The Ultimate Point.me Alternative for Award Travel (2025 Guide)

For many people entering the world of points and miles, Point.me is the friendly front door. It promises to simplify a confusing landscape, turning complex credit card points into real, bookable flights. And for many beginners, it does just that. It’s the tool that helps you book your very first award trip.

But what happens next? What happens when you’ve booked that first trip and realize the power of your points? You start wanting more. You want to find the truly exceptional redemptions, book those rare business class seats you see on Instagram Reels, and explore options beyond a simple A-to-B search. You realize the “training wheels” that were once helpful are now holding you back. This is where the search for a Point.me alternative begins.

In this post we’ll do a deep dive into Point.me, celebrating what it does well for beginners but also providing an honest, critical look at the limitations that serious travelers inevitably run into. Then, we’ll show you how a professional-grade discovery platform like AwardFares can unlock a whole new level of award travel.

Disclosure: AwardFares is our product. This guide compares it with Point.me to help you decide which tool fits your needs.

What Is Point.me? How the Tool Works for First-Time Award Bookings

To understand why so many people search for a “Point.me alternative,” we first have to understand who it’s for and what it does well. Point.me (founded in 2019) is an award search engine designed from the ground up for beginners. Its entire existence is predicated on one idea: making the first few award redemptions as simple and foolproof as possible.

Its target user is someone who has accumulated a balance of transferable points (e.g., from an Amex Gold, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Bilt Mastercard) and is now faced with the daunting question: “How do I actually use these?”

How Does Point.me Work?

Point.me’s workflow is a guided, linear process:

1. Simple Search: The user enters a single origin, destination, date, and desired cabin.
2. Aggregated Results: The tool then searches across its 30+ supported loyalty programs. This process is slow, often taking one to two minutes.
3. Cheapest Option Presented: The results are displayed, typically sorted by the cheapest option in points. It helpfully shows the cash price and includes any available transfer bonuses.
4. Step-by-Step Hand-Holding: Once a user selects an option, Point.me’s killer feature is revealed: a detailed, step-by-step guide that walks them through transferring points and booking the flight.

For a first-timer afraid of making a costly mistake, this guided process is incredibly valuable. They also offer a high-touch, expensive concierge service ($200/person) to do the booking for you, further cementing their focus on the convenience-first beginner market.

Point.me with Amex & Bilt: What the Free Versions Include (and Don’t)

A huge number of users discover Point.me not through a direct search, but through their credit card. Point.me has high-profile partnerships with American Express and Bilt Rewards, offering cardholders “free” access. This is a brilliant marketing strategy, but it’s crucial to understand the limitations of this “free” access.

• American Express Partnership: Many Amex cardholders receive complimentary access to a version of Point.me.
• Bilt Rewards Partnership: Bilt cardholders can access a Point.me integration in the Bilt app that focuses on Bilt transfer partners.

This complimentary access is a great introduction to points transfers. As travelers advance, they often want faster iteration, flexible date/region discovery, and proactive seat monitoring—features that typically require a dedicated toolset.

AwardFares vs. Point.me: Feature-by-Feature Comparison

1. Who Each Tool Is For: Step-by-Step Guidance vs. Power-User Discovery

Point.me is about hand-holding. Its mission is to guide a user through a single, successful booking. Every feature is designed to reduce complexity for the first-time user.

AwardFares is about empowerment. Our mission is to give you the tools and data to become an expert yourself. We empower you with speed, discovery, and automation.

2. Search Speed: Point.me’s Multi-Minute Queries vs. AwardFares’ Fast Results

Point.me searches can feel slow. A single search may take well over a minute to populate.

AwardFares is designed to return results in seconds in typical cases. Faster iteration makes it easier to compare dates, regions, and programs before seats disappear.

3. Seat Alerts: New-Space Alerts in AwardFares vs. Price-Drop Alerts in Point.me

This is the single most important functional difference for anyone serious about award travel.

Point.me doesn’t currently provide alerts when new award space appears, as of publication. It offers price-drop alerts on itineraries already available, which is helpful but reactive.

AwardFares has a robust, two-pronged alert system. We built one of the most powerful alert systems available because the best seats are all about timing.

1. Live Alerts (For the Planner): Actively searches your specific route and dates 24/7.
2. Flex Alerts (For the Explorer): Our AI-powered discovery engine proactively notifies you of high-value opportunities that match broad criteria (e.g., “Business Class from the US to Japan in Spring”).

For premium-cabin travel, proactive alerts can make a meaningful difference.

4. Search Flexibility: Single A-to-B Searches vs. Maps, Calendars, and Region Search

Point.me focuses on single-route, single-date searches. It’s straightforward, but less suited to broad “what’s possible” discovery or multi-city planning.

AwardFares is a broad discovery platform. We believe the best redemptions are often found when you’re flexible. Our tools are built for this: Timeline View, Map View, Multi-Airport/Region Search, and the powerful Journey Planner for multi-stop itineraries.

5. Ease of Use: Point.me for Beginners vs. AwardFares for Power Users

Point.me is simple, but limited. Its interface is easy for a first-timer because it asks for very little information, which reduces confusion but also severely limits power.

AwardFares is powerful, yet intuitive. We’ve taken inspiration from the latest and greatest UIs out there, including flight search engines, to create a platform that is easy to master but offers deep functionality for those who need it.

6. Data Accuracy: Availability Changes and Program-Specific Seat Counts

Availability can vary between tools and programs. Some users report seeing options that aren’t bookable at checkout, which can happen when underlying inventory changes quickly across programs.

AwardFares emphasizes clear inventory signals per program, including seat counts where available, to reduce surprises—especially when booking for two or more travelers.

7. Mobile Experience: Web Access vs. PWA (Installable App-Like)

Point.me is accessible on mobile via the web.

AwardFares is a true mobile-first platform. Our website functions as a Progressive Web App (PWA), offering a fast, app-like experience directly from your phone’s home screen.

8. Privacy & Business Model: Venture-Backed with Marketing Integrations vs. User-Funded

How a product is funded often shapes its roadmap and integrations.

Point.me is venture-funded and partners with major brands. Its model includes marketing integrations common to VC-backed consumer products.

AwardFares is user-funded and does not run third-party ads. Our focus is product development supported by subscriptions.

If privacy and data use are priorities for you, we recommend reviewing each provider’s privacy policy and settings to see what aligns with your preferences.

9. Pricing & Value: Free Tiers, Monthly Plans, and What Each Unlocks

Point.me’s plans start around the low teens per month (pricing may change), with annual options and a higher tier that includes extras tied to its concierge offering.

AwardFares offers a free tier for exploration plus paid tiers that unlock real-time data, seat alerts, and advanced discovery tools. Pricing is designed for frequent award searchers.

Alternatives to Point.me: How AwardFares, Roame, PointsYeah, and AwardHacker Compare

To be the ultimate guide, we must acknowledge the entire ecosystem. Users searching for a Point.me alternative are also looking at tools like AwardHacker, Roame, and PointsYeah. Here’s how they stack up.

• Point.me vs. AwardHacker: AwardHacker is a helpful, free inspiration tool that estimates potential award pricing from charts; it doesn’t check live availability. AwardFares combines inspiration (Map/Flex Alerts) with tools to find and monitor bookable seats.

• Point.me vs. Roame / PointsYeah: These tools are faster than single-threaded searches and a step up for speed. AwardFares adds broad discovery (Journey Planner, regional searches) and a two-mode alert system (Live + Flex) for proactive monitoring.

AwardFares stands alone by combining the speed of modern search tools, the discovery power of maps and calendars, and one of the most advanced proactive alert systems on the market.

Real Examples: When Point.me Wins—and When AwardFares Wins

Let’s ground this in practical examples.

Scenario 1: First Award Booking—Beginner Wins with Guided Steps

The Goal: “I have 100,000 Amex points and I want to book a simple round-trip economy flight from Chicago to London for my trip on June 10-17. I’ve never transferred points before and I’m scared of messing it up.”

• On Point.me:
  1. You run the search. It takes 90 seconds.
  2. It returns a list of options, highlighting that transferring 40,000 points to Virgin Atlantic is the cheapest way.
  3. You click “View Booking Options” and get a detailed, illustrated guide on how to link your accounts and book.
  4. You book successfully and feel confident. Time: ~15 minutes (including reading the guide).

• On AwardFares:
  1. You run the search. It takes 5 seconds.
  2. The results show the same 40,000-point Virgin Atlantic option.
  3. You then have to go to the airline’s site to book. Time: ~5 minutes.

Scenario 2: Flexible Dates and Airports—Discovery Tools Win

The Goal: “My partner and I want to fly business class from anywhere on the US West Coast to Tokyo sometime next October. We are flexible and just want to find two seats on a great airline.”

• On Point.me:

  1. This is time-consuming to do manually. You’d need to test multiple city pairs and dates one by one, with each search taking over a minute. Time: potentially hours.

• On AwardFares:

  1. Search Method: Set Origin to LAX, SFO, SEA, SAN, Destination to HND, NRT, and select the entire month of October. Filter for 2 passengers in Business Class. The Timeline View instantly populates with all options. Time: ~3 minutes.
  2. Alert Method: Create a single Flex Alert with the same broad criteria. A few days later, you get a push notification: “2 Business Class seats found: LAX-HND on ANA.” Time: ~1 minute to set the alert.

Scenario 3: Last-Minute Premium Seats—Live Alerts Win

The Goal: “I need to fly Lufthansa First Class to Frankfurt in two weeks. I need to be notified the moment a seat opens from JFK, EWR, or BOS.”

• On Point.me:

  1. This is impractical to do manually at scale on Point.me. You would have to manually search every route, every day, every few hours. The chances of you finding one are close to zero. Time: frequent manual checks, with a low likelihood of catching space before it’s gone.

• On AwardFares:

  1. Create one Live Alert. Set the Origin to JFK, EWR, BOS, Destination to FRA, for your travel window. Filter for First Class.
  2. Save the alert. Three days later, at 2 AM, Lufthansa releases a seat. You get an instant email, wake up, and book it. Time: ~1 minute to set the alert, then success.

Is Point.me Worth It in 2025? Our Verdict

So, should you pay for Point.me? The answer, as echoed by many expert reviewers, depends entirely on who you are as a traveler.

Point.me can be worth it for the true beginner, for one month. If you have a stash of points, a simple trip in mind, and are overwhelmed by the process, paying $12 can be a reasonable educational expense. As Ben Schlappig of One Mile at a Time puts it, it’s for the user who gets a “blank stare” when you mention transfer partners.

For ongoing, flexible searches or premium-cabin finds, most travelers outgrow a step-by-step tool. That’s where fast iteration, broad discovery, and proactive alerts (as in AwardFares) tend to be a better long-term fit.

Quick Comparison Table: AwardFares vs. Point.me

Point.me vs. AwardFares: Frequently Asked Questions

Try AwardFares Today

You can try AwardFares for free to see the power of our discovery engine for yourself. With our Gold and Diamond tiers, you can unlock premium features such as unlimited daily searches, real-time data, seat alerts, seat maps, flight schedules, and more!

We are rolling out new features and improvements constantly. Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay on top of the latest news, pro-tips, and product announcements.

Last reviewed: October 13, 2025.

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