How to Maximize Your Airline Miles with Stopover and Open-Jaw Strategies

Imagine flying from New York to Tokyo, spending a few days exploring Japan, then continuing on to Singapore, and finally returning home—all for the same number of miles as a simple round-trip. This isn’t a fantasy; it’s the power of stopover and open-jaw award tickets. By mastering these strategies, you can unlock incredible value from your frequent flyer programs, turning a single award into a multi-city adventure.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain what stopovers and open-jaws are, how they differ, and which airline programs offer the most generous rules. We’ll cover major alliances like Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam, and provide practical booking tips to help you plan your next trip. Whether you’re a seasoned mileage collector or just starting out, these techniques can help you stretch your miles further than you ever thought possible.


Understanding Stopovers and Open-Jaws

What is a Stopover?

A stopover is an intentional break in your journey, typically lasting more than 24 hours on an international itinerary (or 4 hours on a domestic one), allowing you to visit an intermediate city. For example, flying from Los Angeles to London with a three-day stopover in New York. Instead of just transiting through the airport, you leave and explore the city before continuing to your final destination. Airlines often allow stopovers on award tickets, either for free or for a small fee in miles or cash.

What is an Open-Jaw?

An open-jaw ticket involves flying into one city and returning from another, or starting and ending in different cities. There are three main types:

• Destination open-jaw: You fly from City A to City B, then return from City C to City A. For instance, New York to Paris, then back from Rome to New York. The segment between Paris and Rome is not covered by the ticket and you must arrange your own transportation.
• Origin open-jaw: You depart from City A to City B, then return from City B to City C. For example, San Francisco to Tokyo, then Tokyo to Los Angeles. You need to get from Los Angeles back to San Francisco on your own.
• Double open-jaw: Combines both, e.g., New York to London, and Paris to Los Angeles. You cover the London to Paris segment independently.

Open-jaws are excellent for visiting multiple regions without backtracking.

Key Differences

Why Use Stopovers and Open-Jaws?

The primary benefit is maximizing the value of your miles. A standard round-trip award might cost 60,000 miles, but with a stopover, you can add an extra city for the same price or a small surcharge. This effectively gives you two trips for the miles of one. Additionally, these strategies allow you to explore destinations that might otherwise be expensive to reach, or to break up long journeys into more manageable segments.

Major Airline Programs with Generous Stopover Rules

Stopover policies vary widely by airline and frequent flyer program. Here are some of the most valuable ones as of 2025:

Star Alliance

• ANA Mileage Club: Perhaps the most famous for stopovers. ANA allows up to four stopovers on a round-trip award (but none on one-way). You can build complex itineraries like: New York – Tokyo (stop) – Bangkok (destination) – Singapore (stop) – New York. Note that ANA passes on fuel surcharges, so be mindful of airlines with high surcharges.
• Avianca LifeMiles: Allows one stopover per one-way award for $50 (as of 2025). This is a great option for adding a city in North America, Latin America, or Europe.
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: Allows one complimentary stopover on round-trip Saver awards, with additional stopovers available for $100 each. You can also add a stopover on one-way awards for $100. Singapore’s own flights are excellent, but partner availability can be limited.
• Air Canada Aeroplan: Allows one stopover for 5,000 points on most awards. Aeroplan uses dynamic pricing on its own flights but has a vast partner network.

Oneworld

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: One of the most flexible programs. Alaska allows one free stopover on one-way awards (even on partner flights). This means you can book a one-way from the U.S. to Asia with a stopover in Japan, for example. You can also add a stopover on round-trips, effectively getting two free stopovers.
• American Airlines AAdvantage: Historically did not allow stopovers on award tickets, but as of 2024, they introduced a new policy allowing stopovers on select partner awards for a fee. Check current rules before booking.
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: Allows up to two stopovers on round-trip awards (one on one-way) for a fee. The program uses distance-based pricing, so longer itineraries may cost more miles.

SkyTeam

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue: Allows stopovers on award tickets for a fee (typically €50-€100). Flying Blue often runs Promo Rewards with discounts on specific routes, and you can combine these with a stopover.
• Delta SkyMiles: Generally does not allow stopovers on award tickets. Delta’s program is more revenue-based, so focus on flash sales for value.

Non-Alliance Programs

• Aer Lingus AerClub: Allows stopovers in Dublin on transatlantic awards for no extra miles, making it easy to visit Ireland en route to Europe.
• Emirates Skywards: Allows stopovers in Dubai on award tickets. You can even book a “Dubai Stopover” package with hotel deals.

How to Book Stopover and Open-Jaw Awards

Step 1: Research Program Rules

Before searching for award space, know the stopover/open-jaw rules of the program you plan to use. Check if stopovers are allowed on one-way or only round-trip, if there are fees, and how many are permitted. Also verify if open-jaw is allowed (most programs do, but some restrict it).

Step 2: Find Award Availability

Use tools like ExpertFlyer, AwardHacker, or the airlines’ own search engines to find available award seats on each segment. For complex itineraries, you may need to search segment by segment. Remember that partner availability can differ from what the operating airline shows.

Step 3: Build Your Itinerary

Once you have the segments, you can often book online if the program’s website supports multi-city search. For example, on Alaska Airlines, you can use the multi-city tool to add a stopover. If the website doesn’t allow it, you may need to call the airline to book. Have the flight numbers, dates, and times ready.

Step 4: Calculate the Cost

Most programs price stopover awards based on the highest cabin or region, or as a round-trip with the stopover adding no miles cost (just taxes/fees). However, some programs like Asia Miles use distance-based charts, so adding a stopover may increase the miles required. Always check the final price before confirming.

Step 5: Ticket and Confirm

After booking, verify that all segments are ticketed correctly. Sometimes, especially with partner awards, tickets may not be issued automatically. Follow up if you don’t receive a confirmation with ticket numbers within 24 hours.

Creative Stopover and Open-Jaw Examples

Example 1: The Alaska Airlines Free Stopover

Using Alaska Mileage Plan, you can book a one-way from Seattle to Tokyo (NRT) on Japan Airlines with a free stopover in Los Angeles. So you fly SEA-LAX (stop for a few days), then LAX-NRT. All for the same 35,000 miles in economy (as of 2025).

Example 2: ANA Round-the-World Lite

With ANA Mileage Club, you can book a round-trip from Chicago to Europe with stopovers in Tokyo and Frankfurt. Itinerary: ORD-NRT (stop) – FRA (destination) – ORD. This costs 88,000 miles in business class (off-peak) plus taxes. You get to visit Japan and Germany on one award.

Example 3: Open-Jaw in Europe

Using Air France Flying Blue, book an open-jaw: New York to Paris, and Amsterdam to New York. You’ll need to get from Paris to Amsterdam on your own (a short train ride). This allows you to explore two major cities without backtracking.

Tips and Tricks

• Use hubs to your advantage: Many airlines allow stopovers at their hub cities for free. For example, stop in Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, or Doha with Qatar Airways.
• Combine programs: You can book one-way awards with different programs to create a custom itinerary. For instance, use Alaska miles for a one-way with a stopover, and United miles for the return.
• Watch for married segment logic: Some airlines prevent stopovers by not showing availability when you add a stop. Try searching each segment separately and then call to book.
• Consider positioning flights: If a program doesn’t allow stopovers, you can book a separate cheap flight to a city that does, then start your award from there.
• Be flexible with dates: Award availability can be scarce, so having flexible travel dates increases your chances of piecing together a complex itinerary.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Not checking fuel surcharges: Some programs (like ANA or Lufthansa Miles & More) pass on high fuel surcharges, which can make a “free” stopover very expensive.
• Assuming all partners are available: Not all partner airlines release award space to all programs. Verify before transferring points.
• Ignoring change/cancellation fees: Complex itineraries may be costly to change. Know the fees before booking.
• Forgetting the surface segment on open-jaws: Ensure you have a realistic way to cover the gap between cities, and factor that cost into your trip budget.

FAQ

Q: Can I combine a stopover and an open-jaw on the same ticket? A: Yes, many programs allow this. For example, you could fly New York to London (stopover), London to Rome (destination), then return Paris to New York (open-jaw). You would need to cover Rome to Paris on your own. Check the specific program’s rules, as some may restrict this combination.

Q: Do stopovers cost extra miles? A: It depends on the program. Some, like Alaska Airlines, allow one free stopover on one-way awards. Others, like Air Canada Aeroplan, charge a small fee (e.g., 5,000 points). A few programs, such as Delta, do not allow stopovers at all. Always verify the current policy.

Q: What’s the difference between a stopover and a layover? A: A layover is typically a short connection (under 24 hours internationally, or under 4 hours domestically) where you stay at the airport. A stopover is a longer break (over 24 hours) where you leave the airport and stay in the city. Stopovers are intentionally built into the itinerary to allow tourism, while layovers are just necessary connections.

Q: Can I book a stopover online? A: Some airline websites have multi-city search tools that support stopovers. For example, Alaska Airlines and United allow you to build stopover itineraries online. However, many programs still require you to call to book complex awards, especially those involving partner airlines.

Q: Are open-jaw tickets more expensive? A: Typically, no. Most frequent flyer programs price open-jaw awards as a round-trip or as two one-ways, depending on the program. The miles cost is usually the same as a standard round-trip, but you are responsible for the transportation between the two open cities.

References

1. ANA Mileage Club Award Ticket Rules, All Nippon Airways, accessed 2025. https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/amc/reference/ticket/
2. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Stopover Policy, Alaska Airlines, updated 2024. https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/use-miles/award-charts
3. Air Canada Aeroplan Stopover and Routing Rules, Air Canada, 2025. https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/aeroplan/redeem/flight-rewards.html
4. Avianca LifeMiles Stopover Policy, LifeMiles, 2025. https://www.lifemiles.com/eng/red/pro/prored.aspx
5. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Stopover and Open-Jaw Rules, Cathay Pacific, 2024. https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_HK/book-a-trip/redeem-flights/asia-miles-redemption.html