Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
48 comments
Wigand Weirich
November 09, 2018
The airlines with the best award routing rules for simple itineraries are Alaska Airlines Aeroplan, and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
What is Alaska Airlines Aeroplan?
Air Canada Aeroplan or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan or something else?
Stephen Au
November 13, 2018
Hey Wigand,
Thanks for the feedback! We updated it accordingly. There was supposed to be a comma between Alaska Airlines and Aeroplan! 🙂
Kenny D
November 09, 2018
I wanted to print out this useful info but when I do, the flyer or whatever that is at the bottom also prints. Therefore what happens is part of the info from the article is blocked by this flyer. Can you help?
Christine Krzyszton
November 12, 2018
Hi Kenny! I would try to cut and paste the content into a WORD document. You can then print it out for your own personal copy to read later. You can also access and read our articles on any mobile device.
Damian
May 15, 2019
I was wondering if Asia miles can do a stopover trick like this:
HKG to LHR (CX) to SIN (BA)
Damian
Stephen Au
May 16, 2019
Damian,
It’s possible, and the cost is 47,000 in economy, 65,000 in premium economy, 90,000 in business, and 135,000 in first if using Asia Miles.
Mark
November 12, 2019
Stephen,
Great write up here.
Can you suggest the best way to book on round trip award tickets from LAX to Taipei for family of 4 in December (15-20) returning at end of January. Preferably business class and we don’t mind to stop over for a few days each way. 700,000+ Amex points on hand currently. Thank you!
Stephen Au
November 12, 2019
Hey Mark!
Thanks for reading. If you need ultra-personalized advice on how to best earn lots of points and importantly a complete service that books your business/first class flights for you and your family, I would be more than happy to help you out. Please e-mail me at stephen@upgradedpoints.com if this is something you’d be interested in.
Thanks again!
John
June 23, 2019
Hi Stephen. Thanks for all the tips! Wanted to see if you can offer some advice. We are a family of 3, 2 adults one child over 2. We are looking to go to Bali. We have plenty of Chase UR, Amex, Cap 1 points. Living in Los Angeles. What’s our best way to get to Hong Kong then to Bali on a free stopover? What airlines would be best for this? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Stephen Au
June 27, 2019
The first thing that comes to mind is Alaska Airlines miles. Unfortunately, you don’t have Marriott points, so this isn’t an option. The other option is using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. They allow stopovers and open jaws as outlined in this guide. Thanks for reading!
Sarah
July 16, 2019
Wow, thanks for putting together the article! Can you do another article on award availability? I travel with family and it’s really difficult to find 3 or 4 award tickets on the same itinerary. Which airline has the best award availability for family travelers? Should I concentrate my point earnings on Alaska, Chase, Amex, or elsewhere? Appreciate your recommendations!
Stephen Au
July 16, 2019
Sarah,
There’s no general rule of thumb when it comes to the best points to collect for maximum award availability. Technically, most award tickets are available at a higher “flex” level, but the prices are significantly higher. Generally, you should try to figure out your desired travel destinations and build out a plan from there. Thanks for reading.
Thuy Pham
July 26, 2019
Thanks for all your insight. I’m planning a trip for 4 from SFO-HND-TAI-SFO next year. I have Amex rewards, Chase Sapphire, Alaska Airlines and ANA points to use. I checked out United’s site but I was wondering if ANA or Alaska Airlines might give me a better value for my points. Can you give any tips regarding this trip itinerary?
Jarrod West
August 04, 2019
Hi Thuy!
Luckily, both ANA and Alaska will provide great value. Choosing which to use in your case should largely come down to the respective award availability and routing options. Then decide which makes the most sense for you! If you have a lot of ANA miles at your disposal, I would lean towards that option and save your Alaska miles as they can be very useful for premium cabin bookings!
Thanks for reading!
Russell
October 08, 2019
There is a correction needed in the article in respect of the JAL routing rules for its non-Alliance partners. The article says that 1 open jaw + 3 stopovers. That’s not accurate. 1 open jaw = 1 stop-over, thus, if will utilize 1 open jaw, you will have 2 stopovers left to use.
Stephen Au
October 08, 2019
Hi Russell,
Thanks for the feedback! We’ve changed the language to reflect this.
bryan
November 16, 2019
Hi Stephen. I am wondering how Alaska awards work. Do they only allow long haul customer to have a stopover? When I search short haul they only allow a transfer/layover. For example, when I search KUL>NRT>HKG they only allow me to have a transfer/layover but not stopover.
Stephen Au
November 18, 2019
Hi Bryan,
In order to book a stopover, you need to perform am multi-city search. Otherwise, if you have confirmed the availability of each segment on different dates, you can call Alaska to ticket the reservation.
bryan
November 18, 2019
Yes i was perform an muti-city search, they only shows available for layover, but not stopover. Maybe Alaska changed their policy on the stopover?
Stephen Au
November 19, 2019
Hi Bryan,
Why don’t you try giving them a call? You should be able to book that over the phone.
Jas
December 09, 2019
Hi
BTW, PVG is Shanghai airport, not Beijing airport.
Any idea, any possibility to work out anything from China or Hong Kong to Europe/US and back to SIN?
Using Alaska miles, hoping to utilize the free stopover.
Thank you
Stephen Au
December 11, 2019
Hi Jas!
Great feedback. That error has been corrected. Thank you for that!
If you need personalized, ongoing assistance with booking award flights for the absolute best value, making the most out of your credit card spending, and pretty much anything points-related, then we can discuss a monthly subscription service that’ll take the guesswork out of flying first class.
Feel free to contact me at stephen@upgradedpoints.com if this interests you.
Van
December 29, 2019
Hi Stephen, how did you get Singapore Airlines to price for this itinerary: JFK – TPE – BKK – SIN – AKL? Thanks!
Stephen Au
December 30, 2019
Hi Van,
I verified this by finding availability and feeding the flight information to the KrisFlyer agent. Thanks for reading!
Norman
January 21, 2020
Can you confirm you can buy stopovers on a one-way Star alliance award with Singapore Krisflyer? It’s possible on Singapore Airlines/silkair awards but I don’t believe it’s possible on Star alliance awards
Stephen Au
January 22, 2020
Hi Norman,
You can’t book a stopover unless it includes a Singapore Airlines flight on the front-end of the ticket. For example,
Singapore (SIN) – Beijing (PEK) – Los Angeles (LAX) on Singapore Airlines and Air China will be assessed the Star Alliance pricing, but the stopover is allowed in Beijing.
Helen B
January 15, 2020
Hi,
Thank you for this informative article! Is the only way to do stopovers through miles? I’m willing to pay out of pocket, but don’t see this information anywhere.
I’m trying to get from A to B, and nonstop round trip is usually $1,000
However, if you go from A to C with a layover in B, it is $700
I was wondering if there is a way to extend the layover in B, by paying out of pocket. Even with paying out of pocket, I believe there would be a cost savings for a family. Thank you!
Jarrod West
January 16, 2020
Hi Helen,
How long are you hoping for your stopover to last? Depending on the timeframe, it might be easier for you to book two separate 1 way tickets.
Helen B
January 16, 2020
Hi Jarrod,
Thanks for your reply. I was looking to stay at B for approximately 2 weeks. C is a different country, and it wouldn’t be a total waste of time because it’s a new place that I am interested in exploring. This is why I thought even if the stopover fee would be $100-200 (again, I have no idea if I can pay out of pocket for stopovers), I would still save money $900 and be able to visit 2 places. Ultimately, A is home, so I would need to depart from and return to A. Hope this makes sense and I would appreciate any insight here. Thank you!
Jarrod West
January 16, 2020
Hi Helen,
You can definitely book a stopover ticket with cash, depending on the airline you’re hoping to fly with. What airline are you hoping to book your ticket with?
Helen B
January 18, 2020
Thank you! I haven’t decided, but I was looking at Eva Air, Singapore Airlines, Asiana, or Korean Air. I couldn’t find clear information on what the fees were for stopovers. Thanks again!
Jarrod West
January 18, 2020
Hi Helen,
Many of those airlines allow you to book multi-stop or stopover flights, here is an example with Singapore: https://www.singaporeair.com/flightsearch/multiCityHome.form?
In this scenario, with a multi flight booking, there will be no additional fee for doing so. Each leg of the trip is priced out separately, and you can stay in each city for as long as you’d like.
Phillip N.
January 24, 2020
Stephen: In your example itinerary using Asia Miles and One World Multi-Carrier Awards, I am confused by the open jaw aspect. In your example, you state you have 5 stopovers and 2 open jaws, Which city would be the destination. Don’t open jaws apply to the origin and destination? You stated that one of your open jaws is Doha/Dubai, but I do not see Dubai listed in the example. Please help me understand. Thanks.
Phillip N.
Stephen Au
January 30, 2020
Phillip,
Sometimes mileage programs restrict where you can have open-jaws. This is NOT the case with Asia Miles. You can have open jaws where you need.
Cathy Field
January 28, 2020
Hi Stephen,
Great article. Thanks for posting. I’ve always figured out our mileage flights to Europe but this time I’m completely stumped. We are a family of 4 who want to fly from LAX to Auckland for 6 days, then to Queenstown for 5 days, then ideally to the Cook Islands or somewhere like that in the Pacific for a 1 day/1 night stopover on our way back to LAX.
Any thoughts, suggestions, helpful hints would be very much appreciated!
Stephen Au
January 30, 2020
Hi Cathy,
You have a challenging task (if you’re looking for business class), especially if you want to book award flights for a family of 4. For Air New Zealand, you’ll specifically have luck in these 2 instances:
1. Very close to departure (1-2 days)
2. On holiday dates (Dec 25 for example)
Otherwise, it’ll be challenging to book. You can also consider flying to the Cook Islands first, instead of Auckland as Air New Zealand operates flights from LAX to Rarotonga (RAR).
Look into Star Alliance currencies such as United MileagePlus miles.
If you feel like you’d get value from a service that will optimize your award travel and offer ultra-personalized points wealth management, please feel free to contact me directly at stephen@upgradedpoints.com to inquire about a monthly subscription service.
Anki
January 29, 2020
Hey Stephen,
I am looking for a flight from DEL-AMS-ORD. Tried different airlines but most of then do not allow. Alaska does not have any availability. Aeroplan giving error saying A to C is not allowed. BA avios and AA advantage showing no availability. It is almost like a whole month with no availability. I have Amex MR which I wanted to use but stuck on options. I can book 2 one way flights using aeroplan but then my baggage rules will vary and around $250 in taxes. Can you suggest some airline?
Stephen Au
January 30, 2020
Anki,
If this is a route that you can’t be flexible on, you need to be more flexible on dates and advance planning. This route is serviced by SkyTeam airlines. If you want a stopover, your only option is to book using Korean Air. But their only transfer partner is Marriott. Therefore, you will need to either book each flight segment separately and pay for 2 award tickets or forget the stopover.
Robert Chen
April 06, 2020
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the article.
How can I book an itinerary with both Emirates and Korean Air on JAL, as shown in the article? Presumably I have to call JAL instead of using the web interface? Also in the fine prints under their award chart: https://www.jal.co.jp/en/jalmile/use/partner_air/p_jmb/jmb_mile.html , they seem to say “First Class award is not available on flights operated by Malaysia Airlines (MH), Air France (AF) and Korean Air(KE)”, while the example itinerary in the article is all first-class? Thanks.
Stephen Au
April 08, 2020
Hey Robert,
Thanks for writing to us!
Yes, you’re correct that Korean Air doesn’t allow first class bookings with partners such as Japan Airlines.
I’ve revised the article and replaced that itinerary with another valid itinerary involving a different airline: Japan Airlines. Japan Airlines is one of the top choices out there, and their first class is even better than Korean Air first class.
Thank you for bringing this up!
Vincent
January 28, 2021
I live in NYC. Can I use EVA air two free stopovers, one in Tokyo, and the other one to Bali, when I visit Taiwan?
Stephen Au
February 01, 2021
Hi Vince,
You can use 2 free stopovers when redeeming EVA Air miles on round-trips only. Also, you can only have 1 stopover in each direction. 1 on the outbound and 1 on the inbound are allowed.
Check out our guide on redeeming EVA Air miles here:
/best-ways-to-redeem-eva-air-miles/
Jenny
August 02, 2021
Does Aeroplan require round trip award ticket booking for a free stopover?
Jarrod West
August 10, 2021
Hi Jenny,
You can add one stopover per one-way ticket. Thanks for reading!
Laura
October 21, 2022
Hello and thank you so much for this wealth of information! I was wondering if the stopover policy on Alaska Airlines also applies to an all-domestic trip itinerary (such as SEA –> BOS –> SFO)? I am considering getting the Alaska Airlines card and having this option would be a major factor. Thank you!
Jarrod West
November 09, 2022
Hi Laura,
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, you can book stopovers on domestic tickets.
Kim
August 25, 2023
Q: How so I get open jaw AND stop over on booking SIN metal using Kris Flyer miles? The booking page doesn’t’ have the open jaw option like ANA. I was able to select 1 stop over for saver rate along the way. TIA.
Jarrod West
August 25, 2023
Hi Kim,
You will need to call the Singapore customer service team in order to complete your booking.
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