Since the announcement of the Flying Blue free one-way stopover feature, I have been very eager to make a booking to visit two countries for the same amount of miles. I have been planning to go back to China to see Guilin national park again (https://awardcracker.com/guangxi-guilin-forest-park-china/), but have not been able to find any flights from US since the Covid-19 pandemic.
One-way stopover trip from US to Shanghai (PVG) via Paris (CDG)
I have verified the availability of both outbound legs (MIA-CDG & CDG-PVG) and the total mileage requirement (MIA to CDG) without stopover on Airfrance.com (see the screenshots below).
Washington to Paris
Paris to Shanghai
Washington to Shanghai connecting flight for total mileage
My Phone Call to the Flying Blue Customer Service
The agent I spoke to had no idea about one-way stopovers and was getting confused between layovers and stopovers. I explained very politely and upon my insistence he finally agreed to speak to a supervisor while placing me on a brief hold. When he returned to the phone conversation, he was fully educated about one-way stopovers and even offered to place the award on free hold for 3 days.
Other possible routes to use Flying Blue one-way stopovers
Flying Blue SkyTeam partners
Flying Blue SkyTeam partners can be used for one-way stopovers, but the saver award availability and the total points required may not be favorable compared to booking on their own metal. For example, I tried looking for the total required points to fly Virgin Atlantic (releases a lot of awards) from JFK to Cape Town via LHR (see the screenshot below). JFK to LHR award flight was only 74K FB points with reasonable taxes, but LHR to CPT award charges are too high.
Conclusion
Flying Blue one-way stopovers is a phenomenal way to stay in Amsterdam or Paris for a few days and then head over to Asia or Africa. I encourage interested readers to first research the available flights and then expect some confusion from the Flying Blue agents when you call to complete the booking. It looks like most of the supervisors are well trained in this aspect and it is only a matter of time before everyone understands about it.