Originally Posted by
fwfdan
Looking to do a three segment trip next year early / mid fall in J... US-Europe with a segment within europe. Have done this before (requiring flexibility on dates) but now the portion within Europe are all showing at 45k miles rather than zero miles no matter where or when I look.
Has something changed that it is no longer "free miles" for a stopover or is it just that there is no availability?
You’re talking about the “Excursionist Perk,” and it looks like it’s been quietly gutted. Previously, it could be used for the same or a lower class of service; now, it can only be used for a lower “tier” (standard vs. everyday, I guess) or cabin. In other words, you won’t be able to get a free J award intra-Europe unless you book F.
It’s unclear whether or not this was
really intentional — as written, you can’t use it for Y travel in the first place, since they is no class below Y — but I think most of us knew something would be changing when domestic F became less expensive than some intra-regional J awards.