Our Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS) nets Business Class flights for the Price of Coach from many U.S. Cities.
In this report FCF takes another look at our Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS), this time for travel on American. This technique can get you a Business Class seat at a fare that is less than, the same as, or slightly more than coach, from one perspective. Or, from another perspective: Get you up to three destinations in Business Class for about the cost of one. (See last month’s report on getting First Class Two-Destinations-for-One on United.)
As we reported last month, the SLS shows the tremendous benefits possible by taking advantage of “stopover allowances,” the rules governing whether a fare allows a stop on a deeply discounted Business Class fare and, if so, which cities qualify for it. Buried among the rules are provisions that make it possible to get free side trips, free upgrades to Business Class, and sometimes a lower fare.
Sample Stopover Loophole Strategy At a Glance—with American
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Stopover Provision
Just a quick recap of what technically is a “stopover:” It is a planned stop of more than four hours (domestic) or 24 hours (international) between flight segments on an itinerary. Stopovers are sometimes allowed for free or a small fee on deeply discounted Business Class fares. Finding low Business Class fares that allow a free stopover is the key to executing SLS.
Where FCF’s Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS) Works Best
In the Western Hemisphere: The destinations include the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico; and the departure cities range from big (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC) to small (Santa Barbara, CA).
Free SLS stopover cities for American in the U.S.: Usually major hub cities en-route, which include Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.
General Stopover Rules by Region for American
Caribbean and Central America: Often one free en-route stopover permitted in Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.
Mexico: Often unlimited free en-route stopovers, meaning you could have one going and coming.
Going with our example in the chart above, that means if you live in New York and your destination is San Jose Cabo, Mexico, with a connection in Phoenix or Dallas on American, you can stopover in one city in each direction. You can travel the New York- Phoenix segment on one day, spend a day or a week in Phoenix, and then fly the Phoenix-San Jose Cabo, Mexico segment another day. On the return, fly San Jose Cabo, Mexico-Dallas, and then Dallas-New York a few days later. You can also do this in reverse.
A Sample SLS Travel Scenario
As our sample scenario, let’s take the “SLS at a glance” itinerary using American’s website: New York-Phoenix, San Jose Cabo, Mexico, Dallas-New York. One Business Class ticket using SLS costs $288 less than buying three round-trip economy tickets. (See chart below for five SLS sample routes.)
Sample SLS Fares on American
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Who Can Use SLS and How
SLS can be used by leisure travelers to add side-trips for free (or a small fee).
SLS can also be used by business travelers to add side-trips (cut the airfare cost of seeing or pitching more clients, possibly by 67%).
American Airlines Three-for-One Cheat Sheet
The Caribbean stopover rules and fares vary by U.S. departure city and even the island. American generally allows a stop en-route to Montego Bay and Bermuda on discounted Business Class from Los Angeles, but not to San Juan and St. Thomas. However, from Washington, DC to San Juan and St. Thomas AA allows a free en-route stopover.
Central America: To Belize City, San Jose, CR, and Guatemala almost always allows one free en-route stopover.
Mexico: Almost always allow one free en-route stopover in each direction.
How to Find SLS Business Class Fares
Use a travel agent or be ready to do your own SLS.
When we priced these SLS fares on the airline websites, Google Flights (click on “Multi-City” tab at top of page), ITA Software (click on “Multi-City” tab at top of page), and Kayak (click on “Multi-City” tab at top of page), they were hit and miss compared to when we used a travel agent’s Computer Reservations System (e.g. Apollo or Sabre). Use this report as the basis of a dialogue with your agent if you run into pricing issues with Google, ITA, or Kayak. (Even if agents charge a small research fee to do the leg work, it can be well worth it.)
General Stopover Rules by Destination on American at a Glance
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