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Thread: Optimizing miles on 2013 trips
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Old Aug 8, 2012 | 9:43 am
  #16  
crimson12
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Originally Posted by amolkold
You can have a North American gateway stopover if your origin or destination is in North America. So yeah, you could do MXP-NYC(stop)-other NA city. And then go from there to South America.

If you use Avios to go to South America, doing MXP-NYC(stop)-MIA would be good, then connect to AA or LAN to South America. Best yet, you'll still be protected against delays if you're on two tickets if both flights are operated by AA/LAN/OneWorld. So if you fly NYC-MIA on AA and connect to LAN MIA-South America, if your AA flight is delayed, they have a responsibility to help you connect to your next flight. Just make sure you book an eligible connecting, taking into account minimum connection times. I wouldn't stretch it, but it basically takes out the need to overnight at MIA.
If I stop in another NA city, I'm not sure I see the value of the free stopover in NYC. BA tells me that I'd need 50000 Avios from MIA to SCL, which is the same price it gives me from NYC to SCL. So do I really gain by having the stopover? (Indeed, BA tells me "This is a direct flight", and LAN flies nonstop JFK-SCL, so if I'm using miles I'd prefer that to the connection in MIA.)

I know US allows stopovers and an open jaw on award trips, but don't (yet) see a way to utilize those rules to save miles. (And we only have 80k US miles, so we're really counting on another Grand Slam to help us out there...)

Or could I fly American one-way Europe-NYC(stop)-South America? Would they allow a stopover in that context?
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