Looking to find the perfect award flight without spending hours searching? AwardFares is the go-to tool for points-savvy travelers, offering fast, accurate, and feature-rich searches. But how does it compare to AwardTool, another tool for award travel searches? Let’s break down the key differences to help you choose the best solution for maximizing your travel points.

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What is AwardTool?

AwardTool is a travel search engine designed to help users find award flight availability. It provides features like roundtrip, multicity, and multiday award searches. Users on the free plan can search within 4-day windows, while the premium plan expands this to a 24-day range for single-program searches. AwardTool also offers a “Panorama” discovery tool, although availability data isn’t always up to date.

Additionally, AwardTool supports loyalty programs from airlines, banks, and hotel chains, but limits apply—for example, users can only search dates up to 90 days in advance with the free version. Alerts are also restricted to a maximum of 35 under the PRO plan.

AwardTool Home Page.

AwardFares vs. AwardTool: Key Differences

1. Seat Maps

A comfortable seat can make or break your travel experience. AwardFares offers an integrated Seat Map Checker that lets you view and filter seat availability during your search, ensuring a seamless booking experience. Unfortunately, AwardTool does not provide any seat map functionality.

AwardFares integrated Seat Map.

Discover more in our Seat Maps tutorial.

2. Pricing Plans

Feature AwardFares Free AwardFares Gold ($9.99/mo) AwardFares Diamond ($19.99/mo) AwardTool Free AwardTool PRO ($10.99/mo)
Award Calendar ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Award Map ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Journey Planner ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Hourly Award Seat Availability ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Custom Searches per Day 10 100 Unlimited 4-day search 24-day search
Search Range Up to 30 days Up to 180 days Up to 365 days 90 days 365 days
Seat Maps ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Availability Filters ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Search with Stops ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Alerts per Day ❌ 35 100 3 35
Price Free $9.99/month $19.99/month Free $10.99/month
AwardFares pricing.

3. User Experience

AwardFares stands out with a clean, intuitive interface designed for both novice and experienced users. AwardTool, while functional, has a steeper learning curve and lacks detailed guides or explanations for features like “Panorama” or “Routes.” Additionally, its cabin filter is cumbersome, displaying long lists instead of simple checkboxes.

AwardFares cabin search.

4. Guides and Travel Tips

AwardFares offers a rich library of guides and tutorials to help travelers maximize their points. Our blog covers everything from award program sweet spots to expert tips on building complex itineraries. AwardTool’s resources are sparse, with only basic FAQs that add little value for new users.

AwardFares Blog.

5. Alerts for Award Seats

Both tools offer alerts, but AwardFares provides unlimited alerts with its Diamond plan, while AwardTool restricts users to 35 alerts. This limitation can hinder users tracking multiple routes, dates, or programs.

AwardFares Alert Creation from Timeline.

Learn more in our Alerts tutorial.

6. Journey Planner

Planning a complex trip is effortless with AwardFares’ Journey Planner, which allows users to add multiple segments, duplicate journeys, and visualize itineraries on a map. AwardTool only supports simple roundtrips, requiring users to search each leg separately.

AwardFares Journey Planner.

Read our Journey Planner tutorial for more details.

7. Real-Time Search Accuracy

AwardFares excels in providing real-time availability for award seats, ensuring users get accurate and up-to-date results. AwardTool’s results may include phantom fares, leading to potential frustration when attempting to book.

In a Nutshell: AwardFares vs. AwardTool

Feature AwardFares AwardTool
Real-Time Search Yes Limited
Alerts Unlimited (Diamond Plan) 35 alerts (PRO Plan)
Seat Maps Yes, integrated No
Journey Planner Multiple destinations Roundtrip only
Mobile Experience Optimized, installable app Basic mobile site
Customer Support Dedicated resources and support Limited FAQ

Try AwardFares Today

Imagine flying to your dream destination in business class, paying the same points you’d usually spend on economy. AwardFares helps frequent flyers maximize their points, regularly booking $5,000+ flights for a fraction of the cost.

With AwardFares, you can:

  • Search across multiple airlines in seconds
  • Set alerts to get notified about new award availability
  • View seat maps, schedules, and more

Sign up here to try AwardFares for free with a 24-hour trial.

For access to even more powerful tools, check out our Gold and Diamond membership options.

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