American Airlines AAdvantage
Aeromexico Rewards
Air Canada Aeroplan
Alaska MileagePlan
Azul Fidelidade
Delta SkyMiles
Etihad Guest
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Jetblue TrueBlue
SAS EuroBonus
GOL Smiles
Turkish Miles&Smiles
United MileagePlus
Virgin Australia Velocity
We hear you; the world of award flights sometimes feels like trying to crack a secret code. Our team members at AwardFares have over 15 years of experience redeeming “free” flights with miles and points across different frequent flyer programs and airlines, and it still is a challenging game. That’s why we crafted our tool AwardFares with love, to help fellow travelers like us with some of the issues we struggle with.
The landscape of award travel is constantly evolving. With the fluctuating value of miles and points, the widespread shift to dynamic award charts, ever-changing blackout dates, and significant realignments in airline alliances, booking an award flight and determining good versus bad redemptions is more challenging than ever. Mastering both earning and effectively redeeming points is key to becoming an advanced award traveler.
But there’s good news: AwardFares empowers you to see and sort by award prices, instantly identifying the cheapest redemptions, dates, airlines, and itineraries. You can also compare prices of the same award seat on different loyalty programs – a crucial step for maximizing value. Plus, AwardFares now shows you mixed-cabin itineraries and highlights saver award availability to help you save precious miles, especially on short-haul connections.
This guide tells you exactly how to leverage AwardFares to find cheap award flights with points and miles, across multiple frequent flyer programs and airlines. In addition, we also guide you through all you need to know to determine if you are getting a good redemption, helping you make more informed decisions when booking award flights.
Note: For this tutorial, you need access to an AwardFares Gold or Diamond plan to utilize all search functionalities. You can try these plans for free for 24 hours. With the Basic (free) version of AwardFares, you can only explore recent search results from other users.
Contents
- Understanding Award Flights and Availability
- Getting Started: Pre-reads
- How To Find Award Flights (In Economy, Business, and First Class)
- Uncovering Hidden Value: Booking with Partner Programs
- How To Determine If You Are Getting A Good Redemption?
- Advanced Tips for Finding Award Seats
- FAQ
- Get Started With AwardFares
Understanding Award Flights and Availability
Before diving into the “how-to,” let’s clarify some fundamental concepts in the world of award travel.
What Are Award Flights?
Award flights are airline tickets booked using frequent flyer miles or points instead of cash. When you join an airline’s loyalty program, you earn these miles/points through flying, credit card spending, hotel stays, or other partner activities. These rewards can then be redeemed for flights, effectively allowing you to travel for “free” (though taxes and fees usually still apply). The number of miles needed varies based on the route, cabin class, demand, and the specific program’s rules.
There are generally two ways airlines price award tickets:
- Fixed Level Awards: These awards have a set price in miles based on published award charts. These charts can be region-based (e.g., North America to Europe costs X miles) or distance-based (e.g., flights of 0-500 miles cost Y miles).
- Dynamic Pricing Awards: The miles required for these awards fluctuate, often tied to the current cash price of the ticket, demand, and other factors. There’s no fixed award chart, and the price can change frequently.
What is Award Availability?
Award availability refers to the specific seats an airline designates as bookable with miles or points. This is often a subset of the total seats available for cash-paying passengers. Airlines release a limited number of award seats on each flight, and this inventory can change over time. Popular routes and peak travel periods often have scarcer award availability, especially for the most desirable “saver” level awards.
Saver-Level vs. Standard/Dynamic Awards
You’ll often hear these terms when discussing award tickets:
- Saver-Level Awards: These are the holy grail for award travelers. They require the fewest miles and offer the best value. However, they are limited in quantity and can be hard to find, especially in premium cabins or during peak times. AwardFares helps you pinpoint these valuable seats.
- Standard Awards (or “Everyday” Awards / Higher Tiers in Dynamic Pricing): These awards cost more miles, sometimes significantly more. While easier to find because more seats might be allocated at these higher rates, they generally offer poorer value for your miles. Some dynamically priced awards can be extremely expensive in terms of miles.
Understanding this distinction is crucial. Aiming for saver awards maximizes the power of your miles.
Getting Started: Pre-reads
These are optional, but if you want to get familiar with how frequent flyer programs work and how they determine the prices of award flights, check these posts.
- Award Charts Explained: Zones, Dynamic Pricing, and How to Maximize Miles
- Ultimate Guide to Award Release Dates
How To Find Award Flights with AwardFares (In Economy, Business, and First Class)
Here’s our step-by-step process using AwardFares to unearth those coveted cheap award seats.
1. Go to AwardFares
Creating an account is optional, but it’s also free, and it gives you access to more features. Make sure to sign up for one here.
2. Select your favorite Frequent Flyer Program
Tap on the Loyalty Program field and select one or more frequent flyer programs. AwardFares supports a growing list including American AAdvantage, Alaska Mileage Plan, United MileagePlus, SAS EuroBonus, and more. Searching multiple programs simultaneously is a key advantage, as the same flight might be cheaper through a partner program.
3. Add a Route
In the Origin and Destination fields, add one or more airports to search for flights between those locations. AwardFares will search for award flights regardless of the number of stops. You can use the Stops filter to only search for direct/non-stop flights.
In the example below, we search for flights between New York City and London. Note that we use the metropolitan area codes NYC and LHR to get results to and from any airport in New York (JFK, EWR, LGA) and London (LHR, LGW, etc.). This broadens your search and increases your chances of finding availability.
Although this step is optional because you can explore available routes within our cached results, adding one or a few origin/destination airports is recommended to get fresh results and the latest availability.
4. Explore dates
If you have a particular date in mind, add it by tapping on the Calendar field.
Alternatively, and highly recommended for flexibility, use AwardFares Timeline View to explore seat availability across different dates. The Timeline View displays how many seats are available for each day of the week/month. The bars are color-coded, so it’s easy to distinguish between cabin classes (Economy, Business, First). You can also trigger new searches by tapping the refresh icon underneath each day to get the very latest data.
In addition, you can also tap anywhere on the flight to display more details in an expanded view, such as aircraft type, and even get the current seat maps to see which seats are free versus occupied!
5. Sort by Price to Find the Cheapest Options
Whether you are exploring dates using the Timeline View or have selected a specific day, AwardFares will show you the available seats (with real-time data) within seconds in the result list below.
This is where the magic happens for finding cheap awards. Tap on the different header columns to sort the results by price. Use the Eco, Prem, Biz, and First class tags to find cheap awards across multiple dates, itineraries, and airlines. AwardFares will then list the flights from the lowest miles cost upwards.
Cheapest Award Flights in Economy Class
In this case, we want to understand the cheapest days to fly in Economy Class using United MileagePlus miles from New York to London.
With the Timeline View, we see there are plenty of available seats. We tap on the Eco column and sort award fights by price in Economy Class.
AwardFares will show you all available seats sorted by price, and then by date.
As we see, the cheapest flights start on November 9th, with multiple options. You can tap anywhere on the flight to show the detailed view.
In this case, we see that a saver award in Economy is just 21.7k miles plus USD 5.6 in taxes, and there are over nine seats available. This is a great deal!
Similarly, you can explore other options (nonstop and with stopovers) going back to the result list.
Cheapest Award Flights in Premium Economy
We can repeat the process but now tap on the Prem column. Now, AwardFares will sort results based on the prices for the Premium Economy cabin.
As we can see, this cabin’s cheapest options start on October 18th. All the options include at least one stopover, and most itineraries are mixed-cabin (which means there is at least one segment in another cabin, such as Economy). AwardFares clearly indicates mixed-cabin itineraries, allowing you to make an informed decision.
By skimming through the results, you can quickly identify the most convenient options at this price point (50k miles). You can also keep scrolling to find more dates or use the filters to exclude mixed cabin itineraries if you prefer.
Cheapest Award Flights in Business Class
Similarly, by tapping the Biz header, flights will be sorted by price in the Business Class cabin. In this case, we see plenty of seats at this price point (80k miles) almost daily. AwardFares helps you quickly see if the “cheapest” business class is a true saver award or just the lowest dynamic price available.
Cheapest Award Flights in First Class
Lastly, the hardest cabin to find and book: First Class. These redemptions are typically released sporadically, often last minute, so having AwardFares constantly monitoring availability can be a game changer when trying to score your dream award flight in First. Also, remember that different programs can charge different prices and fees for the exact same seat. In addition, different airlines offer entirely different experiences (e.g., Lufthansa First tends to be much better than many others). Hence, the airline itself can be a determining factor when booking.
In this case, from New York to London, we sort by price by tapping on the First column header. Then, we see that there are seats for October 21st. Both are mixed-cabin and require stopovers. But at the same price (121k miles), Lufthansa offers a convenient flight on an Airbus A340, with a quick stop in Munich.
6. Book with the Airline
Once you have identified the flights you want (or built an itinerary using our Journey Planner), go to the airline’s website of the frequent flyer program you chose and make the booking. Remember that some of these itineraries, particularly complex partner awards or mixed-cabin awards, might not be bookable online for specific programs (e.g., mixed-cabin awards on SAS EuroBonus). In those situations, you will need to call their service center. Be prepared with flight numbers, dates, and times to make this process smoother.
Uncovering Hidden Value: Booking with Partner Programs
One of the most powerful strategies in award travel, which we touched upon earlier, is understanding that the same award seat can often be cheaper when redeemed using miles from a partner airline’s frequent flyer program rather than the operating airline’s own program. This might seem counterintuitive, but due to differing award charts, partnerships, and fee structures, significant savings can be found.
For example, you might find that booking a business class seat on Qatar Airways or Etihad Airways is substantially cheaper in terms of miles and/or fees by using American Airlines AAdvantage miles instead of Qatar Privilege Club Avios or Etihad Guest miles directly. These “sweet spots” exist across all major alliances and partnerships.
The challenge, historically, has been knowing which programs to check for which airlines. While AwardFares helps you compare prices across the programs it supports for a specific flight, the table below provides a general guide on which frequent flyer programs are often good places to search for and potentially book award space on various airlines. This can help you identify where these cheaper partner redemptions might lie. Remember to always compare the mileage cost, taxes, and fees.
Key things to remember when using this strategy:
- Award Availability: Partner programs only have access to the award inventory that the operating airline releases to them. This might not be every seat.
- Transfer Partners: This strategy is most powerful if you have transferable points (from credit cards like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, etc.) that can be moved to various airline programs.
- AwardFares is Your Ally: After identifying potential flights using broader search strategies, AwardFares can help you quickly compare the actual cost in miles and fees across multiple programs it supports for the exact same seat, as demonstrated in step 5 of our search tutorial.
This advanced technique requires a bit more research but can lead to some of the best values in award travel.
How To Determine If You Are Getting A Good Redemption?
Traveling on award flights is a rewarding experience, but not all redemptions are created equal, particularly with most programs switching to dynamic award charts. Some offer significantly better value than others.
So, how can you be sure you’re getting a good deal with your hard-earned miles or points? Here are a few things to remember that will help you determine the worthiness of an award flight redemption.
The Cent-Per-Mile (CPM) Calculation
A common way to objectively measure value is the Cent-Per-Mile (CPM) calculation, most often applied manually:
CPM = (Cash Price of Ticket - Taxes and Fees on Award Ticket) / Number of Miles Used * 100
The same applies if your program uses points instead of miles (1 mile/point = 1). For example, if a flight costs $500 or 25,000 miles plus $50 in taxes and fees for the award ticket, the calculation would be:
CPM = ($500 - $50) / 25,000 * 100 = 1.8 cents per mile
Generally, a CPM above 1.5 cents (USD/EUR) in Economy Class and higher (often 2.0 cents+ for Business, 3.0 cents+ for First) is considered good, but this can vary significantly by airline, route, and your own valuation of miles. It also varies depending on your currency.
But beyond the absolute value, you can use this metric to compare different redemptions within the same program or even different uses of your transferable points. If you are getting a 0.3 cent per point value on a short domestic flight but a 1.8 cent per point value on a long-haul international flight, it might be better to save your points for the latter, unless they are expiring soon or you have a specific immediate need.
Quick CPM Calculator
Use the mini tool below to calculate the CPM of your award flight. You can enter the price in any currency ($/€/£/SEK/NOK/DKK).
Consider the Cash Price
Before redeeming miles, always check the cash price of the same ticket. If the cash price is particularly low (e.g., during a sale), paying cash and earning miles on that flight might be more economical. This saves your accumulated miles for a pricier ticket in the future where the CPM would be higher. This strategy can also be an excellent option to help you earn points faster and qualify for elite status, getting better benefits in the long run.
Recognize the Value of Premium Redemptions
Using miles for premium cabins such as First and Business Class can often provide outsized value, especially for long-haul flights. While the miles required might be significantly more, the experience, comfort, and amenities can make it worthwhile.
Airlines tend to have aggressive deals and discounted fares for Economy Class tickets more often than for premium cabins. This means you will likely get a higher CPM value on premium cabin flights and a better return on your miles. For example, a business class ticket costing $5,000 might be available for 80,000 miles + $200 in fees, yielding a CPM of ($5000-$200)/80000 * 100 = 6 cents/mile. An economy ticket on the same route might be $500 cash or 30,000 miles + $100, yielding ($500-$100)/30000 * 100 = 1.33 cents/mile.
Of course, it ultimately depends on your travel style, goals (short vs. long haul), destinations, and travel group (solo, couple, family, etc.).
Beware of High Taxes and Surcharges
Some airlines and loyalty programs levy hefty fuel surcharges or carrier-imposed fees on award tickets, which can significantly diminish the value of your redemption. Always calculate the total out-of-pocket cost, including all fees, to determine the true value.
Always check and compare the same route served by different airlines or bookable via different programs. Onboard service and the experience you get are one thing to evaluate (some airlines have better planes, cabins, and service than others), but they can also charge vastly different fees for the same underlying flight.
For example, booking a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles via United MileagePlus might incur minimal taxes (e.g., $12), while booking the same flight via Lufthansa’s own Miles & More program could involve hundreds of dollars in surcharges (e.g., $136 or much more). AwardFares helps you see these differences when comparing programs.
Compare Across Loyalty Programs
The exact same flight and seat can often be booked through multiple loyalty programs, sometimes at very different mileage costs and fee levels! For example, a Star Alliance flight might be bookable using Air Canada Aeroplan points, United MileagePlus miles, or Avianca LifeMiles, each with its own price.
This trick is most powerful if you collect points in multiple programs or have transferable points (e.g., from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, etc.) that can be moved to various airline partners.
With AwardFares, comparing the prices in different programs is extremely simple. Simply click on the Expand icon (+) next to a flight result, and you’ll see if that seat is available in other programs AwardFares tracks and for how many miles/points plus fees.
Understand Seasonality and Demand
Award availability and pricing (especially with dynamic systems) are heavily influenced by travel seasons and demand. Flights during peak travel times (holidays, summer) generally require more miles and have less saver availability. Traveling during off-peak seasons or shoulder seasons can lead to better availability and lower mileage costs.
Some programs have explicit high and low season pricing in their award charts. AwardFares clearly shows saver vs. non-saver (or standard/peak) availability in the detailed flight view when this information is provided by the airline program.
Set Up Alerts for Price Drops and Availability
Award availability is fluid. Seats can open up or prices can drop unexpectedly, especially closer to departure or when airlines adjust inventory. AwardFares can help you monitor and find the best award flight opportunities. Setting up alerts ensures you’re informed via email as soon as a desired seat or a good redemption pops up for your specific route and dates. We have a full tutorial here.
We are already working on feature requests, such as price-based alerts, so you only get a notification when a given seat becomes available at a certain price point. Stay tuned to our updates, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get all the latest information!
Remember the Intangible Value
While the CPM calculation is a handy quantitative tool, sometimes the value of an award booking is more personal and less about the numbers. It could be the ability to attend a crucial family event, take a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a special occasion, or simply the joy and comfort of flying in a premium cabin you wouldn’t pay cash for. Not all good redemptions can be measured strictly in cents per mile.
Determining the value of an award flight isn’t solely about mathematics; it’s also about personal priorities and the experiences that travel brings. Always weigh the quantitative and qualitative aspects to choose what best suits your travel needs and wishes.
Advanced Tips for Finding Award Seats
Beyond the basics, here are some expert strategies to enhance your chances of snagging those hard-to-find award seats:
Be Flexible with Airports (Origin and Destination)
If you’re struggling to find availability from your home airport, consider nearby alternatives. For example, if you live in Oakland, check flights from San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), or even Sacramento (SMF). For international flights, searching from major U.S. hubs (NYC, Chicago, LAX, Dallas, etc.) can often yield better availability or pricing, even if it means booking a separate positioning flight to that hub.
Similarly, if your target destination is popular (e.g., Paris CDG), look for flights to nearby cities (e.g., Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or even London). From there, a cheap regional flight or train can get you to your final destination. AwardFares allows you to search multiple origins and destinations simultaneously.
AwardFares tools that will help you:
Be Flexible with Dates
This is often the most critical factor. If your travel dates are rigid, especially during peak seasons or holidays, finding saver award space can be tough. Even shifting your travel by a few days, or considering mid-week flights (Tuesdays, Wednesdays are often less busy), can dramatically improve your chances. Use the AwardFares Timeline View to visually scan for availability across weeks or months.
Search Segment by Segment
Sometimes, award search engines (including those on airline websites) struggle to piece together complex itineraries. If you’re looking for a connecting flight (e.g., SmallTownville to HubCity, then HubCity to InternationalDestination), try searching for each leg separately. If you find availability on individual segments, you can often call the airline’s frequent flyer program to book them together as a single award, provided the routing rules allow it. AwardFares’s ability to show individual flight legs can help here.
AwardFares tools that will help you:
- Journey Planner: Building Perfect Award Trips To Difficult Destinations
- How to Book Round-Trip Award Flights Like a Pro
- Round-The-World Award Flights: The Ultimate Guide
Understand Married Segment Logic
Airlines sometimes release more award availability for connecting itineraries (e.g., A-B-C) than for direct flights on one of those segments (e.g., A-B or B-C alone). This is called “married segment logic.” If you’re looking for a flight from B to C, you might not see availability. However, searching for A-B-C might show that B-C segment as available as part of the connecting journey. This means being willing to book a connecting flight, even if you only “need” one part, can sometimes unlock seats. Tools like AwardFares that show multi-segment options can help reveal these.
Read more:
Book in the Optimal Time Window
There’s no single “best” time to book award flights, but patterns exist:
- Far in Advance: Many airlines release award seats 300-360 days before departure. Booking this early can be good for popular routes, especially if you need multiple seats.
- Last Minute: Airlines often release more award seats, particularly in premium cabins, in the weeks or even days leading up to departure to fill otherwise empty seats. This requires flexibility and nerve! AwardFares’s real-time search and alerts are invaluable for both scenarios.
Leverage Airline Alliances and Partner Bookings
Airlines are part of global alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld, SkyTeam) or have individual partnerships. This means you can use miles from one airline’s program to book flights on its partners. For example, you could use United MileagePlus (Star Alliance) miles to fly on Lufthansa or Air Canada.
- Star Alliance: Use programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus, or Avianca LifeMiles to search for partner awards.
- Oneworld: American AAdvantage, British Airways Club, or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles are good starting points.
- SkyTeam: Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Delta SkyMiles, or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can be useful.
The key is that partner programs may offer better mileage rates or lower fees for the same flight than the operating carrier’s own program. AwardFares excels here by allowing you to select multiple programs and see how they price the same inventory.
Specific resources:
- How To Find Star Alliance Award Availability
- How To Find SkyTeam Award Availability
- How To Find Oneworld Award Availability
The Role of Award Search Tools
While you can search for award flights directly on airline websites, this can be incredibly time-consuming, especially when comparing multiple programs or looking for partner availability. Each airline site has its own quirks and limitations.
This is where third-party award search tools become essential. Tools like AwardFares aim to aggregate award availability from multiple airline programs into a single interface. They can save you hours of manual searching and help you discover options you might have missed.
AwardFares is designed to be a powerful yet user-friendly solution, offering:
- Real-time availability across numerous programs.
- The Timeline View for easy date comparison.
- Sorting by price for each cabin.
- Comparison of mileage costs and fees for the same seat across different programs.
- Alerts for new availability.
- Seat map previews.
By understanding the principles of award searching and leveraging a robust tool like AwardFares, you significantly increase your chances of finding those cheap award flights.
FAQ
What is the best time to book award flights?
There are two main “sweet spots”: (1) as soon as the booking window opens (typically 330–360 days in advance) for initial saver seat releases, and (2) in the last few weeks or days before departure, when airlines may release unsold premium seats as awards. Flexibility is key for the latter, and AwardFares alerts can help you monitor both.Why can’t I find award availability for my desired flight?
Award seats—especially saver-level ones—are limited. High demand for your route or dates, peak travel periods, or the airline not yet releasing saver seats (or already having booked them) can all be factors. Try being flexible with dates, airports, or consider less direct routings.Are there blackout dates for award flights?
Some programs historically had strict blackout dates, but this is less common now with dynamic pricing. In extremely high-demand periods, saver awards might be virtually non-existent or dynamic prices exceptionally high, effectively acting like a blackout.Can I book flights on partner airlines using my miles?
Yes! Most major airlines belong to alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld, SkyTeam) or have non-alliance partners, allowing you to use miles from Program A to fly on Airline B. AwardFares helps you explore these partner options.Do all airlines show partner award availability online?
No. While many do, some airline websites have poor interfaces for finding partner awards or may not show all available partners. Certain obscure partner awards might even require calling the airline’s booking line. Tools like AwardFares, which query systems more directly, can be beneficial here.How do I know if I’m getting a “saver” award?
Programs with fixed award charts clearly define saver levels. Dynamic programs are trickier; compare the current mileage price to historical lows or what’s generally considered a good deal for that route and cabin. AwardFares highlights “saver” availability when programs provide this data and lets you sort by lowest price to uncover the best deals.What if I find availability segment by segment but not as a whole trip?
If you see availability on individual legs (e.g., LAX–FRA and FRA–VIE) but not the entire trip, you can often call the airline’s booking line. Provide the agent with the specific flight numbers and dates for each segment. If the routing is valid according to their rules, they can usually piece it together as one award.Tapping into Community Wisdom
While this guide and AwardFares provide powerful tools and strategies, sometimes you might have a very specific question or want to discuss a nuanced itinerary with fellow enthusiasts. Online communities dedicated to award travel can be incredibly valuable for peer support and real-time insights.
For instance, subreddits like r/awardtravel are vibrant hubs where travelers share their successes, ask for help with complex bookings, and discuss everything from the most efficient ways to search for award travel to the best tools for specific redemption goals. Don’t hesitate to explore these communities for additional perspectives and solutions.
Get Started With AwardFares
With our Gold and Diamond tiers, you can access premium features such as unlimited daily searches, alerts, seat maps, flight schedules, and more! These tools are designed to give you an edge in finding the best value award flights.
You can try AwardFares for free. We are rolling out new features and improvements regularly, so sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay on top of the latest news, announcements, and pro tips.
About the Author
Germán is a technologist and travel strategist with a PhD in Computer Architecture and a rare ability to bridge the worlds of advanced computing and real-world adventure. With experience at global tech giants like Google and Ericsson, he’s an expert in high-performance hardware powering AI, simulation, and digital twins—translating complex systems into actionable insights for enterprise innovation.
Outside the data center, Germán has taken nearly 700 flights across the globe, applying a hacker mindset to travel. He demystifies award travel and optimization strategies, helping others explore the world smarter, cheaper, and with less stress. Germán specializes in optimizing award redemptions, tracking loyalty program changes, and making complex airline systems easy to navigate.
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