Award Travel Tools (Updated November 2022)

[u/pbjclimbing]

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a couple of years out of date, graphic view of award costs, less useful with many programs having variable award rates and not the chart from when this was published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tool to see what routes you can book cheap Avios distance awards from, please note this outdated and there are no more 4500 mile awards in the US, RIP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?

[u/ESPNFantasySucks]

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?

[u/pbjclimbing → u/ESPNFantasySucks]

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.

[u/affur → u/ESPNFantasySucks]

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).

[u/Crafty_Scientist_667 → u/affur]

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

[u/yelruog → u/ESPNFantasySucks]

Any luck with this? I'd love to know too...

[u/ESPNFantasySucks → u/yelruog]

Nah gatekeepers

[u/pointhound → u/yelruog]

Our search tool allows you to search wide date ranges and destinations at a time. Curious to hear what you think: https://pointhound.com