Mastering the layover on the cheap

I learned something new last night while speaking with an American Airlines booking agent. Lest I forget it, I'm documenting it here.

Apparently, when booking award travel, American allows domestic hub-city layovers of UNLIMITED duration when the stop is a part of a continuing itinerary to a foreign city. For example, if I want to fly to South America using my frequent flier miles, I can include a week-long stay in Miami on my way to Rio, or on the way back from Panama City. Next time I book a trip to Europe, I'm definitely spending some more time in New York City!

Some hub cities that are not domestic yet are within North America, such as Toronto or Vancouver, also qualify for this added flexibility. Also, because Hawaii is a domestic hub in route to the South Pacific, extended stays in Honolulu can be made on the way to or from places like Australia or New Zealand.

Alas, the same is not true with foreign cities. Just like exclusively domestic trips, stays are restricted to a maximum number of hours that makes leaving the airport impractical. Connecting domestic flights must be within four hours of arrival, while connections abroad must take place within 24 hours; the same time restriction applies for tickets that are purchased.

Even the 24-hour window rule is a great piece of information; if I have multiple connection options out of London or Paris, I can opt for the one that allows me to spend nearly a full day exploring the city!

UPDATE: The Frugal Travel Guy blog published an article about the most generous stopover rules here.

This year's Thanksgiving menu: Turkey Tagine and Tapas

So Oprah recommends magical-mystery-tours.com, where you provide a budget, answer some questions about travel preferences, and they surprise you with a vacation, details unknown until you arrive at the airport. Cool concept...but I take this as a challenge! (Yes, I have control issues; sue me.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you eight days in Southwestern Europe and North Africa: Barcelona, Spain tp Marseille, France to Marrakesh, Morocco...with a night in Madrid on the way back stateside thrown in for good measure. On top of that, there's a half day to tool around in New York City before catching the overnight to Spain.

Using frequent flier miles earned through "churning" credit card signup offers, round-trip airfare across the Atlantic is only $61 per person. Low-cost carrier flights between the four cities is another $450 per person, and eight nights in some pretty nice, centrally located 3 and 4 star hotels can be had for about $500 per person (double-occupancy) during the off-season. Throw in cab/metro fare, meals and incidentals, and it still comes in under $190 per day!

Top that, Oprah.