Reward scenario
 

Hi I am trying to book some travel for my fiancees family this summer.
They are trying to go SEA-PWM stopver -OSL destination -IAD stopover-SEA
Which airlines permit one way awards with stopovers? I know BMI does. The IAD stopover is not critical.

We have 70,000 UA miles, 50,000 AA miles, 130,000 BMI miles 30K CO miles to spend. Plus a boatload of SPG points if necessary. 2 or 3 people are going.

It should not be a problem to book such flights, even with stopovers. Usually airlines list cost in miles for one ways and do allow bookings with stopovers, but they charge more miles for such routes. Another issue - availability for miles.

The problem might be the lack of miles; you do not have enough miles on one airline or partner airline that would cover 3 tickets to Europe and back .

If I were you, I would not use miles for the US domestic flights, unless these are from coast to coast or a connection in US (without stopover) on the way to Europe. You can get US domestic flights VERY cheaply.

See if you can transfer miles (with small or no cost) to one account/one airline program. Airlines... try Scandinavian (SK)/UA/ LH - they're all star alliance members

good luck
R.

SPG points can be converted into airline points (often at a positive ratio, ie 20k SPG points can be converted into 25k AA points)

UA now offers one-way award ticket booking, but doesn't allow stopovers.

Info from UA's one-way ticket overview:

The facts
• One-Way Awards are available for both Saver Awards (fewer miles) and Standard Awards (more miles and more flexibility).
• You can use these awards to fly United- or United Express-operated flights only. Sorry, these awards cannot currently be used with our airline partners.
• You must fly the most direct route from origin to destination. That means no stopovers. You can, however, make connections. Tip: If you want to visit multiple cities, you can use multiple One-Way Awards to create your itinerary.
• You can change your award ticket at any time or get a refund before you travel, but know that you may be charged a fee. See fee chart for details
• Complete One-Way Awards rules

Miles required
• The number of miles you’ll need will depend on your origin, destination and award level.
• You will need half the number of miles you would for a roundtrip award ticket.
• With a Saver Award, you’ll need fewer miles. With a Standard Award, you’ll need more miles, but will gain flexibility in dates and can book any seat that is available.
• When you use our award search, miles required will be indicated for each flight, but you can also refer to the One-Way Saver Awards or One-Way Standard Awards charts for a list of miles required by region.

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6867,53338,00.html

Living in YVR, it's a shame you don't have Aeroplan miles. But SPG points can be converted to AP miles. AP allows 2 stop overs plus turnaround point on one ticket. I believe you could book this itinerary in economy for 60K miles or business for 80K miles.

I booked the following for my niece for this summer:

YOW-YUL-CDG (stop) - ZRH - BCN (stop) - AGP (stop) - MAD - YYZ - YOW

I paid 80K miles for a business class ticket. In the interest of full disclosure, the taxes were an absurd C$368, but well worth it for the value received here. I already know AC business class is excellent, and will ask my niece to report back on Swiss and Spanair business class! :)