The Best Award Travel Search Tools
However, these factors do not influence our editors' opinions or ratings, which are based on independent research and analysis. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews. Here is a list of our partners. These tools can help you find the perfect redemption for your airline, hotel and credit card points. Published Aug 14, 2026Fact CheckedHow is this page expert verified?NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible.More on our editorial rigorAddas a preferred source on Google Limited-Time Deal: Get 15% off your first year of ProGet started on Points Path's website You must use Google FlightsThe free version has some limitationsKey factsGet 15% off your first year of Pro You must use Google FlightsThe free version has some limitationsPoints Path is a browser extension and app that shows airline award prices next to cash fares on Google Flights. It’s fast, accurate and provides a simple search and results interface to understand if you’re better off using points or cash for each flight based on the Points Path valuation for each airline’s rewards. We picked Points Path as the best overall airline search tool because its features and search function allow people to find award flights using the same process they typically use when searching for cash flights. There are no extra steps or complicated features to navigate, and the interface is easy to understand.The free version provides access to five major domestic airlines, while the Pro version provides access to 12 additional international airlines. Features include everything that typically comes with Google Flights, including the ability to search across multiple origin and destination airports and a chart showing historical pricing trends, so you know if it’s a good time to book. All searches are live and there’s no cached discovery. That means you’ll know the results can be booked. One drawback: It’s limited to the search capabilities of Google Flights and users can’t scan results over a broad set of dates or queries. With the tool, you can:li>ol]:pl-4 [&>li>ul]:pl-4 [&>li]:mt-2">Filter for pricing that includes cardholder discounts for both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines (for example, the 15% off award flights for eligible Delta cardholders).Filter out basic economy results, mixed-cabin itineraries and award programs that may not be relevant to you. View active credit card transfer bonuses, and see where you can get the best value from your transferable rewards.Points Path is also the only award search tool to actively tell you if an airline program is not online and won’t show in the search results. Search tools sometimes lose temporary access to individual airlines, so this feature will let you know why a potential redemption you’d expect to see isn’t showing up. » LEARN MORE: Points Path reviewSeats.aero: Best airline search for expertsIf your travel dates are flexible, Seats.aero is probably the most powerful tool for you. You can search for premium cabin award space across a wide range of dates and airports for specific aspirational redemptions like Japan Airlines first class, Qatar Airways Qsuites and Etihad apartments. Pro users can search over an entire year for availability, and all users can filter by regions, such as North America and Europe. While Seats.aero is powerful, it’s not very beginner-friendly. That’s why Points Path is ranked as our better overall tool, even though Seats.aero covers more airline programs (25). In NerdWallet’s hands-on testing, we found that the user interface wasn’t always intuitive. To make sense of the results, you’ll need to have more details about each award program, especially around how partner award availability is handled. Additionally, text or email alerts are removed after they’re triggered, so if you don’t like the results from the first alert, you have to set it up again. But there’s also no limit on the number of alerts Pro users can set.Similar to Points Path, Seats.aero has a Chrome extension that shows award pricing inside Google Flights. Even better, the extension also works in Chase’s travel portal. That’s huge, as you can immediately see whether you’ll get a better value for Chase Ultimate Rewards® by booking through the portal or transferring points to a partner airline.Seats.aero generally displays cached search results and only uses live results for Pro users performing specific origin-and-destination searches. For that reason, you’ll want to confirm award availability with the specific airline website before transferring credit card points.» LEARN MORE: Seats.aero award search reviewPointsYeah: Best explorer toolPointsYeahGet started on PointsYeah's website Makes it easy to compare cash and points rates.Allows you to search for hotel award stays.Daydream Explorer feature helps generate trip ideas.Alerts are easy to set up.Cons Multi-city searches are limited to two flight segments.Premium product requires annual membership. Sometimes displays "phantom award space," where spaces appear to be bookable but aren't.Pros Makes it easy to compare cash and points rates.Allows you to search for hotel award stays.Daydream Explorer feature helps generate trip ideas.Alerts are easy to set up.Cons Multi-city searches are limited to two flight segments.Premium product requires annual membership. Sometimes displays "phantom award space," where spaces appear to be bookable but aren't.PointsYeah is a great all-around tool, but the most notable aspect is its map-based “Daydream Explorer” feature. It’s great if you have a stack of travel rewards and want to see different places you can use them for both flights and hotels. For flights, the explorer tool can search over a 60-day window using useful filters, including:li>ol]:pl-4 [&>li>ul]:pl-4 [&>li]:mt-2">Cabin type (economy, business or first). The type of airline or credit card points you want to use. Several trip themes, such as beach, mountains, golf or scuba diving. You can search between up to three arrival and three departure airports, continents or regions. For hotels, you can search over a 13-month period. The filters allow you to find properties to use free night certificates and Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) credits from the American Express Platinum Card® (terms apply; see rates and fees). (There isn’t a filter for using The Edit credits from the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, though.)Note that Daydream Explorer uses cached discovery, meaning the results aren’t live. However, PointsYeah also supports fast, live searches through its standard award search engine.» LEARN MORE: PointsYeah award search reviewPoint.me: Best airline search for beginnersPoint.meGet started on Point.me's website Includes step-by-step booking instructions.Makes it easy to compare cash and points rates.You can see current point transfer bonuses.Offers price drop alerts.Cons Slow searches.No multicity searches.No multicabin searches.Pros Includes step-by-step booking instructions.Makes it easy to compare cash and points rates.You can see current point transfer bonuses.Offers price drop alerts.Cons Slow searches.No multicity searches.No multicabin searches.Point.me recently refreshed its interface and increased the speed of searches. Results offer integrated booking instructions for transferring points from your credit card to the airline loyalty program, which may be helpful if you’re starting out in the world of miles and points.Point.me offers limited complimentary search access to American Express and Capital One Business card holders. However, you can only search for award availability from airlines that are transfer partners of those rewards programs.» LEARN MORE: Point.me reviewGondola: Best hotel searchesGondolaGet started on Gondola's website Searches are fast and accurate.It’s great for trip planning.It helps you find the best value for money or points.Price drop alerts can save you money or points.Earn extra rewards with Gondola status.Cons There are no price or award availability alerts.You may have data privacy concerns.Pros Searches are fast and accurate.It’s great for trip planning.It helps you find the best value for money or points.Price drop alerts can save you money or points.Earn extra rewards with Gondola status.Cons There are no price or award availability alerts.You may have data privacy concerns.Gondola makes it easy to compare cash and award prices across brands and to stack rewards when booking with cash.Say you’re trying to decide between redeeming Hyatt points and Marriott points. Gondola can show you the cash and points costs for properties in both chains, plus color-coded redemption values. That makes it easy to scan the results for the best deals. » LEARN MORE: Gondola reviewGondola includes many of the features you’d expect from a strong travel search platform, like alerts when cash or points prices fall, fast search results and useful historical pricing data for individual hotels. You can also sort results by redemption value, making them easier to scan than other tools such as PointsYeah and Rooms.aero.Beyond credit card and hotel loyalty rewards, Gondola has its own rewards program called Gondola Cash, which gives you 3% to 7% back on future cash bookings depending on your status with Gondola.To view rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, see this page.How to maximize your rewardsYou want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:li>ol]:pl-4 [&>li>ul]:pl-4 [&>li]:mt-2">Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® CardNo annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit CardBonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve® Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit CardExplore more onTravelAddas a preferred source on Google NerdWallet Compare, Inc. NMLS ID# 1617539NMLS Consumer Access |Licenses and Disclosures California: California Finance Lender loans arranged pursuant to Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Finance Lenders License #60DBO-74812 Insurance Services offered through NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc. (CA resident license no.OK92033) Insurance Licenses California: California Finance Lender loans arranged pursuant to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Finance Lenders License #603L288 You also can open a Cash Account offered by Atomic Brokerage which allows you to earn interest on your cash through a cash sweep program. View Important Cash Account Disclosures. Neither Atomic Invest nor Atomic Brokerage, nor any of their affiliates is a bank. Investments in securities: Not FDIC Insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, May Lose Value. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and the fees and expenses charged. NerdWallet™ | 4150 N Drinkwater Blvd, Suite 200, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
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