Beginners guide to finding award space with ExpertFlyer
As you dive deeper into the world of points and miles, you'll quickly realize that there's more to upgrades and award redemptions than meets the eye. Sometimes, bookable partner flights don't appear online, and phone agents may not have the proper training to navigate complex itineraries and partnerships.
Fortunately, there are tools that can make award redemptions easier. In this guide, we'll show you how to use ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures) to find award space and simplify booking your dream trip.
We'll share the basics of ExpertFlyer and provide step-by-step instructions on using the tool to find award space and set alerts.
ExpertFlyer basics
ExpertFlyer currently offers three plans, including one free option. Each plan has access to different features — here's a quick overview:
- Free: Set an alert to notify you when a more desirable seat opens up on your flight. You're limited to one free alert at a time, though you can add more for 99 cents each.
- Basic ($4.99 per month or $49.99 per year): Offers additional features, such as award and upgrade inventory search and flight availability (including fare buckets). You can set four seat alerts at once, but you're limited to 250 monthly queries.
- Premium ($9.99 per month or $99.99 per year): Includes more flexible search options, unlimited queries, 200 seat alerts at a time, aircraft change alerts and the ability to create up to 200 flight availability alerts.
You can find almost anything you need about airline schedules, seat maps, flight statuses and award availability using ExpertFlyer. These are important tools to keep in your frequent flyer toolbox, especially if you're booking at the last minute and need to lock in a specific flight.
The ExpertFlyer platform currently allows you to search for this inventory on 27 airlines. Carefully review the list to see what inventory is available for your desired airline — American Airlines, for example, shows both award and upgrade space for its flights. While United Airlines and Delta Air Lines aren't listed on ExpertFlyer, you can check award and upgrade availability on other U.S. carriers, such as Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue. Further, you can search for award space on international airlines like Air France, Air Canada and Qantas, among others.
Finding award seats and setting award alerts
Let's dive right into finding award space. Before starting, ensure you have a Basic or Premium account, as free accounts cannot run award searches. You can sign up for a free five-day Premium trial if you're a new member.
Setting up your ExpertFlyer searches
After logging in to your account, select the "Awards & Upgrades" tool on the left-hand sidebar. You'll immediately notice several search fields. Fill in the basics, like your departure and arrival airports and departure and return dates. If you're looking for a one-way flight, keep the return date empty.
The Premium subscription comes in handy here, as it lets you search up to three days before or after your desired travel date. This allows you to view a week at a time and search for multiple fare classes. Do this if your dates are flexible, since you can easily find more award space.
When you select the airline you'd like to fly, you'll see the fare classes that ExpertFlyer can search alongside a description.
To search for nonstop flights on ExpertFlyer, select the "Direct/Non-Stop Only" option. You can exclude codeshare flights if you're only interested in the specific airline you're searching for. When searching across multiple dates, select the "Show all dates on 1 screen" option to view all results simultaneously, making scrolling easier.
Related: The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability
Reading ExpertFlyer search results
Click the search button at the bottom of the screen to see a list of available flights broken down by date. Each flight option will show the fare classes you searched for. Some airlines — like American — will also show the number of seats available in that class. Other airlines will show "Yes" or "No"; the former shows if the flight has at least the number of seats you searched for available.
The results page will also show you connecting options (if you don't limit it to nonstop flights) available for your itinerary.
Once you have the date, flight number and fare class, you can book your flight online. If the flight doesn't show on the airline's website, call the airline and give the representative the exact information on the flight(s) you found. They may be able to book it for you.
If the flight you're looking to book doesn't have the fare class you'd like, you can select the top square with an exclamation point to set an alert. If you set an alert, ExpertFlyer will email you as soon as a seat is released.
Related: Avoid fees: How to change and cancel airline award tickets
Setting up ExpertFlyer seat alerts
With ExpertFlyer's seat alert feature, you'll be notified if specific seats on your flight become available after setting up an alert. This can be helpful if you're stuck in a middle seat or a windowless window seat. Instead of manually checking for a better seat every day, ExpertFlyer does the legwork for you.
To open a seat map and create an alert, select the "Seat Map" option from the left-hand toolbar. Then, enter your flight details in the form at the center of the screen. You'll need your origin and destination airports, departure date, airline and flight number.
In this case, I only selected economy class because my reservation was booked in economy. First-class seat alerts aren't helpful here because even if a first-class seat becomes available, I wouldn't be able to select it without paying for an upgrade.
I can set a seat alert by clicking "Create Seat Alert" and using the "Select Specific Seats" feature. Then I can choose to be alerted when any window, aisle or exit-row seat opens, when any two seats together open or when a specific seat becomes available.
Related: How to use ExpertFlyer alerts to snag a better seat on the plane
A real-world example of using ExpertFlyer to book an award
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards is one of my favorite loyalty programs, largely because of its discounted partner award rates for short-haul flights.
If you want to book a short-haul domestic flight on American Airlines for 4,500 Atmos Rewards points, you can check award space for American Airlines on ExpertFlyer by heading to the "Awards & Upgrades" page. Once there, enter your search criteria and select "Coach - Saver Award (T)" as the class you're interested in booking. You can also search for availability for the three days before and after your specified departure date if your plans aren't solidified. Additionally, you can specify nonstop flights only.
Here's a sample search from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on American Airlines in early June.
There are seven seats available on June 7, indicated by the number "7" in the "Seats" column. At this point, you'd want to take note of the flight information and book with Alaska Airlines through your Atmos Rewards account.
Related: Redeem your points and miles: How to search flight award availability for the major airlines
ExpertFlyer restrictions
Most award seat availability shown on ExpertFlyer will be at the saver level for all programs, so the flights you find should be bookable using any partner program's currency. For example, if you find award space on a Turkish Airlines flight through ExpertFlyer, you should be able to book it through United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan since all three airlines are Star Alliance partners.
The biggest downside to using ExpertFlyer is the airlines it lacks. Earlier, we mentioned the service could search for award and upgrade space for 27 airlines. Years ago, ExpertFlyer supported 87 carriers. This reduction of supported airlines is disappointing, though ExpertFlyer can still make your travel life much easier on the airlines it supports — especially if you frequently fly with American Airlines.
Related: 7 of the best airline sweet spots to redeem your points and miles
ExpertFlyer quick tips
Now that you know how to use ExpertFlyer, here are a few quick tips on how to get the most from the tool. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll save a ton of time as you use ExpertFlyer to find great award tickets:
- If available, select your preferred departure time when searching for award flights. ExpertFlyer shows a limited number of results, so on popular routes with multiple daily flights, some frequencies may not appear, even when award space is available. However, you can only do this with some supported airlines.
- Premium subscribers can use the "Saved Query" feature to easily return to a previous search.
- When switching your search dates, use the "Refine Search" button rather than the back button. This will keep the search fields (like airports and dates) intact.
- Check out the "New To ExpertFlyer?" page for in-depth videos on using the platform's various features.
Related: 6 award chart sweet spots that can save you money on domestic flights
Bottom line
Finding airline award space, especially in premium classes, can be an art form (and a challenging one at that). Nowadays, there are many partnerships within and across airline alliances, and some websites and phone agents are better at finding available seats than others. That said, knowledge is power in the world of points and miles, and that's what ExpertFlyer provides.
Learning how to set seat alerts through ExpertFlyer can help you escape a less-than-ideal seat or find two seats together. Despite the recent decrease in supported airlines, ExpertFlyer remains a powerful tool for travelers.
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