How I Maximize Stopovers on Award Tickets

Calculating what constitutes a good redemption when using points and miles for travel can be challenging. For many, saving any amount of cash is what it’s about. For others, it’s about experiencing things you wouldn’t normally be able to.

Fortunately, we know something about maximizing our hard-earned points and miles here at Upgraded Points. My approach is not to fixate on cents-per-point valuations and try to use my points on luxury experiences.

A good points and miles award redemption maximizes value. One way to do so is by visiting 2 destinations, or even more, for the price of 1. Thankfully, several airline loyalty programs allow for stopovers.

Here’s how I maximize stopovers on award travel, and some of my favorite frequent flyer programs that allow for them.

What Are Stopovers?

A stopover is generally defined as a stay of at least 24 hours in a connecting city between your origin and final destination. Anything less than 24 hours is generally considered a connection or a layover.

A stopover allows you to fly into a city, stay for a while, and then continue to your final destination. For example, say you wanted to fly from Miami (MIA) to Athens (ATH) via Istanbul (IST). With the right award program, you could stop in Istanbul for a few days before heading to Athens for the same price as a nonstop flight, or slightly more.

Award Programs That Allow for Stopovers

Not all airline loyalty programs allow stopovers on award redemptions. Here’s a look at some of my favorites among those that do.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan is a favorite here at Upgraded Points, and for good reason. We value Air Canada Aeroplan points at 1.5 cents per point, which is among the highest of any airline loyalty program.

The program has a long list of partner airlines, an award chart with great sweet spots for partner redemptions, and does not levy fuel surcharges for partner redemptions.

However, its most defining feature is allowing travelers to book stopovers. Aeroplan charges just 5,000 points to book a stopover on any award redemption, including on one-way awards. On round-trip award redemptions, you can book a stopover in each direction.

Although Aeroplan uses dynamic pricing for its own flights, partner redemptions on many airlines follow an award chart. Aeroplan uses a zone-based award chart, where redemption rates depend on the total mileage flown between 2 zones.

On a recent award redemption, I flew United Polaris business class from Chicago – O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Barcelona (BCN), with a stopover in Rome (FCO). The nonstop flight from ORD to FCO would have cost me 70,000 Aeroplan points, but I booked the entire itinerary with the stopover for just 75,000 Aeroplan points.

It’s important to note Aeroplan’s distance bands. While adding a stopover for just 5,000 points is an incredible deal, you will want to make sure additional distance flown does not move the award redemption into the next distance band, as this increases the total Aeroplan points needed.

Additionally, Aeroplan does not allow for stopovers for trips entirely within North America. This includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Air France – KLM Flying Blue

Air France – KLM Flying Blue has one of the most generous stopover policies of any award program. Flying Blue allows stopovers for no additional miles, including on one-way award redemptions.

It also allows these stopovers to be booked on partner airlines, not just Air France or KLM. However, it is worth noting that taxes and fees could be much higher, depending on the redemption. This is because Flying Blue levies fuel surcharges on award tickets.

Flying Blue does not have an award chart. Instead, it uses dynamic pricing for its rewards, which means that award pricing can vary significantly. However, Flying Blue has standardized saver-level pricing, which can be fantastic value if you can find it on the route you want.

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards 

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards is a favorite program of many award travelers. Although the program has undergone several devaluations over the last few years, it still remains a viable option for many redemptions.

It is also another excellent program for stopovers. Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards allows stopovers for no additional cost, including on one-way award redemptions, as long as you fly between regions.

On a trip to Asia, I took full advantage of Atmos Rewards’ stopover policy. Instead of flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo (HND) for 75,000 Atmos Rewards points, I booked a trip from San Francisco to Seoul (GMP) with a stopover in Tokyo for a few days for the exact same price.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is another great program for stopovers, albeit with more restrictions. Singapore Airlines has 2 award charts, one for award redemptions on its own flights and another for partner awards. If any segments on an itinerary are on a partner airline, the rules of the partner award chart apply.

Flights operated by Singapore Airlines itself have 2 different award pricing levels: Saver and Advantage. On Singapore Airlines-operated flights, you can have 1 free stopover per one-way Advantage award or round-trip Saver award (no stopovers are allowed on one-way Saver awards).

Additionally, stopovers with KrisFlyer can only be up to 30 days.

Final Thoughts

Stopovers can be an excellent way to get more value from points and miles. Not all programs allow for stopovers, but thanks to the airline loyalty programs mentioned above, you can essentially visit 2 destinations (or even more) for the price of 1.