How to Use British Airways Miles: Post 8, The Art of the Stopover
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
This is the eighth installment of my series on maximizing British Airways miles. Since so many of you got in on the super-lucrative 100,000 mile BA Visa sign-up bonus (see details of the current 100K offer), it would be beneficial to check out: General tips, Post 1 – Booking BA Awards, Post 2 – Booking Partner Awards, Post 3 – Oneworld Alliance, Post 4 – Taxes and Fees, Post 5 – Household Accounts, Post 6 – Companion Ticket, Post 7 – Using ExpertFlyer for Partner Award Availability, Post 8 - The Art of the Stopover, Post 9 - Leveraging Miles and Cash Redemptions, and Post 10 - Using Qantas.com to Find Oneworld Award Availability. Also, be sure to look at my post on the credit card deal itself and the lengthy Q&A in the comments section.
I've gotten a lot of emails asking me to explain the super-flexible stopover rule. Basically, British Airways will allow unlimited stopovers on award tickets, within reason. The good and bad thing is that there is very little in the rulebook about this. Whereas most airlines have defined rules (no stopovers, 1 stopover, 1 stopover and open jaw or 2 stopovers), British Airways simply states in their Executive Club Rules:
"13.8. There are no charges for stopovers included in an Award itinerary. Where stopovers are at connecting points on the most direct route between origin and destination."
Simple rules from here:
1) You need to call to book stopover awards (1 800 452 1201)
2) You should do all of your research before you call. I recommend using Britishairways.com to search for partner award availability. However - if you don't live in a major gateway, you should search leg by leg using the one way search function. For example, don't plug in Minneapolis to Singapore and expect britishairways.com to figure all of the routing options out for you. You need to know the routing (an easy way would be to go to travelocity.com and see what Oneworld partner routing options come up). For example Minneapolis-Chicago-Hong Kong-Singapore. In this case, you'd have to mix American and Cathay Pacific, which would make this a multi Oneworld partner award. Multi = lots of miles = bad. So instead, I'd recommend booking an award Minneapolis to Chicago and then another Chicago-Hong Kong - Singapore on Cathay. You could stopover in Chicago AND Hong Kong (no minimum/maximum), but you'd have to call and know which legs are available. I recommend just searching each individual leg and writing down the ones that are available. Once you have everything written down, call and nicely tell the agent you have your itinerary all planned out and let them know you'll be giving them dates and flight numbers. As long as you don't go haywire with stopovers, you shouldn't have any issues.
Key thing to note - be creative. What this allows is a free domestic trip at the beginning and/or end of any award. So even if you want to fly New York- London- New York, you could actually split up the trip into two one ways. At some earlier point in time, say you want to go to Miami. You could build in half the trip as part of your US-Europe award. Miami-New York (Stop) and then at a later point in time New York- London, which would then be the end of oneway award number 1. And then return London- New York ("stopover" for as long as you want), then New York to, lets say, Los Angeles (final "destination"). Get it? Substitute Los Angeles for whatever city AA flies to. The stopover rule works really well in the US because American has an extensive route map.
3) "Most Direct Route" is the key thing to note. Direct usually means you should be traveling in the same direction (east/west). If you aren't a geography whiz, I recommend using Google Maps to make sure that your itinerary makes sense.
4) While stopovers are unlimited, you still need to adhere to the One Oneworld award chart if you want the cheapest priced awards. Award charts: BA Only. BA + 1 Partner. Single Oneworld Partner. Multiple Oneworld Partners. That limits how many stops you can build in because most carriers only have 1 hub in each continent. Main exceptions: American has several hubs in the US and Lan has several in South America. I recommend re-reading my post on understanding the Oneworld alliance to familiarize yourself with the route network.
If you are serious about stopovers, check out this Flyertalk thread. If you have any questions, feel free to write below, but honestly you will most likely learn the limits of this rule by trial and error. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments to help others.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
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- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
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- Annual Fee is $325.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
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You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.