A stopover is one of award travel's best-kept secrets: spend 1-5 days in a layover city at no extra miles cost. Book New York→Reykjavik→London, visit Iceland for a few days, then continue to your final destination — for the same miles as a direct flight. Here's which programs allow it and how to book.
Icelandair allows a free multi-day stopover in Iceland on any transatlantic booking. This applies to paid tickets too — but for award travelers, it also works when booking Icelandair directly or via programs that partner with Icelandair.
Alaska Mileage Plan and United MileagePlus allow stopovers on trans-Pacific awards. Book US→Tokyo→[Asian destination] and spend several days in Tokyo at no extra cost. Alaska on JAL or United on ANA both support this.
Etihad Airways has an official "Abu Dhabi Stopover" program — affordable accommodation packages and even free hotel nights for transit passengers on Etihad flights. Book Etihad award flights via Amex or Capital One transfers.
Singapore Airlines allows stopovers on many KrisFlyer award routings between the US and Australia/Southeast Asia. Singapore's Changi Airport has its own attractions (Jewel Changi) and the city is exceptionally easy to navigate.
Air Canada Aeroplan allows one free stopover per international award. Route: US→Canada (YYZ/YVR)→Europe can include a Canadian city stopover. Alternatively, Aeroplan partners with Icelandair codeshares for Iceland routing.
The economics of a stopover award are compelling. A transatlantic award from New York to London costs roughly 33,000 Aeroplan miles in business class. Adding a free 3-day stopover in Reykjavik via Aeroplan's routing rules changes the same 33,000 miles into a two-destination trip. If you had booked Iceland and London separately, you would have spent two separate awards. This is why stopover awards are considered one of the highest-value redemptions available.
The catch is availability: you need open award space on two separate legs, often on different airlines operating different routes. For the New York → Iceland → London example, you need Icelandair or a partner airline with award space on both segments. This is more complex to search than a simple direct award, and often requires calling the airline directly rather than booking online.
The best strategy is to identify which airlines operate your natural routing with a stopover city en route, then check if your points program supports that airline's inventory. Alaska Mileage Plan is particularly flexible — it allows stopovers on partner airlines including Finnair (Helsinki), JAL (Tokyo), and British Airways (London), letting you build Europe + Japan trip combinations that would otherwise require two separate award bookings.