Anatomy of an Award: Summer Trip to Paris & Free Oneway Home for Thanksgiving

My absolute favorite awards are the ones I've booked for family and friends. Helping them fly for (nearly) free is a great pleasure that can't be replicated. Recently, my sister came to me asking for advice on the cheapest ways to fly from Boston to Paris this summer. She has zero miles and a tight budget.

20k Miles to Europe All Summer Long with A Free Oneway in 10 Clicks

Here's the goal:

The goal is for a New Yorker to get a one way award to Europe in the height of summer for only 20k miles, which is a 10k mile discount plus a free oneway from Los Angeles to New York, a 12,500 mile value.

We want to pay 20,000 American Airlines miles for two flights that "should" cost 42,500 miles.

(This trick doesn't just work for New Yorkers. It works for people who live in every city that has an American Airlines flight to London.

Free Oneways Are Still Possible On United Awards

I was nervous that free oneways might be eliminated by United upon its new chart taking effect yesterday. There was a cryptic comment on the new award chart that stopovers on certain awards might require extra miles.

Free oneways rely on a stopover at your home airport to pull them off. If certain free stopovers were eliminated, free oneways could have been eliminated with them.

Why Is Space Disappearing on AA.com? A Common Problem When Attempting to Book Free Oneways

I got an email from a reader that demonstrates a common point of confusion about stopovers on American Airlines awards.

Another Deal the Bloggers Killed: The Negative Price Oneway from the Carribean to Europe

Currently, the following United award (Newark to London, returning Paris to Newark) would cost 60k miles in economy.

Add in a stopover in Newark on the return, and a later one way trip to Jamaica and the price drops 2,500 miles to only 57,500 miles in economy!

 

Unfortunately, this deal I first wrote about last year dies in six weeks!

20k Miles (or Less) to All of South America All Year

Or: Save 10k Miles by Adding a Free Oneway

Summer airfare--during our summer or theirs--to Southern South America usually tops $1,000 per person in economy.

But you can get to South America this summer for only 20k American Airlines miles one way.

All the legacy carriers--Delta, United, American, and US Airways--charge 60k miles roundtrip on Saver economy awards to Southern South America, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

American and United let you go one way for half the price while US Airways and Delta charge 60k miles for one ways.

American is even more generous with

Anatomy of an Award: Business Class Roundtrip to Europe with Two Free Oneways to Hawaii and Canada

Last month I wrote about using American Airlines' distance-based Explorer Award chart to save miles and add stopovers traveling to Europe. Check out Get a Roundtrip Business Class Award to Europe with Three Stopovers for 90k American Airlines Miles before proceeding. This post compares that Explorer Award option with a "regular" award option.

On a roundtrip from New York to Eastern Europe, I was able to add three stopovers and save 10k AAdvantage miles (90k vs.

How to Save 70,000 Miles on US Airways Awards to Southeast Asia

By using the principles of free oneways and an incredible sweet spot on the US Airways award chart, you can save up to 70,000 miles on your next US Airways award booking to Asia.

I'm flying Turkish Airlines Business Class on My Next US Airways AwardUS Airways charges ordinarily charges 120k miles roundtrip in business class to India or Thailand and 160k in first.

Anatomy of an Award: How to Fly a Peak Time with Off Peak Pricing and Add Two Free Oneways

I recently booked my friends a roundtrip award to Chile and Argentina, so that they can explore Patagonia next January for only 50,000 American Airlines miles each.

Lake District of Patagonia near Bariloche, Argentina

The award should have cost 60k miles each, but I saved them 20k miles by applying the same trick I used in the post 20k Miles to All of Europe All Summer, and I also added two free oneways onto the award, so that they already have half of their next vacation to Hawaii booked.

Here's a visual representation of

Unlimited Free Stopovers on British Airways Awards, But No Free Oneways

You get unlimited stopovers on awards booked with British Airways Avios

But you can't get any free oneways on awards booked with British Airways Avios.

Huh? How can that be?

For some people, those concepts are hard to untangle, so let me state the concepts as clearly as possible.

A free stopover is the absence of a flight. It is being in a place. Let's use yesterday's Anatomy of an Award as an example.