YUPPs and KUPPs

[dragonman]

To be honest I have never been able to find a good one. My dillemma is I would like to take advantage of the super cheap fare to JFK and then earn a bunch of SC's doing a run in the USA. The prices I get are horrendous ($4000US+). Any tips from the wise on this?

 

[serfty]

To from TPA / ATL seems to be the least "expensive" / SC earn opportunity.

http://www.farecompare.com/search/yupfares.html?departure=ATL

I'm planning on flying to LAX and earn 540 SC's on a run to ATL, current cost USD1170. (When booked early Jan it was USD1050).

 

[JohnK]

The value of YUPs and KUPs is not as good as it was 2 years or even last year. Still some good ones can be found.

I have not looked for a while but DEN-TPA, ORD-TPA, BOS-SEA, SFO-TPA were all reasonable value.

 

[dragonman]

Logging on through aa.com.au i can do much better. I can get JFK-DCA-DFW-LAS-JFK in F (so I get to Vegas) for $1800 AUD and 360 sc's. So at $5 an SC not too bad - or am I missing something?

 

[serfty]

Yes, Fare compare is only a guide- sort of gives an indication of where to look. (All my YUPS have been booked via AA.com)

e.g. You can get 360 SCs with LGA-ORD-ATL rt for 910 USD and 540 SC's with ATL-DFW-LAX/SFO-SFO/LAX rt for 1180 USD

Thats 900 SC's for ~AUD3000

 

[Bundy Bear]

Logging on through aa.com.au i can do much better. I can get JFK-DCA-DFW-LAS-JFK in F (so I get to Vegas) for $1800 AUD and 360 sc's. So at $5 an SC not too bad - or am I missing something?

JFK-DCA may be RJ and no first class.

 

[Mal]

YUPP and KUPP finding is all about spending time doing some serious calculations or being tipped off what is good.

Knowing what city you want to start in is handy, but sometimes an airport ~50km away will have much better rates.

I havn't done any sums for JFK recently, but when I did one a couple of years ago got a great rate to SEA via 2 connecting cities.

-- edit: Looks like Serfty's options are the better ones out of JFK. It seems to be a pretty expensive starting city compared to some others.

 

[aus_flyer]

The best I have seen was 1 SC = $1 USD.

610 SC all up!

 

[serfty]

The best I have seen was 1 SC = $1 USD.

610 SC all up!

That was rare even in the "good old days".

Best I flew was Nov '07 BOS-HNL for USD650. It earned 450 SC's.

 

[turtlemichael]

You also need to act when you see a fare, rather than trying to wait in the hope of a better Aussie dollar. I've been watching a good sfo-lax-las r/t fare for $US402.00 worth 240 SCs. It has been around for a while. I think Serfty may have booked that one. Today, pffff, it's $US683.00. :evil:

 

[serfty]

... I think Serfty may have booked that one. ...

Not me; I tend to aim for longer itineraries ... although I am booked P class SFO-LAX for USD215 ... (it was either that or USD76 for Q class with no SC's or QFF points)

 

[Platy]

Check out HNL-BOS!

This can maxed out at 780SCs for around US$2200 by routing:

HNL-LAX-DFW-BOS-DFW-LAX-BOS

 

[turtlemichael]

Not me; I tend to aim for longer itineraries ... although I am booked P class SFO-LAX for USD215 ... (it was either that or USD76 for Q class with no SC's or QFF points)

I've booked SFO-LAX in P too in July. I tend to be doing ones which take me where I want to go so it's not a kosher mileage run. SFO-DFW-RDU r/t is $1306 for 420 SC's. I could have added LAX to make it 540 but connections were too tight with luggage for my liking.

Another goodish one from the West coast is SFO-LAX-PDX r/t for $516.00 and 300 SCs. Its $600 r/t Seattle for 300SCs as well. Both are in F rather than P so perhaps slightly better protected in the event of a mishap. A nice trip might be to go one way to/from each and join them by the 3-4 hour Amtrak trip.

 

[serfty]

Check out HNL-BOS!

This can maxed out at 780SCs for around US$2200 by routing:

HNL-LAX-DFW-BOS-DFW-LAX-BOS

That was rare even in the "good old days".

Best I flew was Nov '07 BOS-HNL for USD750. It earned 450 SC's.

I actually flew HNL-LAX-DFW-BOS-DFW-SFO-LAX-HNL, earning 840 SC's for USD1480 in June '07.

 

[Mal]

These days, I don't tend to publicly chat too much about KUPPS/YUPPS, but I do have my moments.

They definitely do shift around quickly. There was a fare for ~$US600 earning 600 SC's not too long ago. That's now gone. Plenty of other <$US1.50 /sc fares have come and gone - the most recent only a month or 2 ago. I was able to take advantage of one while I was in the U.S last time.

I tend to keep them quiet when I know them (sometimes decreed by the person who shared knowledge to me originally), but do share information at certain informal gatherings, and to some people who can use that information.

For those wanting to do their own searches, I normally use a combination of my knowledge of U.S AA Jet cities (ie those with F cabins), FareCompare, ExpertFlyer, Mileage Monkey and ITA Software to do my searches. Learning the syntax required for special searches at ITA will help greatly. Note also that flights to the Caribbean can turn up good results too at times.

 

[notzac]

For those wanting to do their own searches, I normally use a combination of my knowledge of U.S AA Jet cities (ie those with F cabins), FareCompare, ExpertFlyer, Mileage Monkey and ITA Software to do my searches. Learning the syntax required for special searches at ITA will help greatly. Note also that flights to the Caribbean can turn up good results too at times.

I'd be keen to learn from a master at this stuff

I was the one doing the SFO-LAX-LAS return; I got the USD$402 fare, which gets me a tidy 240 SCs assuming everything goes to plan.

dragonman, you should be able to get less than AUD$3/SC if you look. The only suggestions I've got are to look at secondary airports (e.g., ONT) and hubs for competitors. Short runs can be good (such as the one I'm doing).

 

[dragonman]

dragonman, you should be able to get less than AUD$3/SC if you look. The only suggestions I've got are to look at secondary airports (e.g., ONT) and hubs for competitors. Short runs can be good (such as the one I'm doing).

Look I appreciate the many tips I have seen here. But let me tell you the advantage of being a teacher - lots of holidays. The disadvantage is its school holidays. I will be in NY around easter and good fares are thin on the ground. The other problem is I need the MR to go where i need to go.

Fares into/out of HNL are uber expensive as is anywhere heading south in the USA.

But don't get me wrong this forum educates me continually and I am eternally grateful.

 

[file51]

You also need to act when you see a fare, rather than trying to wait in the hope of a better Aussie dollar. I've been watching a good sfo-lax-las r/t fare for $US402.00 worth 240 SCs. It has been around for a while. I think Serfty may have booked that one. Today, pffff, it's $US683.00. :evil:

Don't blame me, but I booked a SFO-LAX-LAS-LAX-SFO mileage run last week, and within 30 minutes of paying for the flight via AA in Brisvegas the fare doubled...

Itinerary
Date:
06Apr - Monday
Flight:
AMERICAN AIRLINES
1931
McDonnell Douglas Super MD-80(S80)
Booking Code: P
Departure:
SFO San Francisco
02:20 PM
1HR 25MIN
Arrival:
LAX Los Angeles
03:45 PM
xx_XX, xx_XX
SEAT 3A
First

Date:
06Apr - Monday
Flight:
AMERICAN AIRLINES
741
McDonnell Douglas Super MD-80(S80)
Booking Code: P
Departure:
LAX Los Angeles
04:40 PM
1HR 15MIN
Arrival:
LAS Las Vegas
05:55 PM
xx_XX, xx_XX
SEAT 3A
First

Date:
08Apr - Wednesday
Flight:
AMERICAN AIRLINES
812
McDonnell Douglas Super MD-80(S80)
Booking Code: P
Departure:
LAS Las Vegas
09:35 AM
1HR 5MIN
Arrival:
LAX Los Angeles
10:40 AM
xx_XX, xx_XX
SEAT 3A
First

Date:
08Apr - Wednesday
Flight:
AMERICAN AIRLINES
581
McDonnell Douglas Super MD-80(S80)
Booking Code: P
Departure:
LAX Los Angeles
12:00 PM
1HR 20MIN
Arrival:
SFO San Francisco
01:20 PM
xx_XX, xx_XX
SEAT 3A
First

Receipt
PASSENGER
TICKET NUMBER
FARE
EQUIV FARE
TAXES
TICKET TOTAL
xx_XX,xx_XX
001xx_xx_xx_X
373.98 USD
521.00 AUD
66.00
626.10
Payment Type:
AMERICAN EXPRESS ***********xx_X
Total
626.10 AUD

 

[iqis60]

I've heard YUPP and KUPP bandied around a bit. Is there a thread somewhere that explains what this is in detail?

 

[serfty]

Try this thread:

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...-advantage/good-sc-earning-value-ex-8840.html