Friday Q&A: How I search for award availability

Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Friday!

Today's edition is a special Q&A.

David, a reader in Cairns, Australia, asked something I know many of you are wondering: is Seats.aero still the best award search tool, or is Roame better?

My answer is: I use tools differently depending on what I am trying to do. There is no single perfect tool. The most important skill is knowing which loyalty program can book which airline at the best price. Let me walk you through how I actually search.

Before opening any tool, I like to understand which airlines fly the route. Websites like FlightConnections are useful here. They help you see which airlines operate certain routes and whether your ideal routing is realistic.

If I want to fly from Europe to Asia, I do not just search broadly and hope for the best. I ask: which airlines fly this route, which alliances are involved, which programs can book those airlines, and which cabin am I targeting? Only then do I open a search tool.

My preferred starting point is Seats.aero. The standard search gives you a broad overview quickly. It does not always show every possible result, but it is a good starting point.

If I do not find what I want there, I move into the Explore function and search within specific programs that work for the airline I am targeting. That detail is important. Award search tools are only as useful as the programs they are searching.

This is where things get tricky when you are starting out.

Some programs show partner space reliably. Some show phantom space. Some hide availability online but allow phone bookings. Some charge reasonable rates. Others charge a lot for the exact same seat.

The seat is the same seat. The flight is the same flight. But the program you use can completely change what you pay.

A real example. Say I wanted to fly ANA's "The Room" business class from London to Tokyo for early next year. I found one seat on February 4 through United MileagePlus, priced at 140,000 miles plus around $400 in taxes one-way.

Bookable? Yes. Would I book it that way? No.

The same ANA seat can potentially be booked through Air Canada Aeroplan for around 80,000 points plus roughly the same taxes. Aeroplan does not always show the space online and sometimes requires a phone call, but if you can access it, that is potentially 60,000 fewer miles for the same seat.

Same seat. Same flight. Completely different outcome depending on which program you use.

This is one of the things we teach inside Points Master. Not just how to find a seat, but how to find the smartest way to book it. Dan has spreadsheets inside the course that show which programs to use for different airlines and routes, and they are incredibly useful for avoiding the classic beginner mistake of booking through the first program that shows availability.

Roame can be useful and sometimes surfaces options Seats.aero misses. But Seats.aero is still the tool I use most as a starting point.

The bigger lesson: do not rely on one tool blindly. The best results come from combining route knowledge, search tools, program knowledge, and sometimes a phone call. Some of the best redemptions are not cleanly bookable online.

The real skill is not knowing which tool to open first. It is asking: which route, which airline, which program, and which price makes the most sense?

If you have a question for a future Friday Q&A, just reply to this email. I read them all.

Want to get really good at this? Points Master is where we teach the full system: which programs to use, how to search properly, and how to book business class for a fraction of the cash price!

That's it for today. Enjoy the weekend, and more deals, news, and trip ideas coming your way on Monday.

Catch you in the clouds,

Tomi from Points Master