Use open-jaw itineraries (fly into one city, out of another) and free stopover programs (Iceland, Portugal, Turkey) to add a second destination at almost no extra cost.
Multi-city travel doesn't have to cost more than a simple round-trip. Used correctly, these techniques can drop a complex itinerary's price by 30–50%.
1. Open-Jaw Itineraries (Always Safe)
Fly into one city, out of another. Example: NYC → Rome, train to Venice, Venice → NYC. Versus the alternative (NYC → Rome RT + Rome–Venice intra-Europe one-way), open-jaw is often hundreds cheaper and saves a wasted day.
2. Free Stopover Programs (Always Safe)
Several airlines offer free multi-day stopovers in their hub city as a routing feature:
- Icelandair — up to 7 nights in Reykjavík
- TAP Air Portugal — Lisbon or Porto, up to 10 nights
- Turkish Airlines — Istanbul, often with a free city tour or hotel
- Qatar Airways — Doha, with stopover packages
- Emirates / Etihad — Dubai / Abu Dhabi stopover
- Finnair — Helsinki stopover
You get two destinations for the price of one ticket.
3. Round-the-World Fares (Sometimes a Steal)
Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam each offer RTW fares — multiple stops, all in one direction (east or west), with mileage caps. Best for travelers with 3+ weeks and flexibility. Business Class RTWs can sometimes price out under $10,000 — cheaper than two separate international Business Class round-trips.
4. Hidden-City Ticketing (Risky — Know the Rules)
This is the technique where you book A→B→C and get off at B (the connection). It can save money on some routes — but airlines explicitly prohibit it in their contract of carriage. Risks include:
- Forfeiting the unused leg automatically cancels the return
- Checked bags will go to the final destination, not your real one
- Frequent flier accounts have been closed for repeated use
We don't recommend it for important trips. If it's mission-critical that you arrive somewhere, book a real ticket to that place.
5. The Throwaway Return (Also Risky)
Booking a round-trip and skipping the return because the round-trip was cheaper. Same risks as hidden-city. Use sparingly and never on the outbound (skipping the outbound auto-cancels the rest).
How to Get the Cheapest Multi-City Fare
Most online search forms struggle with anything beyond a simple round-trip or basic multi-city. Phone-based agents using GDS systems can construct routings that aren't bookable online — particularly for international itineraries with intra-region positioning. Call us and describe where you want to go; we'll build the cheapest valid itinerary.