Roame: A Complete Guide to the Search Engine for Finding Flights with Points

In a world where travel is increasingly accessible thanks to the accumulation of credit card points and airline miles, Roame has established itself as an essential solution for quickly finding availability and good prices.

In this guide, discover everything Roame has to offer: its features, benefits, subscriptions, and tips to optimise its use for your travel plans.

Roame continues to add new programs to its platform on a regular basis to enrich your award flight search experience.

Roame lets you search for award flights up to 365 days in advance, covering economy (standard and premium), business, and first class. Whether your search is simple or complex, involving multiple routes and loyalty programs, Roame works much like Google Flights and loads results much faster than its competitors.

Analyzing the results of the Aeroplan program can sometimes require special attention, as some offers include transfer promotions that are not available to Canadian users.

For example, the screenshot below shows a 25,000-point Aeroplan route.

However, this feature is only available to U.S. users who can transfer their Chase Ultimate Rewards points (an American credit card). Even if you disable this card in the filters, the results will still show the transfer promotion if there is one currently available. Ce n’est pas un gros inconvénient, mais il faut juste le garder en tête lorsqu’on compare des prix.

This advantageous pricing is the result of a 20% transfer promotion in effect at the time of writing. Without this transfer promotion, the actual cost of this itinerary would be 30,000 points, as shown just below.

I did a quick check of this option directly on the Air Canada website to confirm its accuracy. It’s also important to note that the taxes and fees shown on Roame are displayed in US dollars. This detail deserves special attention to avoid any confusion when assessing costs with this tool.

It’s also important to highlight that Roame does not display the preferred rates available to Aeroplan co-branded credit cardholders. These rates, which are often more advantageous, may differ slightly from those shown on Roame.

I also particularly like the ability to see at a glance which segments are in economy class and which are in business class, without having to click on them or open a new window.

For example, a YUL-EWR-NRT itinerary could be presented as a mixed cabin in business class, with the short segment between Montreal and New York in business class, as illustrated in the first result of the following screenshot. However, the long 12-hour segment between New York and Tokyo would be in economy class. Obviously, when you opt for business class, you expect the longest segment, or ideally the whole trip, to be in business class.

The option of filtering according to the percentage of the trip you are prepared to accept in mixed cabin is particularly interesting. It’s important to remember that you’re paying the business class fare, whether for a short segment or for most or all of the journey.

Adding this filter to Roame is a great value-add, making searches more efficient. This feature works perfectly, and I really appreciate being able to quickly analyze my options without getting my hopes up unnecessarily!

Roame is a powerful tool, but there are some limitations to keep in mind. For example, it’s not possible to search multiple specific airports at the same time, although regional searches are available. This limitation may be inconvenient for some users.

Finally, the points costs displayed sometimes include U.S. transfer promotions not applicable to Canadians, which can be confusing. The absence of filters for Canadian transfer partners, and the inability to take transfer or exchange rates into account, also complicates comparison between programs.

However, if you find a flight that perfectly matches your criteria with Roame but you don’t have enough points or transferable points, you might consider buying points. This option can sometimes be more cost-effective than paying for your flight with cash.

In this example, I have selected two rewards programs, Aeroplan and Flying Blue, and Roame sorted the results according to the number of points required.

However, not all points have the same value. For example, 20,000 Flying Blue miles may seem more advantageous than 30,000 Aeroplan points, but it’s all the same, mainly because of the differences in the transfer ratios for American Express Membership Rewards Points.

It is therefore important to compare programs beyond the simple number of points before booking.

With the SkyView option, you can also view the most advantageous dates in points based on your preferences, making it easier to find the best prices quickly.

Personalized alerts from Roame are designed to inform you of the best opportunities matching your specific criteria.

To set up an alert on Roame, log in to your account, go to the SkyView tab, set your search criteria (departure and arrival cities, travel class, dates, etc.), then activate the “Save as Alert” option with a single click. You’ll then receive email notifications as soon as a flight matching your preferences becomes available. Cette fonctionnalité se distingue par sa simplicité : il n’est pas nécessaire de saisir manuellement chaque information, et une plage de dates compte pour une seule alerte (plutôt qu’une alerte par date).

For example, in the following screenshot, I’ve set up an alert to be notified when a flight between Montreal and Tokyo, in business class with at least 65% of the journey in business class, for less than 100,000 Aeroplan points, with less than $200 in fees, and a maximum of two stopovers, becomes available between April 23 and May 18.

Thanks to these notifications, you’re immediately informed when an interesting opportunity arises, allowing you to secure coveted award tickets before they’re gone. This responsiveness is essential and makes this tool a must-have for people who want to stay on top of things in real time. Roame performs several searches a day (every 1 to 6 hours, depending on routes), unlike other tools, maximizing your chances of never missing an offer.

Roame’s Discover tab is a great tool for travellers who are flexible or looking for inspiration. It lets you search for reward flights from a designated departure airport while applying filters based on your preferences, such as travel class or loyalty program (for example, Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Avios, etc.).

A desirable improvement would be the addition of further filters to further refine searches and meet people’s specific needs.

When it comes to credit cards, only US cards can currently be added to the tool. However, I appreciate the feature that lets me quickly view all the credit cards in my wallet: the total amount of annual fees, sign-up dates, bonus progress status, and much more. It’s an excellent way to get a clear and efficient overview.

Roame offers several subscription levels to meet the varied needs of users:

Roame is an excellent tool for maximizing the use of your points and miles. With its advanced features, speed, user-friendly design, and compatibility with a wide range of loyalty programs, it streamlines every step of your travel planning.

In addition to its high-performance features Roame offers newsletters customized to your preferences, keeping you informed of the best opportunities for you.

Having personally tested and reviewed several award availability search tools (such as Point.me, AwardFares, Seats.Aero, and ExpertFlyer), I switched to Roame for its intuitive interface and its ability to deliver fast, reliable, real-time results that are presented clearly and are easy to analyze. Although Roame isn’t perfect yet, especially since it doesn’t integrate Canadian credit cards and points transfer programs, it’s getting very close, in my opinion.

The free subscription is ideal for beginners, while experienced users will appreciate the “Friends of Roame” subscription, which offers excellent value for money in terms of time saved.

Try Roame today by following this link, and get 10% off with the code “milesopedia“ to discover a new way to plan your travel with your points, more easily and efficiently.