Stopover
A stopover is a planned stay of more than 24 hours (or over 4 hours domestically) at a connecting city on the same award ticket. Some programs sell it cheaply — Air Canada Aeroplan adds a stopover to a one-way award for 5,000 points — effectively giving you two destinations for one ticket.
A stopover converts a layover you'd normally endure into a destination you actually visit — without buying a second award ticket.
How it works. Programs define a stopover as a stop longer than 24 hours on an international itinerary. Rules vary widely: Air Canada Aeroplan allows one stopover per one-way award for 5,000 extra points; several other programs allow them only on round-trips or have removed them entirely. US programs like Delta and United are stingiest — generally no free stopovers on standard awards.
Example. Flying US to Bangkok with Aeroplan points, you can route through Tokyo and stay five days for +5,000 points. Two trips — Japan and Thailand — on one award that might otherwise cost 55,000-87,500 points each way in economy or business tiers.
Stopover vs. layover: under 24 hours international is just a connection and costs nothing extra in any program.
Common mistakes: trying to add a stopover online when the program only supports it by phone, assuming every partner routing permits one, and forgetting that taxes recalculate when you add a stop in a high-fee airport like London Heathrow.