The world’s most lucrative ticketing strategy and many pre-baked itineraries you can book now.
One of our favorite strategies–The Leg Stretch (LSS)–just got as affordable as it’s ever been (in a 2-for-1 kind of way) and this time it’s with United. What’s more, this version connects the U.S., South America and Europe for an unfathomably low price.
Take it Away Conrad
“I spend my company’s money like my own–in the sense that I’m conservative with it. I like to travel the absolute best I can, at the lowest cost. That makes my day.”
Conrad is an FCF subscriber and his mother lives in Brazil. He has ongoing business in Belgium. He planned on going to both places during a 12 month period. That’s a Leg Stretch Situation Sweet Spot (LSSSS).
What is The Leg Stretch Strategy Again?
FCF’s team discovered the Leg Stretch Strategy years ago during a routine fare reconnaissance. It seemed too good to be true. It wasn’t.
How It Works
In this particular case, with United to South American and European flights: The Leg Stretch Strategy takes advantage of free stopovers in the U.S. We call it the Leg Stretch because you’re effectively stretching the legs involved in a ticket.
And the value it presents to FCFicionados is remarkable. More on the $ below.
Of course, this strategy is not right for everyone, or for every trip. It’s connecting disparate continents that don’t start in the U.S. And with this version of LSS, you need to be going to South America twice within 12 months, and Europe once. But it’s SO lucrative, it’s worth considering in any case to knock some bucket cities off the list.
Combine and Conquer
While this is a novel ticketing strategy, most people looking at traveling to those destinations don’t know about it—and buy the tickets separately. I mean, who would have guessed you can connect three continents and three trips on one ticket!? And the great thing is that you don’t have to do it all together. These trips can be separate, they just all have to be completed within 12 months.
As Conrad says, “The hardest part for me was to recognize that it makes sense to book a one-way ticket at the start. It makes all the more sense that it was incorporated with this Leg Stretch Strategy.”
Show Me The Stretch, FCF
This new Leg Stretch is on United Airlines and connects Rio de Janeiro with Brussels via (either) Chicago, Houston, Newark/New York, or Washington, D.C. So plenty of options in the U.S., and Rio and Brussels are gateway cities to the rest of their respective continents. See chart below for many different itinerary options.
Here’s exactly how it plays.
TICKET #1 (Getting to the Leg Stretch STARTER CITY)
One Segment: New York (or other complying U.S. city) to Rio one-way (use miles or a great published fare).
TICKET #2 (The Leg Stretch)
Rio to Brussels round-trip—four segments on one ticket—via the U.S.:
Segment #1: Rio to New York (the free stopover as part of the Rio-Brussels Leg Stretch. Stay at home for however long before your trip to Europe—as long as you complete the strategy in 12 months).
Segment #2: New York to Brussels (stay for a week or three, have an awesome time bouncing around Europe).
Segment #3: Brussels to New York (time to go home and chill for a little while).
Segment #4: New York to Rio (the final leg of the Leg Stretch) or a different South American city.
TICKET #3 (Getting home from the Leg Stretch)
Then it’s decision time. You can return home on another one-way ticket OR you can start the process again, returning to the U.S. as leg one of your next Leg Stretch ticket from Rio to another awesome destination (with stopovers in the U.S.).
Show Me The Money
So what do you save by doing all this? You get Business Class for the price of coach—or only a bit more than coach—depending on the route you choose.
A New York-to-Rio ticket on United in coach ranges from $1,600 to $2,000 non-stop and a New York-to-Brussels ticket in coach ranges from ~$600 to $1,100.
That’s $2,200 at a minimum to fly coach—and possibly $3,100 depending on your dates. The Leg Stretch nets those same destinations in Business Class for $2,549. That’s a Business Class two-for-one (or better) savings.
Another way to look at the savings is that a New York-Rio ticket ranges from ~$4,600 to $7,200 and New York-Brussels ranges from ~$2,500 to $4,100 on United. That’s $7,100 at a minimum to fly Business Class—and as much as $11,300 depending on your dates. The LSS can score those same destinations in Business Class for $2,549. It’s okay with me if you call this a three or four for one.
Final Word From Conrad
“I did it and it works!”
[table_opt id="6051" style="black-header" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
N.B. If links send you to a fare that’s much higher, play around with the dates, and more than likely you’ll find the same fare we did.