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Regular readers will be well aware that InsideFlyer UK LOVES Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Rather than use Alaska miles to fly from Point A to Point B, we try to take advantage of certain loopholes that make those hard-to-acquire Alaska miles go further.

Alas… one of our favourite loopholes has been shut down. This is probably due to the recent addition of Singapore Airlines. But nonetheless, you can no longer receive a free stopover on intra-Asia itineraries. If you want to be reminded of how this loophole worked, you can re-read this old post by clicking here.

Unfortunately, if you attempt to book a flight from one Asian city to another, with a stopover in Tokyo, you will see this…

It’s not an issue of award availability, as you will see if you book as a regular open-jaw return.

At the moment, this restriction appears to only apply to intra-Asia awards. The “Half price Helsinki” and the “Seattle stopover” still seem to work just fine…

The Bottom Line

Travel hacks such as this one come and go. There is little to be done when an airline closes a loophole that has been overly abused. Luckily, this new policy hasn’t been applied everywhere, so Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can still take advantage of a free stopover on one-way award itineraries, just not in Asia…