Looking for the best tools to search for award flights and hotels?

In this episode of the Upgraded Points Podcast, we break down the top award flight search tools we personally use to book award travel with points and miles. From free options to paid platforms, we’ll show you what each one does best, plus share a discount for our favorite tool: Seats.aero.

Chris and Katie also share recent travel updates, including theme park trips (Disneyland vs. Epic Universe) and a visit to Greenville, South Carolina. We wrap up with a listener question about speculative point transfers - specifically, whether it’s a good idea to transfer Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian in order to take advantage of the Alaska loophole that is closing soon!

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[0:00] Introduction

[1:00] Last week, Chris visited Disney Land for Disney’s 70th anniversary celebration. The celebration is running through the summer of 2026. Next, he went back to Epic Universe for their opening.

[3:27] Katie recently went back to Greenville, South Carolina. She was invited by the Visit Greenville, SC, to go to the BMW Performance Driving Center. She stayed at the AC Hotel in downtown Greenville.

[7:34] The main topic of today’s episode is award search tools. Katie’s favorite is seats.aero, which allows users to search flight options. The pro version is $9.99 per month. Through June 30, 2025, save 20% on an annual subscription with the code UPGRADEDPOINTS.

[11:30] There are lots of award search tools to choose from. One of the most popular is Point.me, which allows you to search over one hundred airlines.

[12:26] Another good tool is Points Yeah, which is free with unlimited searches but has a premium version. Roame is similar, but is a bit more polished.

[13:49] Last fall, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines merged and introduced the ability to transfer points between them. Now through June 30th, you can transfer Amex points to Hawaiian, and then to Alaska. Normally, we do not recommend transferring points speculatively. However, Alaska’s program is good enough to make the transfer worth it.

Read about the best food in every world in Epic Universe: https://upgradedpoints.com/news/universal-epic-universe-best-food/

Use the seats.aero promo code mentioned in the episode: https://upgradedpoints.com/news/seats-aero-promo-code/

Read Katie’s review of the Grand Bohemian Lodge in Greenville, South Carolina: https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/hotels/grand-bohemian-lodge-greenville-autograph-collection-review/

Want more out of your points? Explore our guides written by travel and financial professionals on the Upgraded Points website.

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