Okay, it’s complicated, but it saves a lot of money.
Last month we showed you how to “stretch” a ticket to save $6,000 between the U.S and Europe and South Pacific. It’s a counter-intuitive yet completely legitimate strategy we call FCF’s 2-for-1 Leg Stretch Strategy.
It simply involves taking a step back and surveying your travel needs (or wants) over a few months or a year, and finding a much better way to package it together.
We liked it so much we’ve done it again.
Who It’s For
This second 2-for-1 Leg Stretch Strategy works best for the person who travels (or would like to travel) to Asia and South America. So it’s not for everyone. But if you fall into that category, it’s a winner.
How It Works
Most people who travel to Asia and then to South America would treat those destinations as two completely separate journeys. But not us. We looked at the entire journey and found a way to divide, conquer, and really save, with what is, in effect, a free ticket.
Our example uses Dallas–Seoul–Buenos Aires because it’s particularly inexpensive, but the same strategy nets similar savings from other cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Here’s how it breaks down
Ticket #1 is a straightforward Dallas–Seoul return. But the counter-intuitive part of it is that it bookends Ticket #2.
Ticket #2 is Seoul–Buenos Aires return via a free stopover in Dallas both ways.
The map shows the order of flights, with those two tickets in different colors.
Quick story summation:
- JR flies from Dallas to Seoul (or even another Asian city as a connection) for business as segment 1 of ticket #1. (1 on the map. JR pays with his miles or takes advantage of a great published fare; in this case to Seoul, but it could also be other Asian cities, such as Hong Kong, for example.)
- He returns to Dallas on the first segment of Ticket #2, a free stopover (2 on the map).
- Later he flies to Buenos Aires for a vacation as segment 2 of Ticket #2 (3 on the map).
- He then flies back to Dallas (a free stopover), segment 3 of Ticket #2 (4 on the map).
- He goes back to Seoul, which is segment 4 of Ticket #2 (5 on the map).
- And finally he heads home to Dallas as the return flight of Ticket #1 (6 on the map).
The lowest cost currently for Dallas-Seoul is $3,790 round-trip, and Dallas-Buenos Aires is $4,912 round-trip, for a total of $8,702—for the four segments.
With the 2-for-1 Leg Stretch Strategy however, the cost is just $4,223—for the four segments.
Screenshot from aa.com:
The same strategy applies for Los Angeles–Hong Kong–Rio for a total of $4,740; and New York–Hong Kong–Rio for $4,717.
It’s no stretch to say the strategy works. So, where are you thinking of going this year? We might just have a better way to fly. We’re working on FCF’s 2-for-1 Leg Stretch Strategy #3; write me at mr.upgrade@firstclassflyer.com with the continents you’d like to see analyzed.
*One Caveat Two simple solutions: Because of rules about not using tickets out of order on one airline, you need to start the first ticket as a one-way, perhaps using miles—OR—do the two round-trips on different airlines. Simple.