Add a Free City to Your Award Travel with Stopovers

What Are Award Travel Stopovers and Open-Jaws?

In the world of award travel, a stopover is more than just a quick connection—it's a deliberate pause in your journey that lasts longer than 24 hours on an international itinerary. While a layover has you sprinting through an airport for a few hours, a stopover gives you the freedom to leave the airport for a day, a week, or even longer to explore an entirely new city before continuing to your final destination. Think of it as a bonus vacation tucked inside your main trip.

Alongside stopovers, you'll often encounter "open-jaw" itineraries. Open-jaw flights explained simply means you fly into one city and depart from another. For example, you might fly from New York to London, travel independently by train to Paris, and then fly home from Paris to New York. This avoids backtracking and gives you incredible flexibility to explore a region on your own terms. The key difference is that a stopover is a point on a single ticket's journey, while an open-jaw creates a gap in your air travel that you cover yourself.

The Best Loyalty Programs for Free Stopovers on Award Travel

Maximizing your points and miles—often earned through credit card transfer partners—comes down to knowing which programs offer the most valuable perks, and free stopovers on award travel are one of the best. Several airlines allowing stopovers can help you see more of the world for the same number of miles as a standard round-trip ticket. Each program has unique rules, but a few stand out for their exceptional value.

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: A fan favorite, Alaska allows a stopover on one-way international award tickets, even when flying on partner airlines like Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific. This unique rule allows for incredibly creative itineraries, like flying from the U.S. to Tokyo (your stopover), and then continuing to Bangkok (your destination) months later for the same price as a direct flight to Bangkok.
• ANA Mileage Club: The loyalty program for Japan's All Nippon Airways is fantastic for complex bookings. ANA requires a round-trip booking but allows both a stopover and an open-jaw on the same itinerary. This is perfect for multi-city trips through Europe or Asia, though you'll need to watch out for high carrier-imposed surcharges on some partners.
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue: Flying Blue offers one of the most straightforward and valuable stopover policies. You can add a stopover of up to a year on a one-way or round-trip award ticket for no extra miles. This makes it easy to add a few days in Paris or Amsterdam to your trip.
• United Airlines Excursionist Perk: While not a traditional stopover, United's Excursionist Perk is a powerful tool. On a round-trip award booking that crosses two different regions, you can get a free one-way flight within the second region. For example, if you book a round-trip from the U.S. to Europe, you could add a free flight from London to Rome as part of your itinerary.

How to Book Stopovers and Find Award Space

Booking complex itineraries like these requires a bit more effort than a simple round-trip search, but the payoff is immense. The key to success is knowing how to book stopovers and being methodical in your search. Your first step should be to use the "Multi-City" or "Advanced Search" function on the airline's website. This tool allows you to input each leg of your journey separately, such as New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG), then Paris (CDG) to Rome (FCO), and finally Rome (FCO) back to New York (JFK).

The most reliable award ticket strategy is to search for availability for each flight segment individually before trying to book them together, which also helps you avoid phantom award space that can sometimes appear in complex searches. First, use the standard award search to confirm there are saver-level award seats available from JFK to CDG on your desired date. Then, do a separate search for CDG to FCO, and a final one for FCO to JFK. Once you've confirmed availability for all legs, use the multi-city tool to piece them together. If the online tool fails or gives you an error, don't give up—this is when you should call the airline. Have your exact flight numbers, dates, and cabin classes ready, and a knowledgeable phone agent can often manually build the itinerary for you.

Advanced Strategies and Itinerary Ideas

Once you master the basics, you can create some truly epic trips by leveraging award chart sweet spots. One of the most popular award ticket strategies is creating a "free one-way" flight, particularly with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For example, you could book a flight from New York to London for a summer vacation. Then, add a "stopover" at your home airport (New York) for six months, and book the final leg from New York to Hawaii for a winter getaway. The entire itinerary prices as a one-way award to Europe, effectively giving you a free flight to Hawaii later.

You can also combine stopovers and open-jaws for maximum exploration. Using ANA, you could fly from Chicago to Tokyo (your stopover), spend a week exploring Japan, then fly from Tokyo to Bangkok. After traveling through Southeast Asia on your own, you could fly home from Singapore, creating an open-jaw between Bangkok and Singapore. Another great strategy is to use stopovers to explore major airline hubs. With Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, you can add a free stopover in their magnificent hub city of Istanbul on your way to Africa, the Middle East, or other parts of Europe.

Understanding the Rules and Costs

While these programs are advertised as offering "free" stopovers, it's important to understand the associated costs. A "free" stopover means you won't pay any additional miles for the extra stop. However, you are still responsible for paying all government-imposed taxes and airport fees for the additional flight segments. These fees can range from a few dollars to over a hundred, depending on the airports and countries involved. Be sure to review the final cash co-pay before confirming your booking.

Every program also has its own set of rules. For example, some programs only allow stopovers on round-trip tickets, while others (like Alaska) permit them on one-ways. The maximum duration of a stopover can also vary, from a few days to nearly a year. Always read the fine print for the specific loyalty program you're using to ensure your dream itinerary is compliant with their policies. With a little planning and flexibility, award travel stopovers are your ticket to seeing more of the world for fewer miles.