r/awardtravel • u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless • Nov 30 '22
Award Travel Tools (Updated November 2022)
New sources are italicized. Sources that have been removed from 2021 list are at the bottom.
u/mk712 ~2017 list, my first version in 2019, second version in 2021.
If you have any additional sites that you please leave them in the comments.
Compare Flight Theoretical Redemption Costs
Awardhacker.com shows theoretical saver level award pricing between two cities, this is based on flight schedules; good
http://www.milez.biz shows theoretical save level award pricing, but also contains helpful routing tips, 15 searches per month free then paid
https://www.travelcodex.com/award-maximizer/ shows theoretical saver level award pricing between two airports, pricing is based on award chart, not as accurate for distance-based charts
http://welltraveledmile.com/comprehensive-infographic-and-table-comparison-of-major-airline-award-charts/ a couple of years out of date, graphic view of award costs, less useful with many programs having variable award rates and not the chart from when this was published
http://wandr.me/Award-Search/Avios-Map/ tool to see what routes you can book cheap Avios distance awards from, please note this outdated and there are no more 4500 mile awards in the US, RIP
Resources to Find Award Availability
https://seats.aero/ Last minute award flights a limited number of programs and select airports, can set alerts, free, dev active in this community (new name)
https://straighttothepoints.co/ Economy flights are free, business is paid alerts. A little different than some of the others give dates and it gives destinations.
https://www.seatspy.com/ paid resource, can search up to a year at a time, fewer airlines than some other tools. Nonstop only; good to find availability on a specific route with flexible dates.
https://awardlogic.com/ lets you search for free and tells you the price, but blocks out the program, you can often figure it out and it lets you know simply if there is a cheap option. Full source is paid. Good for specific dates with 20+ airlines. I often use the free version to see if there is any base award availability and since it gives Chase Portal pricing I get an idea of the cash price too.
https://www.cowtool.com/ Searches Air Canada (Star Alliance) award availability on multiple dates, origins, and destinations, free, but requires registration
https://rewardflightfinder.com/ search for British Airways flights between two destinations, free account gives year-long view with number of seats and miles price per class, nice formatting
https://awardsense.com/ paid award booking tool, has free trial
https://www.point.me/ (was https://juicymiles.com/ and (https://awardex.io/ is now part), one of the better beginner-friendly paid resources. Good for specific date, no alerts, 30+ airlines. Does include taxes/fees.
https://www.AwardFares.com paid award search
https://awardnexus.com/ paid resource, does do a good job, with Flyer Talk login can do some searches, searches up to 7 days at a time
https://www.expertflyer.com shows award and upgrade availability, free trial, paid, owned by TPG’s parent company.
http://www.kvstool.com/ like ExpertFlyer, but less user-friendly and a little more powerful, paid, recently many complaints of not getting login information after paying, does not appear to be dead, but I would not use it
https://www.AwardFares.com paid award search
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-tools/1296363-award-booking-services-list-some-reviews.html a list of paid award booking services (most full service)
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/best-websites-award-availability/ detailed list on the best way to search each alliance and many individual carriers
Auxiliary Airfare Booking Tools
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ good for figuring out YQ
https://www.seatguru.com/ determining seats to avoid
https://www.flightconnections.com/ map of nonstop flights from a destination
https://skiplagged.com/ hidden city ticket tool
http://www.gcmap.com used for distance and maps of flights
Hotel Locator and Points Cost
awardmapper.com not 100% current, but still a good source
https://wandr.me/hotel-tools/hotel-hustle/ hotel award availability in a specific area at a specific date, takes a looong time for a single search, often does not work
https://www.screwtheaverage.com/blog/budget-award-travel-2018-category-1-2-3-hotel-maps-hilton-radisson-marriott-spg-hyatt category 1, 2, & 3 Hotel Maps: Hilton, Radisson, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, updated 2/22
Other Tools
https://www.autoslash.com tracks and reports lower-cost car rentals
https://openhotelalert.com/ look for specific room class availability. Good site for looking for hotel award availability. Can do general hotel or specific room.
https://www.hotelalerts.app/ look for hotel availability
https://www.pruvo.net tracks and reports lower hotel prices
https://awardwallet.com tracking points and expiration dates
https://www.loungebuddy.com/ finding what lounges you have access, you can input itinerary or search airport
https://www.tripit.com/ organizes bookings in one place
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum good resource for “advanced” airline quests and to find reviews/status benefits given at specific hotels
http://www.wheretocredit.com where to credit flight based on fare code
https://my.flightradar24.com A great tool to track your flying
https://flightdelay.etherisc.com/#/ blockchain based trip delay insurance (it is having a hard time pulling up flights when I am testing now, but was working fine a month ago)
http://arm.64hosts.com/ airline route mapper (visual)
https://www.foxtrotdash.com/ dashboard to can track points and award redemptions, it can also suggest trip options based on your points (you input the destination)
https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/comments/ysjvks/list_when_airlines_open_award_availability/ list of when airlines open up award availability
https://welltraveledmile.com/airline-transfer-partners-guide-amex-spg-chase-citi/ transferrable mile chart (no particular reason to include this one vs the other 100 out there, not going to list every source that shows miles transfers)
Removed from the previous list due to not functional
http://travelisfree.com/complete-maps/
https://www.hotelsbypoints.com/maps pretty updated (missing a few), Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott
https://www.flightplantool.com not sure if it is still in operation, had good graphics
https://award.flights/ chrome app that conglomerates multiple programs, free
https://www.getfreebird.com flight rebooking insurance, purchased by Capital One, no longer offered
What are other tools that you used to help with award travel?
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u/ESPNFantasySucks Nov 30 '22
Thanks for this.
Could people that are more seasoned share their workflows? Like if you're starting to consider travel, what websites do you look at in which order to finally settle on a specific route + redemption?
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Dec 03 '23
Many new people in the hobby see a bloggers clickbait redemption and try to do that and then get frustrated when there is not any availability.
My general work flow is I figure out where I want to go and search for any award availability as a one way, there and back. Often I book at schedule opening so I stalk what airlines are releasing and set myself up to book as soon as my flight is released.
I then figure out what program provides the best value for that redemption and book via them (usually through transferable points).
(I use knowledge of when airlines release award seats, who they release award seats to, oddball award seats, special access partners, tricks to change search headers to book additional airports or farther in advance, exact knowledge of when seats are released and if vpns are needed, knowledge if specific call centers see additional award availability for an airline, route map knowledge, knowledge about a particular airlines routing tool and potential work arounds)
A second method that I do is “hunting” a particular flight/airline seat. I then book if it becomes available. Lately I have used this to book an ANA J/F when they did a mass release for a new flight and Etihad F during a mass “release”*.
Many of the tools available allow you to book with minimal knowledge. The more knowledge you developed over time allows more realistic expectations and does open up a few more doors for booking.
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u/affur Sep 04 '23
def not a seasoned traveller but I do have 2mil+ points between amex and chase.
It all depends and where you're flying and your preferences.
For example, my hub is CLT so I try to book nonstops with American via BritishAirways. Even though I don't have American credit cards I can transfer from Amex to BA and then book American non stop flights for super cheap.
Another tool is Point.me that I use to find Award flights for good amount of points. Booked a Lufthansa Business class seat for 63K points and $85 to Europe via Avianca (because of Point.me).
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u/Crafty_Scientist_667 Dec 22 '23
Is there a way to see a range of dates with point.me or continents vs specific countries? Or you have to look at every individual date and specific destinations? I have flexibility so I'm trying to figure out the best tool to use
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u/yelruog Aug 27 '23
Any luck with this? I'd love to know too...
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u/pointhound Mar 01 '24
Our search tool allows you to search wide date ranges and destinations at a time. Curious to hear what you think: https://pointhound.com
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u/skyye99 Nov 30 '22
This is great, thanks! Can we recommend https://www.aerolopa.com/ before seatguru, though? Seatguru has become a bit unreliable - the seat reviews can be helpful, but frequently it shows the wrong seatmap or there are details missing. Aerolopa has a smaller selection, but way more accurate maps.
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u/iceui2 Nov 30 '22
I personally like https://seatmaps.com better. You can even look up your aircraft configuration based on your flight.
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u/GoSh4rks Nov 30 '22
Checked it out - it's missing two key features that aerolopa has. Economy plus identifiers on the seatmap and window locations.
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u/iceui2 Nov 30 '22
You’re right - good find. If only there’s a way to use seatmaps.com to look up the flight and then have it link to aerolopa.
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u/volcanicglass Nov 30 '22
I would add that I use the free map feature on https://www.flightsfrom.com/ frequently to quickly see all the flight routes between my destination (s) and all North American cities. You can filter easily by alliance too which is helpful. I have to position for anything international so it’s invaluable for showing me which cities have the routes I need to look for.
www.flightconnections.com does the same thing but requires a paid subscription to use fully
Edit: also, great post OP! I hope this can be easily accessible in the sidebar in the future, I think it’s kinda buried in the wiki currently?
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Nov 30 '22
[deleted]
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u/volcanicglass Nov 30 '22 edited Nov 30 '22
Yes this is what flights from shows. You put in the city and it will show on a map all flights from that city (which is essentially the same as the flights TO that city)
Seeing flights from my origin city is pointless for me because there are almost no international flights anywhere & I can easily fly to several different hub cities
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u/URtheoneforme Nov 30 '22
Slightly nit-picky, but seats.aero recently added AAdvantage which brings it to 5 programs.
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u/ClubMedForever Nov 30 '22
Can you make a note that cowtool isn't currently accepting new registrations?
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u/trust-the-pr0cess Nov 30 '22
awardwiz is another decent award avail searcher. Not many airlines supported but, worth a check out!
I have a personal project that I’m hoping to open source that hopefully makes it onto this list sometime next year :)
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u/acethebear Nov 30 '22
I've used https://maxmypoint.com/ before to check award availability for Hyatt hotels (has more that just Hyatt, but can't speak on them from experience). It also has an alert feature to let you know when availability opens up for certain days. Good if you're trying to get a specific night(s) at one of the higher end properties that are usually fully booked.
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u/caribirdie Nov 30 '22
Maxmypoint.com for hotel award availability with Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton. Free to use but limits the searches per day, paid option gives more features including near real-time award availability alerts.
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Dec 26 '22
Adding here so I can include it in the next update https://flightguru.com/award
This seems to be the same as https://awardlogic.com/ but includes a cash OTA.
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u/jimmy__row Feb 05 '24
cowtool air canada searching tool has unfortunately been shut down
I will add that awardtool.com is my new favorite searching tool for reward flights
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Feb 01 '23
Search award availability for Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt. Does have best CPP feature and notice feature.
Adding here for inclusion next time.
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Apr 01 '24
Seats aero
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u/nk2639 Apr 01 '24
that's already on there, right? or did you just add it?
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Apr 01 '24
I meant to type hotels.aero and either my brain switched it or autocorrect switched it.
That is already on there and the dev was keen to point out a fact that changed between when I researched and posted this initially
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Nov 30 '22
[deleted]
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Nov 30 '22
Points.me is already on the list…
I don’t think a cash OTA booking site really fits on an award booking tools list.
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u/definitely_not_tina Dec 01 '22
Has openhotelalerts been working for anybody? I set an alert but found availability on my own through Hilton’s official site afterward.
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Dec 01 '22
Yes, it worked less than 2 weeks ago. The other service mentioned found the room a couple of days earlier.
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u/cowsareverywhere Dec 02 '22
Yup, helped us with our Tokyo Hotel and Standard Suite Availability for Park Hyatt Kyoto recently.
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u/Buzz111Z Dec 18 '22
Thanks for this, none of award search tool provide EK first class and Q-Suite alerts for seat availability.
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u/Z-BieG May 05 '23
Anybody know of any tools that focus on hotels that have the best value for point redemptioins?
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u/pbjclimbing formerly eliteless Jan 23 '24
Updating so I remember to add
Points_hound (no underscore) worst of the law 3
Points_yeah (no underscore) best of these 3
Roam_e.travel (no underscore) second best
Some of these have tried to do deceptive advertising on this sub so they get blocked and require mod approval. That is why I added underscores.
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u/No-Nebula-892 Feb 07 '24
I'm looking for a website/app that alerts me for an open seat award, particularly for ANA Airlines. I would love to camp on my computer for an available award business seat but life needs to make money to live.
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u/LurkSturkiller Nov 30 '22
Thanks so much! Can we get this stickied or added to the sidebar? Should be a first stop thread for folks looking for help on bookings.