How I would search an Aeroplan stopover from the U.S. to Zurich and Italy

One of the Aeroplan features I find most interesting is the ability to turn one international award into a two-destination trip by adding a stopover.

A route like United States → Zurich → Italy is exactly the kind of itinerary where I would investigate it.

As of November 2026, Air Canada says an eligible international Aeroplan stopover adds 5,000 points to the award. Aeroplan allows one stopover per direction, and a stopover can last up to 45 days. The official booking page explains the current rules and lets you select a "Multi-city/Stopover" search. Check Aeroplan's current stopover rules before booking.

What the itinerary could look like

Conceptually, I would search something like:

• U.S. departure city → Zurich
• Stop in Zurich for several days
• Zurich → Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence-area airport, or another Italian gateway

The exact best route depends on award space, operating airlines, and where in Italy you actually want to go.

The important part is that Zurich becomes the stopover rather than a separate award ticket.

Why this can be useful

Without the stopover feature, you might book one award to Zurich and a second award from Zurich to Italy.

With an eligible Aeroplan stopover, the stop can be built into the larger itinerary for the additional stopover points charge, plus applicable taxes and fees.

That does not automatically mean it is the cheapest option. I would still compare:

• One Aeroplan itinerary with the stopover
• Two separate award tickets
• An award to Zurich plus a cheap cash flight or train onward
• An award directly to Italy with Switzerland on a separate trip

The best answer depends on the actual prices you find.

Search the hardest segment first

If I want business class across the Atlantic, I would start by finding the long-haul segment with bookable premium-cabin space.

That is often the constraint.

Once I find a workable transatlantic seat, I can build the Zurich stop and onward European segment around it.

If I start with a perfect 11:00 a.m. Zurich-to-Italy connection but cannot find the long-haul seat, I have solved the wrong problem.

Try multiple U.S. gateways

I would not limit the search to my home airport.

Depending on where you live, it can make sense to search major gateways separately and then work out the positioning flight afterward.

I would compare airports with strong transatlantic service and think about:

• Cost of the positioning flight
• Time between tickets if booked separately
• Hotel cost if an overnight is needed
• Risk if the first ticket is delayed

A "cheap" positioning flight is not cheap if it creates a stressful misconnection risk.

Be flexible about the Italian endpoint

Italy has multiple airports connected to the rest of Europe.

If Rome has no award space but Milan does, I would price Milan. If the trip is focused on northern Italy, that may even be better.

The same applies to Zurich. Sometimes the perfect trip appears when you stop thinking in terms of one exact airport pair.

Watch the total itinerary distance and pricing

Aeroplan pricing depends on the itinerary and the airlines involved. Air Canada also updated portions of its Flight Reward Chart effective June 1, 2026, so I would use the current chart rather than an older blog post when estimating the points required. Air Canada's 2026 chart update is here.

I would treat online estimates as planning tools until the exact itinerary prices on Aeroplan.

Do not transfer points until the award is ready

This is a big one.

If I am moving bank points into Aeroplan, I prefer to find the actual flights first. Once flexible bank points are transferred into an airline program, they generally cannot simply be moved back.

My sequence would be:

• Find the long-haul award space.
• Build the stopover search.
• Confirm the total points and cash cost.
• Confirm passenger names and dates.
• Check the transfer time from the bank program.
• Transfer only when I am ready to ticket.

One-way can be your friend

Aeroplan permits stopovers on one-way itineraries, so I would not assume the whole vacation needs to use the same program.

You could potentially use Aeroplan for the U.S. → Zurich → Italy direction and a completely different program for the flight home.

That flexibility is one of the reasons I like searching each direction independently before deciding how to book the trip.

The takeaway

The appeal of the Aeroplan stopover is not just "another city for 5,000 points." It is the ability to build a trip around the places you actually want to visit instead of treating the connection as wasted time.

For a Switzerland-and-Italy trip, I would start with the long-haul award space, stay flexible on gateways, compare the stopover itinerary against separate tickets, and transfer points only after the exact award is ready to book.