Since the demise of US Airways, the free stopover on a points ticket has all but disappeared. However, there are still a few hacks that you can do.
When travelling on a premium ticket there is nothing as wasteful as a 2 hour layover. You are tired, probably full and in no condition to enjoy the second leg of your journey.
Many people I talk to do not realise that a layover of less than 24 hours is not regarded as a “stopover”. This means that you can leave your bag (or bike bag) with the airline and then enjoy the delights of the layover city. I have done this with cities as diverse as Helsinki (pictures below), London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai.
This can work in both directions. You can use it on the way home to avoid the excessive UK Air Passenger Duty (ie tax). I recently started a flight in Helsinki and picked up the BA flight in London back to Sydney. Actually bad example, read how they attempted to downgrade me to economy from business.
In this post:
Emirates First Class Layover
Alternatively you can do it on the way to Europe. This can work well when flying with Emirates which has an outstanding First Class product. A city like Dubai is worth visiting at least once in your life.
Emirates usually provides a free night and private transfers. We picked up our flights from Hong Kong, travelled first class and stayed for free at the Dubai Le Meridien, around 1km from the airport. As part of the stopover we could have had up to three free meals. We were able to fit in one, saving ourselves for the first class lounge and the next flight.
As our clothes were still at the airport the pyjamas and amenity kit were worth their weight in gold. After a days touring and a good nights sleep, you can head back to the airport and really enjoy the Emirates lounge. It is one of the best first class lounges in the world (although I prefer Thai for the service and massage). With a wonderful selection of foods and drinks from around the world.
Tip: If you plan to use the spa at Dubai then book ahead. On our two visits it has been full.
How to book the longer layover on Qantas
The Qantas website is not the best for putting this together. My suggestion is to use the multi city booking tool to determine what flights are available. At this point the Qantas site will try and put you on to the best connection or just fall over.
The trick here is to make sure you have recorded the details and then just call them.
Tip: Letting the Qantas call centre know the website wont work will usually lead to the telephone booking fee being waived.
United Airlines Star Alliance
The United Airlines is probably one of the best points booking tools around. Traditionally the the easiest way to get points is buying them. But since the Aussie dollar tanked I don’t plan doing that soon. The alternative is to fly with them for work or transfer hotel points over.
Nonetheless I still have a small stash of points to spend. With United you can just put in your dates and get a calendar view of availability. Once you choose your dates you can then sort them by longest flight!.
The other great thing about United is you can deselect airports. So if you don’t want a stopover in Turkey or India you can remove them from your list.
Singapore Airlines Stopover
Singapore Airlines points are a lot more achievable. You can route your Virgin Velocity points to Singapore, fly with them (they are have great economy daytime flights to and from Sydney) or get a card that accrues Singapore points.
The great thing about them is you get a “free” stopover both with the paid product and the points redemption. In this instance you will have to pick up your bags though.
Summary: I love flying so I plan carefully to make sure I can maximise the time on the ground and in the air. Choose your flights carefully so that you can enjoy the first class experience, perhaps even getting a first class hangover.
