Using fare rules to maximize number of miles
 

I will have upcoming roudtrip SIN-SFO-SIN trip in September/October. I must fly economy according to company's travel policy and can book any fare class in economy except Y and B.

Question: which fare class would be preferable to maximize number of miles thru the number of connections without significantly affecting price of the ticket? Secondly, what connection airports would be preferable in this case?

Thank you.

UA has consistent routing rules across all of its fare classes, so buying an expensive M fare isn't any advantage to you in terms of earning miles.

If time is not an issue, consider SFO-LAX-HNL-NRT/GUM-HKG-SIN?

Use hipmunk with the ITA advanced routing language to see how you can maximize connections/miles. For the origin enter "SIN :: ua ua ua ua+" to see flights with a minimum of 3 connections.

Ideally route something like SIN-NRT-GUM-HNL-LAX-SFO for miles.

If I turned in something like that, I think I'd raise a few eyebrows in the travel office.

Affirmative. I was more hoping to get something like SIN-NRT-IAH-SFO or SIN-NRT-EWR-SFO

You might actually find that one of those combinations, especially the former prices out cheaper that just SIN-NRT-SFO as the NRT-SFO flight can be quite busy.

Ha . . . that's true but you did ask, "Question: which fare class would be preferable to maximize number of miles thru the number of connections without significantly affecting price of the ticket?"

He did try to max out your miles. So, max miles without raising eyebrows.

NRT-EWR-SFO is OK, but GUM-HNL-SFO raises eyebrows?

Well, that's a bit silly, but those are major hubs. Connecting in Honolulu and Guam, and Hong Kong on the way to Singapore, just sounds a lot stranger to me. Then again, it doesn't sound all that strange after reading this board.

Does corporate travel even look at full itineraries? If the price is cheaper, and you're not wasting company time, why is the routing a concern?

Sometimes I buy the M fare and then upgrade(change the ticket) to a B fare in the 24 hour window so that there is no change fee...IF the B fare is not too expensive...probably outrageous TPAC. Many times, it's cheaper to just buy the miles via Maximizer

:confused: You would purchase as high as M fare and then worry about the costs of connections?? The fare class is a greater driver of costs then connections.

We have offices in San Francisco and NY. Going to either of those is quite logical. Going to Guam will definitely raise red flag.

Corporate travel policies defy human logic. I once found a routing from SIN to FRA which was twice cheaper comparing to non-stop flight but was told that it was not allowed according to corporate travel policy.

So SIN-SFO with four connections in between on K would be cheaper than SIN-NRT-SFO on W?

Regarding the routing rules - are they individual with every fare?

The difference between the M fare and the P (discounted first class fare) is always low. For example, on a RT from IAH to EWR, the M fare could be $1400 and the discounted P fare was $1500. For $100 you get to sit in FC *and* you get 50% miles and PQM bonus. Hard to beat.

When you buy the M fare, wait till the ticket is actually issued in M class. Then you can either upgrade online to P or you can call United. If you change within 24 hours, there will be no fees other than the fare difference.

OK, just ignore my answer. Did not read question carefully and did not realize this was an int'l flight. This strategy works for domestic flights where differences in M and P fares are small. I will leave this to others who have more experience with int'l market.

Yep. SIN-SFO: P - $4866, M - $2649.

Amazing (or not amazing), but SIN-HKG-ORD-EWR with return EWR-NRT-SIN is cheaper than roudtrip SIN-NRT-SFO...

Can anyone explain this?

Does above rule mean that in addition to NRT/HKG one more stop is permitted? If yes, where that stop can be? Also, what is 'side trip'?