How I Search for Award Flights: Part 1 – Finding Availability

This post is Part 1 of a 3-part series on booking award travel. Be sure to read Part 2: How to Compare Award Programs and Part 3: How to Transfer Points and Book Award Flights to complete your step-by-step strategy.

When you’re just getting into points and miles, one of the most important skills to learn is how to actually find award availability. You’ve earned the points. You know where you want to go. But what now? This part of the process can feel overwhelming at first. I remember spending hours clicking around airline websites, only to be told there were “no award flights available” or the award flights I did find were astronomical in points price! But over time, I developed a system that helps me find available seats faster and with much less frustration. In this post, I’ll walk you through how I search for award flights using a few key tools and a simple process that makes the whole thing much more manageable.

This is Part 1 of a three-part series:

• Part 1: How to Search for Award Flights (you’re here)
• Part 2: How to Compare Award Programs and Plan Your Booking Strategy
• Part 3: How to Transfer Points and Book Award Flights

Buckle up, Buttercup and let’s get started!

Step 1: Start With Google Flights to Learn the Route

Before I even touch an airline site or think about using points, I always start with Google Flights. Not because it shows award space (it doesn’t), but because it helps me understand:

• Which airlines fly a specific route
• Which airports are involved
• Whether nonstop flights exist
• How much flights typically cost in cash
• What alternate routes or stopovers might make sense

How I Use the Google Flights Explore Tool

Here’s how to use the “Explore” feature to get destination ideas and route data:

1. Go to Google Flights
2. Click on the Explore tab on the left
3. In the “Where from?” box, enter your home airport(s). You can add up to six.
4. Leave the destination blank to view a full map
5. Choose “Flexible dates” and select “All months”
6. Set the trip length (like 1 week or 2 weeks)
7. Scroll around the map and see what’s available

Let’s say I want to fly from Dallas (DFW) to Hawaii.

I zoom in on the Hawaiian islands and see that flights go into:

• Honolulu (HNL)
• Kahului, Maui (OGG)
• Lihue, Kauai (LIH)
• Kona (KOA)
• Hilo (ITO)

Google Flights tells me which airlines fly those routes, how often, and whether nonstop options are available. For example, I might learn that American Airlines offers a nonstop from DFW to HNL, but not to LIH. That’s information I’ll use when I start searching for award flights later.

Step 2: Use AwardHacker to See Point Requirements

Once I know my route, I head over to AwardHacker. This is a helpful tool that shows which airline programs can book a specific flight, and how many points they typically require.

Let’s say I’m flying from LAX to HNL. AwardHacker might show me:

• American AAdvantage: 20,000 miles
• British Airways Avios: 13,000 points
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 10,000 miles

Wait—Cathay Pacific? I’m not flying Cathay Pacific.

That’s where partnerships come in. These are partner redemptions, which means you can use one airline’s program (like Cathay’s) to book a flight operated by another airline (like American Airlines). That’s the magic of airline alliances.

AwardHacker also tells you which credit card points transfer to each program:

• MR = Amex Membership Rewards
• UR = Chase Ultimate Rewards
• TYP = Citi ThankYou Points
• C1 = Capital One Miles
• MB = Marriott Bonvoy

Now you can cross-reference the programs you have access to and see what the best redemption options are.

Step 3: Understand Which Points You Can Use

Let’s say you have Chase points and you want to book a flight on American Airlines. You’ll notice that Chase doesn’t transfer directly to American.

But AwardHacker shows you that British Airways (a Chase transfer partner) can book American flights. So you may be able to book that same flight for fewer points—just through a partner.

That’s why it’s so important to know who partners with whom.

If you don’t already have it, grab my free cheat sheet—it shows all the major transfer partners for Chase, Amex, Capital One, and Citi.

This is my go-to reference any time I’m planning award travel.

Step 4: Start Searching for Availability

Now that you know your route, the airlines that fly it, and the points programs that can book it, you’re ready to check for actual availability.

Here’s how I search:

• American Airlines: AA.com
• United Airlines: United.com
• Air Canada: Aeroplan.com (great for partner searches)
• British Airways: BA.com
• Virgin Atlantic: VirginAtlantic.com
• Avianca: LifeMiles.com
• ANA: ANA.co.jp (requires a login to search)

Use these airline sites to check whether flights are available on the dates you want. Be flexible. Award space often appears on weekdays or off-peak travel days.

Once you’ve found a flight that works, do not transfer your points yet. You’ll want to compare programs and book through the best option – which is what we’ll tackle in Part 2 of this series.

Pro Tip: Use the Process Like a Funnel

This is the exact process I use, every time:

1. Google Flights: Find routes, airlines, and options
2. AwardHacker: Compare point requirements and partners
3. Credit Card Cheat Sheet: Verify which programs I can transfer to
4. Airline Sites: Check for availability

It’s not always fast, but it’s worth it. With a little practice, you’ll get faster and better at spotting good value and availability.

Get the Free Transfer Partner Cheat Sheet

If you’re juggling multiple credit cards and airline programs, my cheat sheet is a huge time-saver. It lists out exactly which cards transfer to which airlines and hotel programs.

Coming Up Next: How to Compare Award Programs and Book Smarter

In Part 2, I’ll walk through how to evaluate your options and make sure you’re booking with the right points program—not just the one you have.

Sometimes booking with a partner airline can save you thousands of points. We’ll talk about how to spot those opportunities and what tools I use to make sure I’m getting the best deal.

Ready for the next step? Next up: Part 2: How to Compare Award Programs and Plan Your Booking Strategy