How to Find Award Flights Without Losing a Weekend

The goal is to find an award fare that fits before spending time comparing every possible way to book it.

Start with the trip, not the airline

Choosing an airline program first limits the search before you know what is available. Instead, begin with your origin, destination, and approximate dates, then compare the airline programs that can book the flights you find.

This approach also reduces the need to repeat the same search on many airline sites. One flight can often be booked through several programs, including partners in the same alliance, and each can charge a different number of points for it.

Know which points you hold

Write down the card points and airline miles you already have before you search. Card points such as Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Points, and Bilt Points each transfer to a different set of airline programs. Knowing yours tells you which fares you can actually book and saves you from chasing ones you cannot.

In PointsGPT, you tell it your cards once and it prices fares in those points. Results favor fares your cards and miles can book, and a setting lets you see every program on a route if you want the full picture.

Begin with a range of dates

A fixed week gives the search fewer chances to succeed. If your plans allow it, start with a range and use the available award fares to identify promising dates. You can then narrow the search around the schedule that works for you.

Searching one date at a time on an airline site is what eats a weekend. A tool that searches every day in a range does the same work in one go.

Search the city, not one airport

If your city has more than one airport, search the city. A fare from a second airport can be cheaper in points or open on dates the main one is not. The same goes for the destination. In PointsGPT, a city search includes its airports at both ends, and each fare names the airports it uses. You can also name a single airport code or a whole region.

Treat each direction as its own search

Award tickets are usually priced one way at a time, so the best outbound and the best return may come from different programs. Search each direction on its own rather than looking only for one round-trip price. PointsGPT searches each direction separately for a round trip and shows the cheapest pair you can fly in order; you book each fare separately.

Enter the full number of travelers

Availability for one traveler does not mean availability for two on the same flight. Search for everyone from the beginning so the results reflect the trip you need to book.

Look at the cash part before you pick

Two programs can charge similar points for the same flight and very different taxes and fees. Check the cash part on each fare before you choose one, so a low points price does not hide a large cash charge. Our guide to points versus cash covers how to weigh the two.

Confirm the fare before transferring points

Searching does not commit your points, but a transfer is generally one-way. Confirm the award fare for your dates and travelers before moving any points. The full sequence is covered in our guide to award travel.

Use an empty search to adjust your plan

Award availability changes. If the first search is empty, try nearby dates, alternate routes, or another airline program, and consider checking again later. Our guide explains more about why a search may show nothing.

Instead of searching again by hand every few days, let a tool watch the trip. PointsGPT watches up to 20 trips you have searched and can send an alert when a fare gets cheaper or a first fare turns up.

A search order that saves time

1. Write down the card points and miles you hold.
2. Set the route by city or region, with a date range.
3. Enter every traveler.
4. Compare the points and the cash part on each fare.
5. Confirm the fare with the airline program.
6. Transfer points, then book.

In PointsGPT, steps 2 and 3 fit in one sentence, for example:

Economy from Chicago to Lisbon, any day from 3 to 17 March, 2 travelers

Start a search with your own trip, or see the airline programs PointsGPT searches. If you want to compare it with other tools first, our award search tools comparison sets them side by side.