ProfessorPlum168

So with this need for a certain number of PQF for 2020 with little to no help from PQD, just wanted to ask - how to a random search for low priced fares with a connection? Or maybe even 2 connections? If there isn’t a tool like this, any ideas on non-BE UA and/or Star Allliance flights for say under $200 with a connection(s), from the SF Bay Area? I’m anticipating making PQP for my desired level, but will have a harder time with PQF. Also, it has to make some sense - paying $200 to go to San Diego with a connection at LAX makes no sense. Paying $300 to go to Rome with a stop say in IAD and FRA makes more sense.

jonisflying

Use Advanced Search. You can specify the number of connections and even specify preferred connection airports.

xliioper

Many people don't have the luxury of time. So while that trip to SAN might not be as attractive as a trip to Europe for somewhat more, it will take a lot less time. Google Flights will let you quickly search for options in map mode. I found UA flights from SFO - BCN from around $340 roundtrip and SFO - LHR for $367 roundtrip for winter into early spring. The catch is that these fares have a 7-day minimum stay requirement. Staying less than that will require fares that are a few hundred more. Not surprisingly, these are BE fares and main cabin will be $120 - $160 more roundtrip. So in addition to the extra time, you are looking at a higher upcharge for main cabin fares on these long haul trips.

Longer haul international fares generally do not have strict routing rules and use MPM instead (max permitted mileage). It's usually not to difficult to find a couple of connections in each direction and still remain under MPM. ITA Matrix lets you specify the number of hops in advanced mode when searching for fares (UA UA UA would specify 3 UA segments). This will add a few dollars to the price due to additional taxes for stopping at additional airports (segment taxes and passenger facility charges).

As far as nearby flights, the cheaper fares from SFO-SAN require non-stop routing which is not unusual for routes that have significant non-stop service. So adding a stop in LAX each way will require upfaring to a significantly higher fare unless you want to try your luck with SDC. However, there are cheap fares from SFO-RNO that permit connections in LAX. These can be found for as low as $159 main cabin roundtrip and you can find day trips with 4 segments at that price.

Repooc17

Adding "unnecessary" segments may help with status qualification, but give rise to potential trip disruption probabilities resulting from variety of factors. Each person must weight the cost and benefit, in both tangible and intangible implications.

WineCountryUA

ITA Marix or Google Flights (a simpler interface) has ways to force a minimum number of connections like united.com but other more useful "mileage run" features.

And the Mileage Run Discussion forum is for
"Discussion of methods to maximize miles and/or points either through trips dedicated to no other reason than the miles/points, or through creative alteration of trips to extend their earning capacity in often unique ways."
has discussions on how to find unusual routes and PQP maximization will surely be a topic there.

mr8

Try the nearby airport option in the search. It can sometimes be cheaper to fly out of a smaller airport. e.g. SNA-SFO-INTL vs LAX-INTL and you get an extra segment.

Multi-city search is another option. e.g. SFO-SIN with a layover or stopover (usually an extra fee) in TYO could add an extra segment, though you will have to fly on partner metal if you decide to add extra segments overseas.

As long as it's all on one PNR and you have the time to spare (which seems obvious if you're trying to route extra stops), then it's UA's responsibility to protect you if there's an IRROPS. A good credit card will also help with any additional delay related costs. 1k/GS also get WX related food/hotel vouchers.

I wonder if this decision to have a "flight" requirement might come back to hurt UA when they have to re-accommodate and compensate more pax for missed connections instead of having people take less risky direct flights.

WineCountryUA

My guess, just like the old days of mileage running, there will just be a small fraction of travelers doing this. Most value their time more than doing stuff like this.

jsloan

As xliioper suggested, matrix.itasoftware.com is your friend. You can use the advanced controls to put in any number of flight segments that you want. I also agree with the suggestion to consider starting from SJC, MRY, SMF, or STS.

I disagree with your premise; if you value the status level, flying SFO-LAX-SAN may absolutely make sense; in fact, it may make more sense than flying to Rome, if you need to go to San Diego but don’t need to go to Rome. (However, as pointed out upthread, you may have a hard time pricing SFO-LAX-SAN).

What status level do you have now / are you gunning for? If Gold or above, free SDC can help add flights if you find that you need them.

This is not true for UA or LH-group, especially for US origin tickets. Nearly all discount fares from the US are routed. The routing rules are often quite flexible, in terms of the allowable connection cities, but they’re still routed, not MPM-based. Additionally, many routed fares, and some MPM fares, have limits on the number of transfers allowed on the pricing unit, effectively limiting the number of PQFs in most cases.

However, the OP needn’t worry about any of this stuff, because the pricing engine will take care of it. Use ITA Matrix to find flights with the desired number of PQFs, and don’t worry too much about the type of fare being used.

findark

This. My first reaction was a $300 flight to Rome sounds absolutely miserable.

If you're really into maximizing the segments, you probably want to break out the routing rules since you usually won't get the maximum number of segments on an international fare to show up on any search engine (it's suppressed by the query timeout, because of course it is ). This is probably a bit advanced for OP though.

jsloan

I’ve gotten reasonably good success with something like UA UA UA UA UA or UA UA UA LH or whatnot (in the advanced controls). Knowing the specific routing rules will help, but I’m not aware of any free source to get them, and given the specifics of the question, I didn’t necessarily want to recommend a paid solution, since paying $100 / year for ExpertFlyer cuts significantly into the travel budget being presented.

paperwastage

the free fare rules give you a decent amount of information (how many /transfersstopovers allowed at which areas 1/2/3)

domestic, stopovers are likely hubs. int'l, stopovers are either in canada(various AC hub) or *A hubs in europe. obviously there are exceptions ( a lot in asia)

the $100 EF subscription is worth avoiding this trial&error IMO, once you know how to use EF. depends how you value your time I guess

findark

That's true, and a lot of times the number of transfers is actually limited by cat 9 instead of the routing rules.

djmp

What’s cat 9?

never mind: Travel Industry Basics.: ATPCO Fare Category