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Comparison of the best award flight search tools: the use of points and miles has profoundly changed the way we travel, offering travelers concrete opportunities to save on their airfare. To get the most out of them, several tools facilitate the search for award flight availability, with features tailored to both beginners and experts.
However, these platforms do not take into account Canadian credit cards or Canada-specific transfer programs. This limitation complicates the analysis of offers, particularly during transfer promotions and when taxes and fees must be manually converted into Canadian dollars.
The ideal approach is to explore different platforms to find the one that fits your needs. No single tool can do it all, just like with credit cards. A combination of two or more tools is often necessary. By integrating them into your booking strategies, you optimize your points while simplifying your searches. If you would like to support Milesopedia, use our affiliate links or promo codes in this article: it’s free for you and helps us continue producing useful content.
Discover our complete comparison, organized into two sections:
Cash flight search tools:1. Skyscanner2. Google Flights
Award flight search tools:1. ExpertFlyer2. Roame3. AwardFares4. Point.me5. Seats.aero6. AwardTool7. PointsYeah8. Points Path (Google Flights)9. Awayz
Before diving into award search tools, we wanted to remind you of the two essential references for finding the best cash prices. These platforms do not handle award tickets, but they are useful for comparing cash rates and identifying the cheapest routes before deciding if a points redemption is worth it.
Skyscanner is a metasearch engine that aggregates prices from hundreds of airlines and travel agencies. Its strength: searching by whole month or by open destination (“everywhere”), ideal for flexible travelers. It does not handle award tickets.
Google Flights is the most accurate tool for comparing cash rates in real time. Its price calendar and fare alerts are particularly useful. Note: it does not natively display prices in points. This is where the Points Path extension, covered later in this article, comes in.
These platforms are designed to search for award flight availability and optimize your points redemptions. None of them take into account Canadian credit cards or Canada-specific transfer programs, which means manually converting taxes and fees into Canadian dollars. A combination of two or more tools is often necessary.
ExpertFlyer is a platform intended for frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts. It provides accurate data on flight schedules, seat availability, seat maps, as well as booking classes and upgrade options.
In March 2026, ExpertFlyer received its biggest update in 17 years: new seat maps via an AeroLOPA partnership, significantly increased alert limits, and a new Elite tier for American Airlines frequent flyers. Rates also increased by approximately 30% to 40% depending on the tier. These features remain particularly useful for those who want to find upgrade opportunities or choose their aircraft.
Roame is one of our favorite tools for finding award flights. Its modern and intuitive interface clearly sets it apart from the competition. Its SkyView tool aggregates award ticket offers from the previous 48 hours, with a view spanning up to 60 days per region. Roame also offers a newsletter that shares the best deals spotted via the platform.
In 2026, Roame added a hotel search in beta (Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt), an iOS app, and eSIMs. If you would like to support Milesopedia by trying Roame, use our affiliate link in this article.
AwardFares is a platform designed to facilitate the search and tracking of award flights across several loyalty programs. It offers real-time searches, email alerts, live seat maps, and a trip planner to organize complex itineraries. Its user-friendly interface and advanced filtering options make it an interesting tool for those looking to maximize their points.
Point.me is a well-established platform that helps travelers optimize their points and miles for award flights. It combines a powerful search engine covering many airlines and loyalty programs with a personalized concierge service. This service assists subscribers at every step, from flight recommendations to maximizing reward value.
Seats.aero is a search engine dedicated to travel with points. It allows you to quickly explore flight availability by region with near-instant results. The platform offers free alerts, live seat maps, and tools to visualize fare classes. A Pro version offers additional filters and SMS alerts.
AwardTool is a platform specialized in searching for award flight availability. It allows you to explore multiple airports and dates simultaneously, which facilitates planning. Its free version offers up to 4 simultaneous searches, the Pro version up to 16. Its Panorama and Mega Search tools provide a broad view over extended periods or multiple regions.
PointsYeah is a visual platform dedicated to optimizing loyalty points. Its real-time search covers a window from 4 days to 365 days in advance. Its DayDream Explorer offers an interactive map-based approach to exploring flight opportunities in a visual and accessible way.
Google Flights is a powerful tool for comparing airfare in cash, but it does not directly provide rates in points or miles from loyalty programs. This is where the Points Path extension comes in, designed to enrich your experience on Google Flights by displaying point rates alongside cash prices.
Points Path is a browser extension (Chrome or Edge) that integrates flight prices in points directly into the Google Flights interface. It performs parallel searches and displays results without leaving the platform.
Awayz is a platform designed to compare cash and points costs for hotel bookings. It integrates Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and Wyndham Rewards. The flight search feature remains in beta.
Here are the two complete tables with the explanatory line:Table 1 — Loyalty Programs
This table presents the loyalty programs most used by Canadian travelers. AAdvantage, Asia Miles, and Etihad Guest have been removed as they are less relevant to the Canadian audience. Points Path has been excluded as it is a Google Flights extension covered in its own section.
* ExpertFlyer no longer covers Star Alliance since late 2023. Aeroplan is therefore no longer available for award availability searches.
Table 2 — Features
This table compares key features for Canadian travelers. The Points Path column has been removed as it is a Google Flights extension and not a standalone tool. The “Transfer Partner Integration” row has been removed because all tools that offer it do so only for US partners (Amex US, Chase, Capital One), with no direct relevance to Canadian cards.
Choosing the right platform depends on your profile and needs. Here is a quick summary:
Personally, I use a combination of Roame and ExpertFlyer depending on my needs. Roame shines with its modernity and ability to perform real-time searches on Canadian programs. ExpertFlyer remains unbeatable for advanced analysis and visualizing the number of seats available for an upgrade, even if the loss of Star Alliance has reduced its utility for many Canadians.
Savings this way:
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