Hi,

I'm booking travel in December and I noticed that United seem to be making things easy for us by building in Mileage runs!

For example, I need to fly SMF->LAX. I could fly there direct for 500 miles, but
there are loads of other options with the exact same price.

1) SMF->SFO->LAX (1000 miles)
and even
2) SMF->DEN->LAX (1500 miles)

All arrive at LAX around the same time, but leave a few hours earlier.

So which is the most dependable of 1) and 2). I need to be at a meeting at LAX so don't want to be late.

In December you'll have a chance of heavy snow in DEN and there is always fog in SFO.

Weather is the primary factor, and that is unpredictable this far out. If it is important arrive the day prior.

Take the time to understand how itineraries are constructed and priced using fares and availabilities. It will make it a lot easier to understand why you are being offered these opportunities, why they're priced the way they are, and how to find them in the future

I'd suggest this series of articles: http://hackmytrip.com/2012/02/unders...ine-inventory/

This wouldn't technically be a mileage run, because MRs are trips you take solely for the miles. But padding your trip with extra connections is a time-honored tradition for MRers and non-MRers alike! However, every connection increases the chance of a misconnect.

Status makes a huge difference on this, because if you're Gold or higher, you can do a same day change for free. That can really help if you see that your connecting flight is going to be delayed. You can try to get back on that direct flight and get there on time, or if you've already connected, you can get on a flight that is technically scheduled later but will take off earlier.

For December, I'd say SFO is the safer bet than DEN, mainly because of the number of scheduled flights -- both from SMF to SFO vs. DEN and to LAX from SFO vs. DEN. You also don't have to worry about a winter storm in DEN. SFO's notorious fog is far worse in the spring/summer than the winter, and runway repairs should be finished by then.

On the SMF-DEN-LAX route, make sure both segments are not the same flight number. If it's only a stop at DEN, you will likely get only 500mi (assuming you have status, 373mi as GM). In general, the allowed routing for SMF-LAX fare appears to be SMF-SFO/LAX-LAX (so really only SMF-SFO-LAX).
If a combination of two fares (i.e. SMF-DEN and DEN-LAX), then it would be valid, and many more possible routes may exist.

this has been a standard mileage padding option for years.

I did the DEN to LAX add on once but it does add 3-4 hours.

I agree with others the UX to SFO can create issue.

So is SMF->DEN->LAX asking for trouble in early December? Someone else mentioned snow issues.

Snow in DEN is always a risk but DEN handles snow very well in most cases.
If there is a waiver, you can always reroute. Would never mileage pad or run if you have a schedule to keep.
Look at padding for return flights.

Both flights can have the same flight #'s and as long as they are NOT listed as one flight with a stop you will receive miles for each individual flight. Just did it a few weeks ago!

United 1132-ZN class
Philadelphia-Denver 1,557 1,557 3,114
United 1132-ZN class
Denver-Las Vegas 629 629 1258

I've never been stranded in DEN, however last winter out of 6 transits of SFO only chanced it once, as 5 weather waivers caused me to reschedule.
Low ceilings, fog, and rain causes SFO to go to one runway, many times. They've done some work there so perhaps things have changed.

Not that this is what the OP is getting at, but here's my angle on this. Whenever I have to take a flight somewhere�particularly for work�I look for mileage runs from my destination city. For instance, during a trip to PDX, I flew a mileage run to FLL and back before returning to CLE from PDX.

DEN is not a valid connecting point for UA SMF-LAX. If you're booking that, you're paying for SMF-DEN + DEN-LAX.

Avoid SFO. The express service isn't that reliable and you'll likely end up driving to SFO or getting put on a direct to LAX.

I have long wanted to fly a PS flight, but just never have the opportunity to go from JFK to SFO or LAX. Earlier this year, I decided to make it happen. I was going to DFW from NY and decided to check the multiple city options booking JFK-SFO-LAX-DFW. Not only was it available, but it was cheaper than other more direct connections.

When I read about PS flights, I now know what they are like, plus I saved a few bucks and earned a whole lot of miles. That was very cool.

From Dallas I was headed to MCO. The original booking was from DFW-IAH-MCO on a Sunday, and there was a schedule change giving me less than 25 minutes to get from my regional flight to my mainline at IAH for the connection, so I talked a 1K phone agent into changing my res to DFW-IAH-DEN-MCO.

The IAH-DEN flight was scheduled to be an old 752, but they swapped it for an international config 767. My CPU had cleared all the way, so I go lay-flats on the PS and IAH-DEN flights for a price so low I'm embarrassed to quote it here. Almost made me forget about flying to IAH on a C200!

Just my opinion on those flight you mention, specifically the SMF-SFO, that to me will be your biggest joker.
1. The EMB 120 is very often late, sometime very very late, make sure you can switch to an earlier flight if necessary. And sometimes cancellations.
2. As mentioned earlier the weather at SFO is hard to predict. In the winter time you also sometimes get fog at SMF or other places the EMB120 flys.

I am not trying to discourage you from doing the flight, but book plenty of connection time @ SFO.

Past experience have, left me at a hotel @ SMF, left me at a hotel @ SFO, driven from SMF to SFO, and last but not least taxied (yes UA put me in a cab) from SMF to SFO. These are not single occurrences.

I have not had problems in DEN but have coworkers who always get stuck due to weather.

What the OP describes is child's play, with all the warnings about misconnecting and weather, etc.

Last week, I had to do WAS-ROC r/t for a family event. I initially thought of doing IAD-ROC-IAD roundtrip, figuring that even Express nonstops were more reliable than a connection at EWR (flying from DCA).

But I wasn't quite happy with the flight times on the nonstop, so I looked into some other options, and ended up booking DCA-CLE-ROC/ROC-IAD-LAS-ORD-BWI. Arriving/departing DCA/BWI allowed me to use Metro/MARC trains and leave my car at home. The savings in parking cost made this trip almost exactly the same price as the IAD-ROC-IAD option.

Then, CLE was dehubbed and I changed my outbound to DCA-ORD-ROC (a few more miles, and mainline). Then I had a serious delay on ORD-ROC and spent the night with ORD-area friends I hadn't seen.

On the return, I flew ROC-IAD on a junglejet, took a shower in the LH lounge, and then was CPU'ed IAD-LAS (T-48), LAS-ORD redeye (T-24), and ORD-BWI.(T-1). Not bad for a Gold, huh?

So, yes, these things are doable, and can be very lucrative, miles-wise.