In today’s digital age, the hunt for the perfect airline award seat can be a daunting task. With numerous platforms offering similar services, it becomes essential to find one that stands out. Enter Seats.aero, a revolutionary tool that promises to change the way we search for flight awards. In this review, we’ll delve deep into its features, compare it with its competitors, and determine if it truly delivers on its promise.
Please be advised that Air Canada and several Star Alliance airlines have recently restricted access to their inventory for various airline reward search tools. For a comprehensive understanding and the latest updates on this matter, refer to the detailed article here.
While there are several award search platforms on the market, Seats.Aero sets itself apart in numerous ways. Let’s consider two other popular contenders: Point.me and AwardLogic.
Starting with Point.me, while it offers a broad overview of available award seats, it might lack the depth that Seats.Aero delivers. The latter dives into the intricacies of each mileage program, pulling data not only from the primary airline but also from every partner flight associated with that program. This comprehensive search capability provides you with a more extensive and detailed list of flight options.
On the other hand, AwardLogic does provide a detailed search mechanism, but where Seats.Aero shines is in its user-friendly interface and customizable search features. With Seats.Aero, you can leverage specific codes like “USA” for major US airports or “EUR” for main European airports, thus broadening your search horizon. Here are the main features of Seats.Aero:
At its core, Seats.aero offers an intuitive and detailed method for discovering award seat availability across a plethora of mileage programs. Rather than a simple search of its primary airline, the platform dives deeper, scanning through every partner flight that can be booked using a particular mileage program. Such a feature empowers you to have a broader perspective, ensuring you never miss out on an opportunity.
Beginning with the user-friendly interface of the homepage, Seats.aero allows you to quickly initiate searches for particular airlines and you can immediately sort through options, including business class, although availability may vary.
But Seats.Aero isn’t limited to simple searches. Its advanced “Search” functionality delves into all the mileage programs without the need to select a specific one.
Both versions cater to distinct needs. The free version is tailored for casual travellers, emphasizing features like “Create Alerts” for up to 5 months. The Pro, priced at $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually, offers advanced features, from extended alert timelines to more intricate search options.
The free version of Seats.aero, at a glance, appears to be a boon for casual travellers and award booking novices. While it offers access to a plethora of mileage programs and a robust search engine, the real charm lies in its “Create Alerts” feature. You can set up alerts for specific departure or arrival airports, scouting award seats up to 5 months in advance.
This feature, in essence, brings a world of opportunities to your inbox, especially if you’re in the early stages of planning a trip. The intuitive interface and the ability to cast a wide net when it comes to searches are additional cherries on top.
However, the inability to specifically filter out nonstop flights might be a slight damper for those who prioritize direct journeys.
While Seats.aero intends to be ”free, forever”, there seem to be a few limitations with the results shown with the free version, even when we are within the 5 months-out window.
Opting for the Pro version of Seats.aero unlocks a great deal of advanced features, elevating your award-booking game to a professional level.
The most notable of these is the extended alert horizon, allowing you to set alerts for up to a whopping 12 months into the future. This extended lead time can be a game changer for those aiming to secure seats on popular routes, especially during peak travel seasons.
The membership is billed in American dollars. Therefore, it is best to use a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign exchange fees such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite* Card to save 2.5% on your purchase.
One of the standout features of Seats.aero is its extensive support for a myriad of mileage programs. This is particularly beneficial for frequent flyers who accumulate points across multiple airlines or for those who prefer using partner airlines to redeem rewards. This is also very useful when deciding where to transfer your Membership Rewards before booking.
These are the programs currently supported by Seats.aero:
The platform’s underlying strength lies in its ability to amalgamate these diverse mileage programs into one unified interface. This means you don’t need to jump between multiple airline websites or use various tools to search for available award seats.
With Seats.aero, a user can conduct a search for a flight from North America to Europe and instantly see results across Delta, Air France, Air Canada, and Lufthansa.
Such a consolidated view not only saves time but also provides a broader perspective, helping travellers make informed decisions based on award availability across multiple airlines.
Additionally, Seats.aero’s search functionality is unique in its design. Unlike many other platforms, there’s no compulsion to pick a specific program during the initial search phase. This can be a boon for travellers who aren’t committed to a particular airline or want to compare availability across various programs.
When looking for flights, you can use codes like “USA” or “EUR” to denote major airports, further simplifying the process.
In the universe of award seat searches, the functionality and ease of use can often be the difference between a seamless experience and a frustrating one. Seats.aero places its users at the forefront by designing an intuitive search mechanism that not only makes it easier to pinpoint desired routes but also seamlessly integrates with various mileage programs and their partner flights.
By simply entering a destination and desired travel dates, you are presented with a wealth of options, sourced from a plethora of mileage programs. The system’s underpinning is a sophisticated algorithm that actively scans for availability, ensuring you have real-time, accurate results.
For example, I searched for the best award price from Montreal to Nice for the first week of September with Aeroplan as the source and I got the following results:
Then, you can sort the results by point costs, source, dates, etc.
The green prices indicate direct flights and the blue ones include multiple segments.
By clicking on the information box on the right side, I can see more details about the prices shown including the itinerary options.
I counter-verified the results with what’s available on the Air Canada website and it concurs; as you can see, the 33.4K direct flight in economy class on September 10 is shown as available and at the exact same price as Seats.aero reported.
When I signed in, the same flight dropped slightly because I am entitled to preferred pricing as an Aeroplan credit card holder. You can also expect some discount when having an Aeroplan Elite Status.
As for the results in business class I was looking for on September 4, the YUL-GVA-NCE is bookable as shown on Seats.aero.
One of the primary strengths of Seats.aero lies in its expansive search criteria. Instead of being confined to specific city airports, you have the freedom to employ broader terms such as “USA” for major US airports or “EUR” for principal European destinations.
This is great when you want to search for a cheap weekend getaway from your home airport.
For example, Miami sounds like a good option for a quick escape in early October:
Or, when you want to find the most affordable way to cross the Atlantic next summer for the Paris Olympics, with the non-stop Montreal-Barcelona route available at the lower end of the standard price chart, for example.
You can also simply ‘’Explore“ award availability by selecting one of Seats.aero’s supported programs:
This not only widens the scope of the search but also uncovers opportunities that might have otherwise been overlooked. Moreover, the site goes beyond just displaying available seats, giving insights into the mileage cost, taxes, and additional fees. This comprehensive approach allows you to make informed decisions, ensuring they get the best value for your miles.
A distinctive feature of Seats.aero is its adeptness at revealing hidden award seat treasures such as locating available R space for Air Canada’s eUpgrades. This functionality can be accessed under the ‘‘tool’’ tab. Simply select your origin and destination, and all the available inventory will be shown. From there, you can search for specific airports and sort by dates.
Under the same tab, you can also find Qsuite availability; while Avios is not supported by Seats.aero, I found it useful to find space at the cheapest price and it allowed me to locate the standard awards on Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
Indeed, these are the results Seats.aero found with Alaska Mileage Plan:
The flight can in fact be booked with Alaska miles, at the same reported price, and it might be worth it to purchase some during one of their recurring sales to fly at a fraction of the price.
However, if partner award space is available, it means you can also book directly with Qatar Airways should you prefer to use Avios (as they are much easier to earn with a good credit card strategy). You can see on the following screenshot that we managed to avoid those expensive flexi awards with Seats.aero.
Note that it’s possible to find business class seats on Qatar Airways with the simple Search tool. However, not all business class seats are Qsuites.
Additionally, with the “Create Alerts” functionality, you can be instantly notified when a desired route becomes available, ensuring you never miss out on those elusive award seats.
With the “Create Alerts” functionality, you can be instantly notified when a desired route becomes available, ensuring you never miss out on those elusive award seats. Seats.aero can complement ExpertFlyer so you know when it’s the best time to book your award seats.
You can set up and manage two kinds of very useful alerts:
The first type of alert is useful when you are looking to go or arrive at a designated airport on a specific date. For example, your holidays are in mid-April of next year and you want to be alerted of good business class availability simply because you wish to snag the best deal and you’re flexible on the destination.
The system sends you an email and removes the alert immediately as it discovers a single flight that matches your search parameters.
The second type is between two airports; I can think of a great tool for families looking for the best award prices to go to Disney World during Spring Break, for example.
You can even filter the alerts according to your preferences with direct flights, the required number of seats, the maximum cost in points, and the airline you wish to fly with.
The free edition of Seats.aero allows you to create alerts for searching up to five months in the future, while the pro-version allows you to search up to twelve months ahead. As you can see, it can give you an edge when looking to secure those coveted affordable award seats. Remember to use a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign exchange fees such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite* Card since you will be billed in US dollars.
In conclusion, the comprehensive mileage program support given by Seats.aero redefines how travellers can utilize their accumulated points. By consolidating multiple airline reward programs into one intuitive interface, the platform offers an unparalleled convenience that’s hard to find elsewhere.
The website looks unpolished compared to Point.me or AwardLogic, but it’s quite useful and accurate. Since there are many features you can try out with a free account, it has an edge over the other tools available!
Savings are here:
