In 2015, I flew to France with Icelandair and connected through Reykjavik. At the time, I had no idea
Icelandair has a stopover program that would have let me spend several days in Iceland, explore the country, and continue to France on the same booking without paying more in airfare.
As someone who wants to see as much of the world as possible, that kind of stopover is incredibly appealing to me. And as someone with chronic pain, it’s also a much more comfortable way to travel than forcing myself through one exhausting long-haul journey.
But back then, I just connected through Iceland and kept going.
That missed opportunity is one of the reasons I now pay very close attention to routing rules whenever I book flights with points.
The Aeroplan stopover is one of the most valuable and underused features in the entire program. For just 5,000 additional Aeroplan points, you can add a second destination to many international bookings.
I used this strategy to take my grandmother to both Switzerland and Singapore on the same Aeroplan booking in business class.
We flew from Toronto to Zurich on Lufthansa business class with a connection in Germany, spent five days in Switzerland, then continued from Zurich to Singapore on Swiss Airlines business class.
The entire one-way itinerary cost 92,500 Aeroplan points plus $232 CAD per person in taxes and fees.
For context:
- Toronto to Zurich in Lufthansa business class can easily cost around
$8,000 CAD / $5,700 USD cash
- Zurich to Singapore in Swiss Airlines business class often prices around
$11,000 CAD / $7,900 USD cash
That means these two business class flight segments alone could price around
$19,000 CAD / $13,600 USD in cash, before even accounting for the added value of the Switzerland stopover itself.
And instead of just connecting through Zurich, we turned Switzerland into its own mini trip.
We wandered Zurich, took in the views at Mount Pilatus, cruised Lake Lucerne by boat, relaxed at Hürlimannbad Spa, and experienced the Swiss mountains together before continuing to Singapore.
Honestly, the mountains ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the trip for me. I’m not someone who is hugely outdoorsy or constantly hiking, but there’s something calming and grounding about being surrounded by mountains. It gives you perspective in a way that is hard to explain until you’re standing there.
Sharing that experience with my grandmother made the stopover feel like more than just a points strategy.
It became part of the reason I travel in the first place.
I love being able to take her on trips with me. She knows me, understands me, and is the definition of easygoing. She is down for whatever, and I love being able to expose her to things she never imagined doing.
If you’re trying to maximize your Aeroplan points, travel more comfortably, or simply see more of the world on the same trip, this is one of the best Aeroplan strategies to understand.
In this guide, I’ll break down:
- what an Aeroplan stopover is
- how Aeroplan stopover rules work
- the difference between a stopover and a layover
- the best stopover cities
- how I search for stopovers myself
- and why I think more travelers should use this strategy
What Is an Aeroplan Stopover?
An Aeroplan stopover is when you stay in a connecting city for more than 24 hours before continuing to your final destination on the same award booking.
Instead of simply passing through a hub airport, the connecting city becomes part of your trip.
For many international bookings, Aeroplan allows you to add a stopover for just 5,000 additional points.
For example:
- Toronto → Zurich → Singapore
- Vancouver → Tokyo → Bangkok
- Montreal → Lisbon → Rome
Rather than rushing through a connection, you can spend several days exploring another destination before continuing onward.
This is different from a layover.
Stopover vs Layover
A layover is:
- under 24 hours
- simply a connection between flights
- not intended as a destination
A stopover is:
- more than 24 hours
- intentionally built into the itinerary
- treated as part of your trip
This distinction matters because Aeroplan prices them differently.
And once you understand how stopovers work, you stop thinking about points travel as simply “getting from A to B.”
You start thinking about how to experience more places on the same trip.
Why the Aeroplan Stopover Is So Underrated
Most people use points the same way they use cash flights:
- choose a destination
- search the fastest route
- minimize connections
- get there as quickly as possible
But points programs reward flexibility.
And the Aeroplan stopover is one of the clearest examples of that.
I think one of the biggest misconceptions people have is that they don’t
want a stopover because they’re focused on getting to their destination as quickly as possible.
But if you’re already flying halfway across the world to somewhere like Singapore, Australia, or India, why not experience another country along the way?
Especially when it barely changes the points cost.
For me, stopovers also make long-haul travel physically easier.
Nine hours on a plane is exhausting. Fifteen or twenty hours of travel time with multiple connections can be brutal when you have chronic pain or migraines. Being able to stop somewhere for a few days, rest properly, sleep in a real bed, adjust to the time zone, and continue later makes travel feel significantly more manageable.
That’s part of why I value this strategy so much.
It’s not just about squeezing more value out of points.
It’s about making travel richer and more comfortable.
The Switzerland and Singapore Stopover I Booked With Aeroplan
This is the Aeroplan stopover booking that really made this strategy click for me.
I was researching flights to Singapore and noticed Zurich kept appearing naturally as a routing option in Aeroplan searches.
Switzerland had always been on my bucket list, so instead of treating Zurich as just another connection, I decided to see if I could intentionally stop there.
I cross-referenced the routing on
FlightConnections to confirm the Swiss Airlines route, since that was the airline I specifically wanted to fly, then booked everything directly through Aeroplan online.
The itinerary was:
- Toronto → Germany → Zurich on Lufthansa business class
- 5-day Switzerland stopover
- Zurich → Singapore on Swiss Airlines business class
The entire booking priced automatically online at
92,500 Aeroplan points plus taxes and fees.
That stopover completely changed the trip.
Instead of arriving exhausted in Singapore after a long-haul journey, we had several days to slow down first.
During our stopover, we:
- wandered around Zurich
- visited Mount Pilatus
- cruised Lake Lucerne
- relaxed at Hürlimannbad Spa
- ate incredible food
- enjoyed the mountains together
Traveling with my grandmother made the trip especially meaningful.
And honestly, Switzerland is one of the few countries that made me rethink my usual “don’t revisit countries until I’ve seen more of the world” approach. We had five days there, and it still felt like we barely scratched the surface. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
How I Search for Aeroplan Stopovers
The easiest way to find Aeroplan stopover opportunities is to start by searching your actual destination first.
For example:
- search Toronto to Singapore
- look at which cities naturally appear as connections
- identify hub cities you’d genuinely want to visit
If you repeatedly see places like:
- Zurich
- Frankfurt
- Tokyo
- Istanbul
- Lisbon
- Singapore
Those are often strong stopover candidates because they are major Star Alliance hubs, which gives you a better chance of finding a stopover that fits your route, dates, and preferred airline.
Keep in mind that there is still a level of effort and coordination involved if you want to fly specific airlines. Partner airlines do not operate every route every day, and award availability can vary by date. You may need to adjust the number of days in your stopover, test different departure dates, or play around with your routing to find the best match.
You can tinker with this directly in Aeroplan’s search tool, or you can use FlightConnections to help plan routes and see which days specific airlines fly the route you want to include.
One important thing beginners often overlook is that not every route exists simply because you want it to.
Understanding the actual airline network matters.
That’s one reason I generally recommend that complete beginners start with simpler award bookings before building more advanced multi-city itineraries.
If booking travel already feels stressful or overwhelming, stopovers can absolutely add complexity.
But if you enjoy the planning side of travel and want to maximize both your points and your experience, they’re one of the best tools in Aeroplan.
You can also learn more about partner routing strategy in
how to use Aeroplan points on partner airlines.
Best Cities for an Aeroplan Stopover
The best Aeroplan stopover cities are:
- natural connection hubs
- served by strong Star Alliance partners
- destinations worth visiting on their own
Some of the best options include:
Zurich
Swiss Airlines hub with excellent onward connections to Asia and Europe.
Perfect if you want:
- mountains
- train travel
- relaxing slower travel
- luxury experiences
Frankfurt
Lufthansa hub with huge routing flexibility across Europe and Asia.
Good for:
- practical connections
- short European stopovers
- onward partner award availability
Tokyo
ANA hub and one of the best stopovers if you’re continuing to Southeast Asia or Australia.
Excellent for:
- food
- culture
- city exploration
- breaking up ultra long-haul trips
Istanbul
Turkish Airlines hub positioned between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Great for:
- maximizing routing flexibility
- affordable luxury
- adding another continent to your itinerary
Lisbon
One of the more underrated Aeroplan stopover cities.
Ideal for:
- Southern Europe trips
- Portugal itineraries
- combining Europe with Brazil or Africa routings
Aeroplan Stopover Rules to Know
Aeroplan stopover rules can change, so always verify directly with Aeroplan before booking.
But generally:
- stopovers apply to international partner award bookings
- stopovers must be over 24 hours
- stopovers typically cost an additional 5,000 Aeroplan points
- stopovers must occur in a connecting city
- bookings can often be priced directly online using multi-city search
The easiest way to check if a stopover is possible is honestly just to experiment with Aeroplan’s search engine.
If Aeroplan naturally routes you through a city already, there’s a decent chance a stopover may work there.
What About Open Jaw Bookings?
Open jaw bookings are related to stopovers but work differently.
An open jaw means you:
- fly into one city
- return home from another
For example:
- fly into Paris
- travel through Europe
- fly home from Rome
This can pair really well with stopovers to create multi-city trips without dramatically increasing your points cost.
I’ll break this down more fully in
Aeroplan open jaw bookings because the rules and possibilities deserve their own guide.
Are Aeroplan Stopovers Worth It?
For me, absolutely.
The stopover transformed what could have been a simple flight to Singapore into:
- a Switzerland trip with my grandmother
- several days resting before a long-haul continuation
- an opportunity to experience the mountains
- and effectively two bucket-list destinations on one award booking
And it only cost 5,000 additional Aeroplan points.
That’s incredible value.
I think people often focus so heavily on efficiency that they forget travel itself can be part of the experience.
A stopover lets you slow down a little.
See another place.
Rest.
Explore.
And often do it for barely more points than you were already planning to spend.
If you’re still building your Aeroplan balance, the
First Class Calculator can help you estimate how many points you’ll need for different premium cabin redemptions before committing to a strategy.

And if you want to better understand routing, partner airlines, and maximizing award value, start with
How to Use Aeroplan Points Without Wasting Them next.
