search. Our plan is to add a separate Flight Status alert at a future date. How the Quick Check works isn't counter intuitive, it's just checking the alert in the same way the alert check itself does, so it wouldn't result in anything different.

Adding a separate Flight Status alert is a fine idea. I'd suggest making it very easy to create both a schedule and status alert for a flight, maybe a checkbox when creating either that creates the other as well, defaulting to on.

Expiration date
 

Hello ExpertFlyer Voice,

Is the expiration date listed in fare information the date a fare must be purchased by or the date the travel must be complete by? Thanks!

If you look at the top of the response page you'll see a "Help for this page" link with the explanation of all the fields of the Fare Information response. However to answer your question it's the travel dates.

Hello ExpertFlyer Voice - Given our newfound reality, most of us are grounded for the foreseeable future and aren't able to derive much value from our EF subscriptions. With most airlines now extending status benefits by a year, has EF considered doing the same? Many thanks for your consideration!

ExpertFlyer Voice : I Would like to know also. My subscription is about to expire in few days and seriously thinking if I should renew or not...

Well, if the airlines start giving you free travel for a year, we may consider giving you free EF for a year. :)

If you aren't going to use EF for a couple months, then set your account not to renew and reactivate your subscription when you need it again. If you are going to use it, then maintain your subscription and use it. Just keep in mind that alerts for any future dated flights require an active subscription to continue to work.

Hmm... my subscription was just renewed in February and given the ways things are going, it seems conceivable I won't be getting on another plane through the end of the year. So the suggestions you shared don't really address the situation for those in boats similar to mine.

I understand there may be nothing EF can (or is willing to) do, but I did want to point out the situation (which I know is challenging for everyone).