On 31 October, she steamed west again, and on 21 November arrived at Ulithi, where she resumed flagship duties for CruDiv 6. On 10 December, she cleared the anchorage and moved toward the Philippines in TG 38.1. On 14–15 December, during carrier strikes against Luzon, San Franciscos planes were employed on antisubmarine patrol and in rescue work. On 16 December, the force headed for a rendezvous with TG 30.17, the replenishment force. A typhoon interrupted the refueling operations; and the ships rode out the storm for the next two days. On 19 December, she participated in a search for survivors from three destroyers which had gone down during the typhoon.
