Here’s a United mileage run with oodles of availability I found this morning that I haven’t seen posted elsewhere.

This $99 one-way base airfare between San Francisco and Charlotte was filed back on April 26, and given it hasn’t been pulled yet, this post might stay useful longer than my last mileage run tip. It works in both directions, but I focused on zero- and one-nighters available originating in San Francisco.

Here’s the nitty-gritty and an example itinerary.

Routing: San Francisco to Los Angeles to Washington Dulles to Charlotte r/t

Routing rules: SFO-LAX/DEN-WAS/HOU/DEN/CLE/CHI-CLT

Travel period: Now through January 5, 2014

Dates I found available: Dozens, particularly in Sept/Oct/Nov

Number of nights stay: Many 0-night or 1-nighters available

Day of week restrictions: None

Fare basis: NA14KN, 14-day advance purchase

Fare: $249.40 roundtrip all-in

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 6,576 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cents-per-mile (CPM): 3.79

Example itinerary: (click the image for a larger view)

The above itinerary was found using ITA Matrix, but can be booked on United directly with ease using Hipmunk.

Related posts:

Save Time Using Hipmunk for Multi-Segment Mileage Run Bookings

How to Find Mileage Runs – 2013 Edition

Here’s a stellar mileage run opportunity on United coming in at only 2.86 cents-per-mile.

[Edited 5:00 p.m. PDT: And like that, this fare is gone! It lasted only hours today.]

The $118 base roundtrip fare between Phoenix and Buffalo was filed today by United and likely won’t last long. It works in both directions, of course, but I zeroed in on the 1-nighters available originating in Phoenix. And if you can tolerate sleeping in an airport for the short “stay” in Buffalo, it would certainly keep overall trip costs down.

Here’s the nitty-gritty and an example itinerary.

Routing: Phoenix to Houston to Newark to Buffalo

Routing rules: PHX-HOU/DEN/CHI-WAS/PHL/EWR/CLT/CLE/CHI-BUF

Travel period: Now through end of schedule

Dates I found available: 4/30, 7/3, 7/4, 8/19, 8/26 and 11 dates in September

Number of nights stay: 1

Day of week restrictions: None

Fare basis: NA21FN, 21-day advance purchase

Fare: $166.40 all-in

Elite Qualifying Miles earned: 5,818 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cents-per-mile (CPM): 2.86

Example itinerary:

(Hat tip: gokeeper on FlyerTalk)

Related posts:

Save Time Using Hipmunk for Multi-Segment Mileage Runs

How to Find Mileage Runs – 2013 Edition

I’m a creature of habit and when I find a tried and true method to book multi-segment mileage runs, I stick with it. Too much so that when it doesn’t work, I fluster around with it far longer than I need to.

Having recently moved from Los Angeles and accepted my fate that I’ll no longer see mileage runs in the ultra low cents-per-mile range below 4.0, I’ve only casually been on the hunt lately. But yesterday I found one sole run with one departure date available at 3.64 CPM from my new home airport, Reno.

It’s on United and I found the fare on ExpertFlyer using ITA Matrix’s Airfare Search Tool to find the sole itinerary with availability. [Here’s my updated guide on how to find mileage runs these days in the post-FareCompare tool world.]

After finding a valid itinerary on ITA, I’ve always had success in piecing it together directly on United.com using the multiple destination feature. And given this run was too good to pass up, I was determined to book it.

Try as I might, United.com would simply not display the 5^th of six flights I needed to get the fare. I knew it had availability and it wasn’t a married-segments issue, so I tried everything – modifying the time, adjusting the city codes and more. I almost think United was deliberately not showing me the flight, forcing my hand at purchasing a higher fare. That’s a subject for another post.

But then I remembered a post from Seth at Wandering Aramean about how Hipmunk uses ITA’s advanced syntax and with a simple click, it’ll dump you right into the airline’s booking engine ready to take your credit card. Definitely read through his post as it contains more specific details than my summary below.

Using Hipmunk for Faster Booking of Multi-Segment Mileage Runs

It’s really quite simple if you know ITA’s advanced routing language. You plug in the exact same search parameters in the from and to fields, followed by the exact departure and return dates you found on ITA.

Hipmunk Booking Engine

Then you’re presented with a time graph showing outbound flight itineraries and their respective prices. My particular itinerary/price combo immediately showed up at the top (the one below isn’t what I booked… that itinerary and fare is no longer available).

Hipmunk Search Results

You simply click the appropriate bar with your desired itinerary, then click the “select this leg” button and Hipmunk will show you the return options.

Hipmunk Search Results

Again select the appropriate bar with your desired itinerary and Hipmunk will then display a pop-up with a button reading, “Buy on United.”

Hipmunk Book Now

Clicking that button dumps you directly into United.com, ready for you to enter traveler information and proceed to purchase.

United.com Booking Page

It worked brilliantly for my itinerary – such a time saver. I haven’t experimented with other airlines yet.

Thanks, Seth, for your original post… I’m glad I remembered it. And yes, while I’m sure I could have called United to make the reservation, I generally prefer to abstain from booking these on the phone simply out of desire to avoid the mileage run conversation with the agent that usually ensues.

Related posts:

How to Find Mileage Runs – 2013 Edition

Finding Mileage Runs Without the FareCompare Tool

I’m Off on a Weeklong Mileage Run… In Style

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I’m off on a mileage run of sorts that began Saturday. I’ll be crisscrossing the country numerous times and traversing the Pacific Ocean on a pair of flights. And I say “mileage run of sorts” since it doesn’t fall into the ultra lowball cents-per-mile category, as well as my other purpose for the trip: to bring me within striking distance of million-miler on United much sooner this year than later. Oh, and it’s all in first class!

In total, I’ll rack up about 23,000 lifetime miles, 30,000 Premier Qualifying Miles, and roughly 83,000 redeemable miles due to generous class-of-service bonuses. It’s not the craziest run I’ve ever done and I’m breaking it up with hotel stays in various cities to keep me sane. I’ll provide all the details, reviews and more when I return.

In the meantime, posting will be light for the rest of the week here on Frequently Flying. I should be back to regularly scheduled programming next Monday.

Safe travels everyone!

Related posts:

Looking Back at 2012 and What’s in Store for 2013

It’s been exactly one year since the go-to method to find mileage runs died – the FareCompare Flyertalk tool. The folks at FareCompare claimed it would return and even had a “coming soon” notation earlier this year. That has since totally disappeared and repeated requests for information from them fell on silent ears. I have a feeling the airlines in some manner dissuaded them from bringing it back.

Readers ask me almost every week how I go about finding mileage runs these days and while I have no one method anymore, I’ll share my current list of resources.

• Flyertalk’s Mileage Run Deals: Sorta goes without saying that this forum should be on your daily reading list if you’re on the hunt for a mileage run. It’s often the first place spectacular runs appear in the 2.0-4.0 cents-per-mile (CPM) range. The only problem, of course, is the fact the city pairs posted may be nowhere near you. I’ll often consider a positioning flight to get to the origin if it’s really a killer deal.

• FareCompare’s Getaway Map: FareCompare left their map feature untouched (so far). It lists the lowest fares by month to worldwide destinations on a map with the “ability” to filter by airline. I say “ability” because it rarely works – the results often show fares from all airlines even if you only select one. Then, there’s the cumbersome task of zooming in and scrolling around the country (or world) to see the detail. I have found mileage run fares this way, though it annoys me.

• ITA Software’s Matrix Airfare Search: If you attended FTU, you learned Ben’s method using ITA’s Matrix Airfare Search. Basically, you plug in your origin, designate your carrier and number of connections, and type in some cities you want to check. Below I’ve plugged in Reno to various East Coast cities on United with two or more connections wanting to see a calendar of the lowest fares for a zero-night stay.

Be sure to uncheck the “Allow airport changes” box or you’ll wind up with flights into Miami and out of Columbus, for example. And which cities to search? Well, I end up trying about seven at a time where I’ve historically known good fares have hit. If you get aggressive and search too many cities at once, you’ll often get a timeout error. Once you press “Search,” it’ll take you to the calendar of lowest fares from which you can click in for more detail.

• ExpertFlyer’s Fare Information Search: Much along the lines of using ITA Software to check random cities, I use ExpertFlyer’s Fare Information Search to check all fares loaded for certain city pairs:

Again, I plug in cities that have historically had decent fares and also random “new” ones just for the hell of it. I typically pick major hubs or cities where Southwest has a presence, but I’ve come across decent fares in the past to cities you wouldn’t expect, such as Daytona Beach, Tucson and Saginaw. This method allows you to see the raw fare data and validity dates, sometimes not as obvious on ITA. Note: I subscribe to ExpertFlyer for $99/year, so I have unlimited queries for this purpose. It ends up being invaluable to me for access to each fare’s routing rules, not to mention EF’s other great features.

• Twitter: I’m pretty active on Twitter and follow many sources who post great fares, including @airfarewatchdog, @Expefarealert and @TheFlightDeal. Sometimes a fare might not seem that great, but if you dig deeper using ExpertFlyer’s routing rules, you’ll discover gems like this recent Seattle to Columbus example.

• Wandering Aramean’s Lowest Fare Finder: Seth reports his data stream isn’t populating live fare data at the moment, but it by far is/will be the easiest method to find mileage runs akin to the old FareCompare Flyertalk tool. A free account allows you to search and sort in very similar fashion to the old FC tool:

Keep your eye on this tool – he mentions it might be back up and running again with live fares next month (at the earliest).

Many readers have also asked for specific help with their preferred airlines and origins and I’ll do my best to post those mileage runs as I find them.

Do you have other methods that work for you?

Related posts:

Mileage Running 101: How I Construct a Mileage Run Part 1

Mileage Running 101: How I Construct a Mileage Run Part 2

Finding Mileage Runs Without the FareCompare Tool

It’s never too soon to begin mileage running in the New Year, especially when fares like this one pop up bringing the cents-per-mile down to 3.24. Shown below is an itinerary netting 7,486 United Airlines Premier Qualifying Miles with a “zero” night stay (includes red-eye flying). There are many more dates available if you consider a 1-night stay in Columbus.

American has the same base fare available, though its routing rules only allow for one connection (through Dallas, Chicago or St. Louis).

Routing: Seattle to San Francisco to Newark to Columbus roundtrip

Travel period: January 7 – February 13, 2013

Dates I found available: 1/14, 1/28, 2/4, 2/5, 2/6 and 2/11

Number of nights stay: 0

Day of week restrictions: Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Sat

Fare basis: GAG21CS

Fare: $242.80 all-in

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 7,486 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cents-per-mile (CPM): 3.24

Example itinerary: Click for full view

To book this itinerary, use the “multiple destinations” flight search option on United.com.

Happy flying!

There’s a dirt cheap airfare out there right now on United in the Ontario to Newark market. While it’s a roundtrip fare that requires a minimum night stay depending on the day of week you depart, someone might find it useful for an end-of-year mileage run/vacation combination.

The fare rules allow for two transfers and the routing rules offer some interesting options, though availability in the G-bucket is pretty slim for the example I provide below. But other more direct single-city connections have more availability, which increases the CPM of course. But it’s still a darn good fare!

I only looked at Ontario as the origin for my example below, but the fare is also valid originating in Newark. And you can even ride on a 787!

Routing: Ontario to San Francisco to Houston to Newark

Travel period: Now through January 24, 2013

Dates I found available: 12/4, 12/5, 1/8, 1/9, 1/16

Number of nights stay: 3 in the example below, otherwise here’s the restrictions on the fare: If you depart Sun-Wed, return no earlier than the 3^rd day after departure; Thu-Fri departures require a return no earlier than the first Saturday; Saturday departures simply require a 1-night stay.

Day of week restrictions: None

Fare basis: GE143FS, 14-day advance purchase

Fare: $167.30 all-in

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 7,070 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cents-per-mile (CPM): 2.37

Example itinerary: Click for full view

Note the tight connection in Houston on the outbound, but there are plenty of more flights throughout the day on which United could book you if you mis-connect (and perhaps get more PQMs for a full Y rebooking).

Use the “Multiple Destinations” option on United’s website to piece this itinerary together.

(Tip of the hat to @airfarewatchdog)

Related posts:

Airfare Pricing Buckets and Airline Fare Basis Codes Explained

Finding Mileage Runs Without the FareCompare Flyertalk Tool

My Mileage Tracking Spreadsheet

It’s been months since I’ve searched for mileage runs and I came across this gem today. Coming in at 3.66 cpm, it’s pretty darn good in this age of struggling to find anything closer to 3.0.

Here are the details:

Routing: Seattle to San Francisco to Cleveland to Kansas City roundtrip

Travel period: Now through end-of-schedule

Dates I found available: 9/24, 10/2, 10/23, 10/29, 10/31, 11/6, 11/13, 11/27, 12/3, 12/4, 12/5, 12/10, 12/11

Number of nights stay: 0

Day of week restrictions: Travel only on M/T/W/Th/Sa

Fare basis: GAG7CN, 7-day advance purchase

Fare: $258.80

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 7,068

Cents-per-mile (CPM): 3.66

Example itinerary: Click for full view

One issue I see with this itinerary is the 31-minute connection on the last leg back to Seattle. With United’s current usage of T1 and T3 at SFO, making a successful connection would be virtually impossible if a change of terminal is required. While United originally announced only intra-California (and a few other) flights would use T1, that’s not the case according to Flyertalk reports.

I was successfully able to piece this booking together for the $258.80 fare using the “Multiple Destinations” feature on United.com

Related posts:

Airfare Pricing Buckets & Airline Fare Basis Codes REVEALED!

My United Airlines Mileage Tracking Spreadsheet

Finding Mileage Runs Without the FareCompare Flyertalk Tool

Well Kansas City here we come again! Both United and Delta have a $79 base fare out in the San Diego to Kansas City market tonight – no love for American.

The fare is valid now through the end-of-schedule, but as you can imagine, there is basically no inventory available on this particular routing during the summer months. Think fall and winter.

With the now combined Continental and United, I’m a bit wary of booking this far in advance. I used to be able to easily suggest even wackier routings when being rebooked due to a schedule change, but I fear Shares and getting an ex-Continental agent. That said, I’m still booking one.

Routing: San Diego to San Francisco to Cleveland to Kansas City roundtrip

Travel period: Now through end-of-schedule

Dates I found available: 9/7; 9/10; 9/11; 9/17; 9/24 (didn’t go any further than September)

Number of nights stay: 0

Day of week restrictions: None

Fare basis: GA14CN, 14-day advance purchase

Fare: $208.80 all-in

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 6,712 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cost-per-mile (CPM): 3.11

Example itinerary:

(Hat tip: MileageRunning.com)

Kansas City has been a very popular fare war market recently and there are some pretty nice mileage run fares out there today from SFO & SEA on American, Delta and United from either $89 or $99 one-way base roundtrip.

The routing rules are again generous on United (and even Delta from Seattle allows SEA-ATL-MCI!), so there are some opportunities out there for sub-4.0cpm mileage runs.

Here’s an example (below) on United from San Francisco. Be sure to check out your options on American and Delta, too. I’m on the road today, so can’t commit the time to check further.

Routing: San Francisco to Los Angeles to Cleveland to Kansas City roundtrip

Travel period: Now through May 23, 2012 (no restrictions out of SEA!)

Dates I found available: 5/1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 15, 22

Number of nights stay: 1

Day of week restrictions: None

Fare basis: GA7CN, 7-day advance purchase

Fare: $228.80 all-in

Premier Qualifying Miles earned: 6,470 (assumes 500-mile minimums)

Cost-per-mile (CPM): 3.54

Example itinerary: