Actually I can use a weekend to do that coz I got some other *challenges* to do.

I found the following two are the cheapest, but which one would you prefer?

PHL --> CLT --> MLB --> CLT --> DCA --> LGA --> CLT --> MSY --> PHL (Oct 1 to Oct 3)
$482 with tax.

PHL --> CLT --> MLB --> CLT --> MSY --> DCA --> BOS --> PHL
(Oct 1 to Oct 3)
$432 with tax.

But the second one comes with a really quick 30-min transition from CLT-MSY to MSY-DCA. If I miss that, or if the flight is canceled, I will be completely screwed for *shuttle*. What do you guys think?

How is this 4 i only count 3 points. What am i missing??

CLT-LGA -East--1 point
LGA-DCA--Shuttle--1 point
DCA-CLT- East again
CLT-BTR- new route-1 point
BTR-CLT-- same route.

Is BTR counted as West???

What dates are you talking about? Weekend?

Yes.

When I do my run I'm going MLB-CLT-BTR, but I'm taking the day to drive down to MSY. The rental car is a cost, but the fare is cheaper and (because I'm west coast based and have to do the overnight anyway) gives me time to enjoy a meal in New Orleans. It's United metal back to LAX, but I'll have logged the US legs for H/S/J already.

How do I price and then book a forced multi-city run like these? If I try to do it through the multi-city option, the sum never comes out to the $200-300 that some of the posts here list. There must be another trick to say, get a shuttle connection stuck in the middle?

Duplicate and erroneous.

FYI -- since you're trial preferred, 4 HSJ points will only take you up to silver, not gold, at least according to the faq. (Still better doing it as an HSJ, since it will keep you silver through 2012 instead of 2011.)

If you have a weekend, if it were me, I would do the MLB-CLT-BTR route to get all 4 points. (Although you already have 1 point, it's borderline useless to you since it's already the easiest point to get -- the east point -- so you still need the tougher 3.)

Rather than flying to MLB from PHL to start, I think I'd fly PHL-MCO one way, which is non-stop on a 737 and can be had most Friday nights in late August or early September for $89 or $99. A one way rental car from MCO-MLB and a hotel in MLB will cost about $100. But you have to do an overnight anyway, and flying to MLB on a 737 would be preferrable to me over going PHL-CLT-MLB. You're going to have to fly two CRJ legs the next day, why not go 737 the night before? Plus, you have a much better shot as a silver getting ug on PHL-MCO than PHL-CLT.

If you take the 6:30 a.m. from MLB, you get to BTR around 10:30. Now you just need to get home from BTR. You have a choice of options -- all about $150. You can fly any metal of your choice with a connection or drive to MSY and fly direct. For $400 to $500, you can leave in the late afternoon on a Friday and be back for dinner on Saturday.

Actually, if you fly 10 segments within the trial period, you get to keep silver through 2012 (says so in the email they send you). There is no point in doing the HSJ promotion if you are a trial preferred because doing 4 HSJ points will earn you the same thing as doing any 10 segments. It would take you 8 HSJ points to bump you up to gold, which is not worth it.

A really good piece of info, ikar. Thanks a lot for your analysis.

1. I am actually in trial Silver 90-day offer, so if I am done with that, I can get the status all the way to 2012

2. This is something I need to ask. According to FAQ;

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What if I'm currently enrolled in the Trial Preferred program?

You can participate in both the Hop, Skip and Jump promotion and the Trial Preferred program. You'll have two ways to increase your Preferred status: either via the normal Trial Preferred rules or via your total count of hops, skips and jumps. Your hop, skip and jump count will affect your pre-trial status, not your current trial status.
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Let's say if I am done with the 10-segments by Sept 29, 2010 for the Trial-Preferred 90-day, then I can immediately be silver afterward. And if I get three/four more H/S/J for the upcoming weekend(Oct 1 - Oct 3), do you think I can get to the Gold? That's why I have been trying to get all the flights booked especially for H/S/J.

3. If it is a 'no' for that, then I can just save that $500USD coz I am sure I will get 10 segments anyway before Sept 29, 2010

Anybody knows the answer to that?

What do you think about the question I just posted behind you?

--Let's say if I am done with the 10-segments by Sept 29, 2010 for the Trial-Preferred 90-day, then I can immediately be silver afterward. And if I get three/four more H/S/J for the upcoming weekend(Oct 1 - Oct 3), do you think I can get to the Gold? That's why I have been trying to get all the flights booked especially for H/S/J. --

This question was asked 46 times in this topic and answered 58 times. Read the posts, not just last couple of pages.
There is also a Wiki page for this promo.

It also says "If you are enrolled in our Trial Preferred program, any change to your status from this promotion will occur after your trial period ends." That seems to suggest that you could earn gold by doing the 10 segments to keep silver after the trial ends and then 4 HSJ points to bump you up one level. However, the FAQ seems to explicitly state you can't do that. Don't think spending $500 on flights you don't need is worth the gamble.

There might be another way. Previous paid preferred trials allowed you to earn gold, platinum, CP by flying 20/30/40 segments respectively. I'm not sure if it applies to the free preferred trial....need to call and ask. If you already have 10 segments, flying 10 more to get gold shouldn't be that hard.

My trial is actually from July 24, 2010 to Oct 24, 2010. If I am done with 10 segments by Sept 29, 2010, is that trial period automatically done, and a real status starts right after that? I believe that's the tricky part here.

That's interesting. I think that what they are saying in the e-mail was an error or typo. Traditionally, on silver preferred, meeting the challenge would only get you the status through the end of the program year (ie. 2011). Indeed, that is expressly what the T&C for the latest "try silver" promo say: "Upon successful enrollment in the Preferred trial program you must fly the minimum amount of miles or segments within 90 days of the Effective Date in order to keep Preferred status for remainder of program year."

It will be interesting to see whether they automatically honor the status through 2012. Obviously, if they said it and you relied on it, it's hard to see how they could go back on it. I'm sure they will honor it, but it might take an extra phone call. I'd watch my statement carefully. (FYI, I did trial preferred earlier this year, met my 7,500 mile requirement, and was only granted silver through the end of the program year.)

But, the bottom line is that I agree with you. If your preferred period is through 2012, there really is no advantage to HSJ. In fact, if you wanted gold, it would be easier to simply try for 15000 miles or 20 segments during the trial period -- I think that would be easier than 8 HSJ points.