Depending how you look at it, fly halfway around the world for $2,581 or less, or get Europe and Asia for $1,290 each.
This unique fare opportunity isn’t for everyone, and it’s a little counter-intuitive.
Come to think of it, it’s kind of counter-clockwise, too.
It’s this: travel to Asia from the U.S. on a European carrier and you can get a free stopover in Europe. The cost difference between booking on the European carrier and its U.S. partner airline in the Finnair example we’ll show you below is over $15,000.
Now, we know what you’re thinking: Who in their right mind would travel from the U.S. to Asia heading East? Isn’t that the long way? The wrong way?
Well, it’s the long way, but not necessarily the wrong way. You may love the art of the deal, as so many FCF-ers do. They crave deal dopamine, the happy brain chemicals created when you see a deal too good to pass up. This deal ticks that box because it involves European adventure for free.
In fact, depending on the cities involved, it can be “less than free” because adding Europe may cost less than flying directly to Asia.
Or, you might be a bucket-list buster. You’ve got a stack of awesome places you’ve always wanted to visit, and here you’re reading about ticking more off for free. If you have some time and flexibility, going the long way can mean a very relaxing, interesting adventure.
And then there are the mile-amassers, who can pick up a load here (and the associated savings they deliver).
MILEAGE RUN MADE IN PREMIUM CLASS HEAVEN
So, let’s look at a couple of examples.
New York – Beijing with Free Stops in Helsinki
Did you know that Beijing is a “Twin Town” of Helsinki? It’s true, so go figure. But combining these twins delivers a remarkable deal, as do lots of other Asian/European city combinations.
As the screenshots show, New York-Helsinki-Beijing-Helsinki-New York on Finnair (and booked on Finnair) is $2,981. Now, if you were to travel New York-Beijing-New York non-stop on United, the fare is $4,695. So save $1,714 / 36%, and get Europe—Helsinki, or hop around innumerable cities in Europe (about 100 non-stops from the Finnish Capital in fact).
Book that same flight on American Airlines, Finnair’s partner, and you pay over $18,000. (Screenshot as shown on Google Flights below.)
Los Angeles to Beijing with a Free Stop in Zurich
And you West Coasters aren’t left out in the sun either. You can do Los Angeles to Beijing in Business Class, with a stop in Zurich, for $4,033; whereas Los Angeles to Zurich Business Class round-trip is $4,535, making it $502 less!
SWISS.com screenshot:
Pole Position:
USE YOUR IMAGINATION
FOR ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP POSSIBILITIES
The same strategy can be applied to other Asian destinations as well, such as Singapore and Tokyo. Formula One fans can really take the chequered flag with this kind of deal. Next year the Italian Grand Prix takes place at Monza on September 2, followed by the Singapore Grand Prix on September 16 (a nice little one-two combination).
Think of all the cool trips and places to conquer with a Europe-Asia one-two punch.
The Miles Equation Makes it Even Sweeter
Flying these routes means earning lots of miles, which in turn brings down the cost of the flight.
An example is SWISS booked in P Class. P Class earns 100% of the flight miles flown with the United mileage program. In our Los Angeles–Zurich–Beijing example above, the flight miles come out to just over 21,800. So, if the ticket costs $4,033, and even if you value miles at a measly 2¢ each, you earn $436 in mileage value if you’re a non-elite with United. This brings the overall cost of the trip down to $3,597. Another way to look at it: you’re getting Europe and Asia each for $1,798 round-trip.
On the New York–Helsinki–Beijing trip mentioned above, the miles earned are easily valued at $400 with the American Airlines mileage program, bringing the trip down to $2,581. Quick math dump: earned miles on Finnair are 125% for an AA mileage member, so the math is 16,100 flight miles—which become 20,100 thanks to the 125%—at 2 cents per mile is $400.
Elites Go Even Lower
There are also Elite bonuses, depending on your status, that can bring the cost down even more–to between $129 and $387 for AA elites, for example (see below).
U.S. mileage programs (American, Delta and United) often don’t offer elite qualifying dollars (EDQs) on a ticket issued by a partner airline, so check with the airline directly based on your needs as rules vary. That said, elites do earn award miles and elite qualifying miles (EQMs).
United Elites Reap: If you’re a United Prem 1K, you’ll earn a whopping 21,800 miles on the aforementioned SWISS flights, easily worth $436, and your net cost for the two continents will be just $3,161!
Not As Far As It Looks
Remember that international travel isn’t all left-to-right, and right-to-left as it appears on a flat map of the world. You take short cuts. And that’s because (spoiler alert) the earth is round. Amazing, right? It means that you can go up and over rather than down and around as it may appear on a flat, two-dimensional map. This only to say that it's not as bad as it seems.
WORKS FOR CANADIANS
The Long Way Round to Asia via Europe also works from many Canadians cities. For example, you can do Toronto to Beijing in Business Class round-trip, with a stop in Frankfurt, for $3,168 by flying Air Canada and Lufthansa, whereas Toronto to Beijing on Air Canada in Business Class is $3,922. Making it $754 less.
More to Come
Over the next few months FCF will look at other regions where going the long way round can get you much more for free.
In the meantime, please provide feedback below on what you think of this approach...