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Welcome to the Award Travel 101 Beginner Series! Award Travel 101 is the official community of AwardWallet. During this series we'll answer the most common questions we get from award-travel beginners.
A few times a day, almost every day, a version of the following question is asked: “I am flying from New York to Rome with a layover in London. My flight to Rome leaves two hours after I land from New York. Is that enough time?”
Minimum Connection Time
When it comes to connections, there are a few things you should know: When you book an itinerary as a single ticket, you and the airline have a contractual agreement: You agree to pay the price of the ticket, and the airline agrees to transport you to your final destination. This agreement, also known as the contract of carriage, legally requires the airline to reaccommodate you if you miss a connection.
Since a missed connection costs the airlines money, it’s in their best interest to only sell itineraries where the passenger has enough time to connect. Using data from millions of itineraries, the airlines have established a minimum connection time (MCT) for each airport. If an itinerary doesn’t meet the MCT, they won’t sell you the ticket.
As long as the flights before and after your connection were booked as part of the same ticket, you can rest easy knowing that risk-averse number crunchers working for the airlines feel good about your odds. And if something goes wrong, you’ll be on the next available flight.
One other advantage to booking an itinerary as a single ticket is that you may be eligible for additional coverage from the rewards card you use to pay for your flights (or the card you use to pay the taxes and fees on an award ticket). Many cards offer up to $500 per passenger in reimbursements for expenses like a hotel, meals, and transportation. Our top recommendation for beginners is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card because it earns 2x points on travel and offers excellent protection for unexpected delays and lost or stolen luggage.
Booking Separate Tickets
But for points and miles maximizers, getting the best deal often requires booking separate tickets. As a rule of thumb, you’re traveling on separate tickets if you pay for your travel in more than one transaction. If you had to get out your credit card more than once, the protections we covered in the previous section go right out the window. It’s now your responsibility to manage the risk of missing a connection.
First, let’s have a quick look at why you might book a trip on separate tickets in the first place. If you read about ways to maximize points and miles, you’ll likely find references to “booking a positioning flight.” A positioning flight is a separate ticket that gets you to the airport where an award itinerary begins (or to your final destination from the airport where an award itinerary ends). In some cases, there can be significant savings in points or cash, but you need to be informed about the tradeoffs.
Let’s look at an example using the itinerary from New York to Rome with a layover in London. Most frequent-flyer programs will require a minimum of 30,000 points for this one-way itinerary. But Virgin Atlantic, a partner of all the major transferrable currencies, charges 10,000–12,500 miles for a one-way flight from New York to London. Depending on the time of year, you can probably find nonstop paid airfare for less than $100 from London to Rome.
Award Ticket from New York to London
Separate Ticket from London to Rome
In this example, you’re saving 20,000 points by booking a separate ticket. You can safely assume that the 11-hour 50-minute connection between these flights will meet the MCT for London Heathrow, but that doesn’t mean you’re protected from financial risk if your flight from New York to London is delayed overnight. With this separate ticket, British Airways has no responsibility to get you to Rome if you fail to arrive in London on time.
British Airways has agreed to fly you from London to Rome. If you don’t get to London on time, it won’t matter if the delay was Virgin Atlantic’s fault. This effectively puts you in the same position as a person who sleeps through their alarm in their London hotel room. British Airways may put you on a later flight if you ask nicely, but they have no obligation to do so. More likely than not, they’ll ask you to buy a new ticket at full price.
Evaluating the Risks
One way to minimize the financial risk of traveling on separate tickets is to get as close as possible to your final destination on a single ticket. In the previous example, the worst-case scenario is paying for a ticket from London to Rome. Although this can still be expensive if you have to rebook last minute, it’s much better than being in a situation where you need to buy a transatlantic flight on the day of departure.
If you’re traveling from Atlanta to London, it’s far riskier to book a cheap positioning flight to New York that connects with an international ticket to London. If your flight to New York arrives late, the worst-case scenario is a last-minute ticket to London.
This doesn't mean you can't take advantage of savings from separate-ticket itineraries; it just means you should build in extra flexibility. I live in Atlanta, and if I wanted to fly from New York to an international destination on a separate ticket, I would book my positioning flight to New York the day before my international leg to ensure I had adequate time to make the international flight.
With few exceptions, separate tickets will also require you leave the secure part of the terminal and go through the same check-in process you'd follow if you were arriving at the airport by car. That could mean waiting for bags at the luggage carousel, standing in line to print boarding passes, rechecking luggage, and going back through security. For international connections, you'll also need to account for time to clear customs and immigration.
Airport Specifics
The final consideration has to do with specific airports. We're often asked something along the lines of, “is two hours enough time to connect in Philadelphia?” The honest answer is that no one can tell you with certainty given the randomness of airport operations and staffing. One week, you could easily make a 25-minute connection at my home airport of Atlanta, but if the “Plane Train” is out of service, you could be looking at a 25- to-30 minute walk between terminals. If asking about a specific airport, take any answer you get with a grain of salt. There are too many variables to reliably predict what you'll experience in a particular airport on your travel day.
That said, minimum connection times can give you a reasonable idea of what airlines expect for a given airport. If you're comfortable with the risks, Expert Flyer has a comprehensive resource on MCTs available to paid subscribers. They also offer a five-day free trial which should give you ample time to explore the exciting world of MCTs. Keep in mind that these times vary depending on whether your travel is domestic or international and which airlines are operating the flights on each side of the connection.
Bottom Line
Whenever possible, you should try to book all your segments on a single ticket. This offers you protection in case of missing a connection, and you don't have to stress about minimum connection times. If you are going to take the risk of booking separate tickets, especially if they are on different carriers for international itineraries, you should consider leaving 24 hours in between your flights to give you an extra cushion in case of irregular operations.
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If I have enough time, I stay overnight in the layover city. This way I have seen places I would never go to as my final destination, but seen some interesting places.
Good point: Evaluating risk of traveling on separate tickets.
if missed connection on a single ticket and next flight is the day after, is it the airline responsability to offer you a hotel for the night ?
Yes, they should cover a forced overnight. However, I’ve always relied on insurance from a reward credit card because the claims process is easier, and you can pick any hotel you want rather than the (possibly crappy) hotel the airline offers. Most cards offer $500 for expenses if you have a forced overnight.
due to past experiences, I am super paranoid about this! I think it is better to always have some extra time and know the steps (luggage, security, immigration, bus/train) for the specific situation…
Would linking flights on separate tickets on the same airline provide the sam protection as 1 ticket?
It may help in the sense that the airline is more likely to rebook you if they caused the delay, but **Technically** if you book a separate ticket, they are not obligated to get you to the final destination by the contract of carriage.
One other tip: American will let you book a revenue positioning flight with an award on the same record locator. So if you find a great business class award from Dallas to Hong Kong, but there isn’t a saver level award from your origin (say Austin) you can buy the flight from Austin to Dallas from AA at the time you book the award by phone, and they will put it all on one record locator with protection all the way through to the final destination. AA is the only airline I know of that will do this. Please share in comments if there are others.
I’ve been to airports like LAX where my connection was at the gate next to my arrival gate so no worries. Then on several occasions on a single American Airlines ticket, it would have me flying into either LaGuardia or Newark and flying out of JFK. That is NEVER fun but I usually make the connection or they put me on the next available plane.
I always try to allow 2 hours for a connection, especially when traveling through a new airport. There are just so many variables. Plus a good coffee and time to stretch my legs between flights helps reduce travel stress!
I wonder what happens with checked luggage if it is delayed after the first leg, and you have separate tickets…
Best way to ensure you don’t miss a flight is by having 1.5 hours connection minimum.
Airports in soem countries market themselves on offering short connection times. You would have to be brave to attempt it in their quoted “minimum conneciton time” though. So many things can go wrong: a delayed inbound flight, delay in getting the aircraft on stand, congestion in the airport terminal etc. It’s always best to leave some extra time. If your connecting flight is with a different airline they may make you buy a new ticket if you are late.
Very enlightening and timely your article. It will be very useful. Thank you!
Since the time I got the lounge entry card (and older :-)) I try to plan my flight changes with around 3 hrs inbetween and get some rest in the lounge or visit the city.
Good point with diving your journey into two separate (and separately covered) parts. I usualy allow the time to plan a short trip at least around the airport, have food outside or visit the city. Search for organized trips if you want to have it easy, you get it at Istanbul or Seoul Incheon airports at least.
Keep in mind to have a lot of time when changing planes at new Istanbul airport (in operation from April 2019). If you plan to get food or shop at the airport, allow 3+ hrs. Generaly, the airport is huge and get ready to walk a lot. If you have less than 90 mins to your next flight, you are allowed to take a marked “short connection” track with dedicated security check between flights. Just changed planes from Malaysia to central Europe there, both with Turkish, and 90 mins from arrival gate to departure gate through short track were so-so, same terminal.
That’s pretty cool to have a “fast pass” lane.
I have this concept of “Sensible Connection Time” rather than “Minimum” and it only relates to through tickets. Separate tickets/PNR’s is a wholly different ball game.
SCT can vary at the same airport – it’s less for connection to flights that are frequent to the eventual destination and more for infrequent flights.
For example, at Los Angeles, I like to allow at least three hours, preferably four when connecting from a domestic USA port to a Westbound Transpacific flight but half that time in the other direction.
It doesn’t hurt to have elite status.
Another thing to consider for cruisers is how long it will take to get through immigration, customs and local traffic between the airport and the departure port. If you miss the departure, a lot of the strategies mentioned here will be helpful.
Thanks for the info. First thing I always do is to check the distance between where I am and the next terminal, sometimes it seems close but can take even 30m to get to the other one.
Time of year is also an issue for me. Connecting at O’hare in summer versus winter, for example.
It also depends on the consequences of missing your flight. What is the frequency of flights available to the destination? I work regularly with people booking trips to West Africa, where the flight frequency may be 1 time per day- or less. Missing a connection may mean arriving multiple days late there.
Several good points in this article, and good explanation of the totals you beat when saving money with separate tickets.
Sometimes it is very important to consider how to transfer from one terminal to another.
Always a nice thing to study this in advance and not losing time once the first flight arrives.
Moreover, in a condition of stress you lose your lucidity.
Good information to keep close!
Depends on the airport as well. At Heathrow, for example, I almost lost my flight because, between terminal changes and having to literally cross the terminal, 1h30 wasn’t enough
This is really a problem. Because we want to arrive as fast as possible in the final destination, but we accept connections with a very short time, and we are faced with changes of gates sometimes which causes an unnecessary and distressing rush sometimes … Therefore sometimes a time is better longer connection time and be safe.
Yeah, a good question to ask is how much is stress worth? A tighter connection time means more vacation but a missed connection can ruin an entire vacation. Risk and consequences.
Luckily the only connections I have missed have been on one ticket so they were protected. If self connecting I get very nervous if there is less than three hours between flights.
These strategies don’t always go as planned and it’s difficult to anticipate everything that could go wrong but, if you’re willing to take that risk, the benefits can be worthwhile.
I now look at what lounges are in the connecting city. If there’s a lounge, I have no problem taking a longer layover to make sure I don’t miss the flight and get some free food.
Useful post. Thank you!
Thank you for this information. I was not aware of the contract of carriage. I always assumed that if I missed my connection it was my fault.
Some great points made in this article! Some MCT times are dependent on which terminals you’re arriving/departing from like for Delta at LAX.
As usual, useful info in both the article and the comments. In points/miles maximizing (and most of life), the more time you invest in planning, the less stress and the greater the rewards. If you want to go after these separate ticket opportunities: check your airport’s MCT; book your flights earlier in the day; know your airport’s layout; don’t do it if it’s a trip where you simply can’t afford to miss your connection; check the on-time performance of a particular airline, airport and flight; and don’t check any bags, if you can.
Great article! Thanks for posting it.
Does the contract of carriage cover layover airports where US Preclearance is in effect? I remember almost missing my connection on Etihad in Abu Dhabi when this program was first introduced and there were long lines at CBP in Abu Dhabi. I suspect MCT had not been adjusted to account for this.
How does the time of year you are flying factor into connection time? Is there a time of year when flights are more likely to be delayed? I know weather delays are probably more likely in the winter, but are there also lots of delays in the summer due to higher volume of passengers flying?
That’s a great point. It’s always helpful if you can avoid a connection where ice and snow can be an issue. If you must connect in a place like Chicago in winter, that makes for an especially risky separate ticket. Best to build in an extra night or book as a single ticket wherever possible. High volume summer is probably less of a concern. It might make the airport / lounges less pleasant, but winter storms are probably the biggest culprit for delays.
I avoid Chicago and northern cities like the plague during winter. Chances are way too high of having issues. Unfortunately you don’t know where your plane is coming even if you’re flying from Miami to Sydney.
Not very easy to find a good trade off to decide how much time have between two flights, especially if on different tickets.
Usually I prefer having a longer waiting time than risking of loosing the following flight.
I absolutely love this article. I actually never knew that this was possible or popular with people who use miles with airlines. I always thought it was just popular to save them all up for the entire trip.
I’m wondering how often people do this. Are there any stats on it that you can share more about?
Extra time between flights are what the lounges you can either access with, or have paid for by the right credit cards. As long as you don’t enjoy it enough to risk missing the flight.
I had a flight from Houston to Sydney once and was in the KLM lounge. My flight was scheduled for 10:30 or so and then around 8:15 I got a notification that my flight had departed. I don’t think I’ve ever had the color flush out of my face as quick as it did then. I rushed to the gate to see Miami or something on the sign – all color was now gone and I was about to start freaking out – only to realize that was the gate I arrived into Houston and my flight was the gate next to it (I got them backwards in my head as coincidentally my arrival and departure gates were right next to each other). Needless to say I stayed at the gate the rest of the night.
Lately I’ve been delayed on nearly every short domestic AA flight. I recently rebooked a ticket that had a 30 min layover in PHX on a flight to LA (originally from RDU). I have another separate itinerary flight booked from LAX to TYO and was worried about missing my connection in PHX. I called AA and amazingly they let me change to a flight going through DFW with a longer layover. I’m still worried about any delayed flights but at least I have more time and AA in this case was accommodating (I am ExP so maybe they actually took that into consideration, although they usually don’t seem to acknowledge me at all for the status).
Good Points, especially regarding staying on the same ticket until reaching your destination. I would add, those few times I have had separate tickets, unless I am spending the evening (or more) in a Hotel, I try to have all my luggage as carry-ons. That eliminates the need to go outside of security and then need to check back in.
Great info, but also a lot of planning and multiple options you need to take into consideration and think about if it doesn’t pan through 100%.
good info! I try to do same tickets.. but recently booked a similar set flying to Rome thru LHR… Have a 4 hours connection window from when our other flight arrives so things nominal it should be ok.
If I have a high-stakes connection to an unconnected ticket, I’ll always plan for an overnight buffer. The stress is just to high otherwise, I can’t believe the folks who book tickets with just 2 hours or so…
If they are willing to accept the risk, it can work. However, people often cut it far too fine and then cry when it goes wrong.
LAX is always a nightmare. I was pull out of the line for no reason & I missed my connection as a result to NY.
HK always efficient – very tight connections are possible. Ditto DOHA & Dubai.
Good article and warnings when looking to maximize value/minimize miles used. You can really get into a bind if you don’t think about what is discussed here. Isn’t so much the connection times, but the lack of protection if something goes haywire with the first flight.
I prefer to have everything I’m doing on one ticket. Even though it would cost me more money or miles. I do not want to have to worry about missing anything. If I split things I would be booking a day ahead or have hours between flights. I’ve done the running between gates and I hate doing that.
When my kids were younger I always made sure to book a long layover to let them run up and down an empty concourse or around an empty gate. It helped SO much for the plane rides! Just make sure that you get all the toys!
My rule of thumb is 24 hours if I’m “connecting” to a trans-oceanic flight. For the price of an airport hotel, I don’t need the stress.
Would you not just try to make a same day flight to start with though? I mean, worst case scenario you have to stay the night which is exactly your first case scenario. So you’re literally planning and asking for the worst case scenario.
Unless its united…. I’ve been delayed on every United flight I’ve ever taken
United certainly isn’t the best, but every flight? How many data points is that? I’ve had a pretty good track record with them.
The real problem comes in when you are flying on 2 different tickets. On one ticket you are protected, but still a nuisance if you miss your second flight.
I always get nervous when getting back into the states when I have less then 1.5 hours, but United seems to like to do that I’ve noticed.
Depends entirely on the airport. Any airport that requires you to take a tram sets off alarm bells for me for a tight connection. I would rather have a longer layover than risk losing any of my vacation time at my destination.
Are there websites to help with this? ie knowing what airports require connecting terminals and knowing where airlines arrive or depart?
This is an excellent article! i recently booked some flights for upcoming international travel under similar conditions, involving multiple connecting flights between my origin and destination, and made sure that the connecting time between flights was at least 3.5 hours to minimize the possibility of missing one due to delay, times involved in getting through busy airports, security screenings, washroom/food breaks, etc. Even though i was aware f the risks i was assuming, i’m hoping for a positive outcome and a fun journey, and i’ll definitely take the tips here into account for any future travels!
Just a thought – what if flight tracking apps could also predict trends in connection times and connection snafus?
This is useful information, thanks!
It helps with reducing guessing when it is a single ticket. I’ve had the same concerns, over time realized what is said in this article.
I always prefer to leave more time rather than less. Helps to avoid a high-stress level when traveling.
A tutorial on how to read the MCT tables available online, for example, at EF, would be appreciated.
If one is concerned about connection times, even while having 2 segments, make sure the 2nd segment is not the last flight of the day. Then you have a reasonable chance to get on a later flight. Otherwise you’ll have to wait till next day.
I’ve heard that this isn’t the case with Ryanair where if you missed your flight due to a delayed Ryanair connection, you’re required to purchase another ticket?
Connections that are too tight are something that I see often with novice travelers. Now that I take into account opportunities to lounge-hop and have learned to travel in premium cabins with points, I treat the travel as part of my vacation and I don’t feel the need to book the shortest connection time. It definitely lessens the stress during delays.
In most of the world’s airports, they have the concept of a transit area, so if you land in a country just to change planes before your final destination in a third country, you do not have to go through customs and border control.
Unfortunately, US does not have this concept, so if you’re just transiting USA you need to spend time going through passport and luggage control twice.
Booking all flights under one ticket is very important in case things go wrong.
Last year I had purchased two separate tickets where the connection time was more than enough, but my first flight got canceled at the airport due to a mechanical failure.
This caused major problems and I missed my second flight as well without any protection.
Obviously I lost a lot of time and money.
Very good article! If you’re booking individual tickets, you’re better off to travel with only carry-on. It’s too time consuming to wait for the luggage and then have to go through the whole process of exit and re-enter and recheck luggage again!
I didn’t even think about luggage doing separate tickets. That’s a huge hassle and big stressor. The savings better be amazing to actually do that.
Anyone know of a list of the policies of different airlines, in terms of the ability to make changes to award flights?
Man, when you race for connections you really see the value in reductions
In my personal experience, I’ve found American airports more willing to accommodate missed connections on separate tickets than European carriers.
Please share the details, thank you so much.
Much better to have too much time in the terminal. Get a credit card with club and lounge access and you can relax. Especially in the nicer overseas lounges, even Priority Pass ones.
You have the best strategy.
I absolutely second this.
You might as well add a new destination if you are going to have two separate award destinations.
Once I did have an airline book me on a connection that I thought was too tight and they changed it later. I ha e booked myself on separate tickets that caused me problems due to delays, etc. One time Delta totally screwed up and reimbursed me for everything and then some, but another time in Central Asia I was SOL. Either way, it was too stressful the day of and a hassle later, so I won’t do that again.
3 hour is the minimum I give myself for any major international airport. The European ones are worse and I would need 5 hours to be comfortable.
Leave extra time at Schiphol (Amsterdam) if making an international connection. There are often multiple lines to clear which can take a long time.
I think the airport is the key factor: LHR, for example, is unworkable unless your connection is in the same terminal [or, as you say, on the same carrier]; MAD is another nightmare. In fact, most airports with international “connections” are rarely set up for smooth connections. Going through an xray, for instance, even though you just got off a plane and are just getting onto another. BTW Casablanca has unbelievable, repeated, relentless “security checks” – at least 5 !!! So there is no rule of thumb about connection times: better safe than sorry.
Ideally my layovers would be at least 2 hours or longer….but not long to the point where I’m miserable. I don’t want to run to catch a flight ever!!
Nice article on these ways to be frugal with airline ticket shopping. Many I have used, but I always appreciate ways to learn more.
I would never take the chance and purchase separate tickets. It’s not worth the stress involved, and with a single ticket I have the added protection of my Chase Sapphire Reserve in case something goes wrong!
I find that less than 45 mins connection time in any domestic airport is just not enough time.
Definitely not! A slight delay would completely derail your plans.
Over the last 10 years I had successfully made lots of domestic connections (50+) of no more than 30 minutes long with the same airline. Of course, I always booked these flights as single tickets. Two times only I was late for a connection flight due to delay of the first flight. One time the airline just paid me a taxi to deliver me to my home city, which was just 300 km away. Alternatively, they could arrange me a hotel and re-book to the nearest flight, but it would have been after 8 hours, while taxi ride took 4.5 hours. The other time I was provided with a hotel, free transportation there and back to/from the airport, and vouchers for free lunch and breakfast. Based on my personal experience chances to miss connection flight with that airline are really small, and time/money save worth the risks.
Interesting!
Be prepared, know your airport layout and that will help you decide how much actual time you need.
And lounges! I’ve definitely decided on itineraries based on lounges in airports (or lack thereof).
Even if you are booked on one ticket, you are at risk of losing part of your vacation time if you miss a connection because the “next available flight” the airline is supposed to put you on is probably only going to be one on the same airline, which may involve a long long wait depending on frequency of service and whether planes are full. Airlines won’t even put you on a partner flight, with only a few exceptions, especially if you don’t have elite status. So one has to decide if planning a longer connection time, at least for for certain trips, is worth some extra money and/or miles.
Very timely article for me. I was booking flights for November and the questions raised in the article were exactly the ones I needed to evaluate before I book my flights. It is especially nerve racking when you take a positioning flight that is paid and the main flight is an award flight. My policy has always been always stay the night before the position flight at the position flight city.
My question is taking a paid morning flight from London to Dublin to catch an award flight leaving as 12:45pm to the USA. Is that just asking for disaster?
Obviously you can’t control all variables, but the earlier the flight, the less likely for a delay. Simply for obvious reasons (a delay in one city, creates a delay in another, and so forth). Early morning flights are typically on-time more compared to later day flights. So I’d just check the status of that flight overtime and see how it has done.
Ever since my nearly heart-attack inducing race through DFW, I give myself more time than I need, for better or worse.
Thank you for this info. I was not aware of the contract of carriage.
Given how some airports are designed so badly and you must take a train, bus or via horseback to get to the next terminal for your connecting flight it’s the wise traveler that serious reviews his travel plans and allots for more than enough connection time
Excellent point. Some airports you can absolutely shave time if desired. Some you need to add time.
Depends on the airport as well. For HKG and SIN was probably doable in as little as 1 – 1.5 hour layover.
Agreed. Some airports you really need almost 2 hours but I’ve made several tight connections at DEN and DFW with just 30-45 minutes.
MCT is always a YMMV situation. Personally, I always try to err on the side of a longer connection, doing the best I can to avoid missed connections. Plus, I uaually have access to at least one lounge, making it easier to pass the time.
Have , you used the new terminal yet ? it should make it a lot quicker not having to use buses to the planes .
Agree totally. Some airports are definitely more time-consuming.
I agree. The Asian tiger nations (Japan, Singapore, HK & Taiwan) are super efficient.