The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability

Thanks to their 900 destinations in 170 countries, searching for award space on Oneworld's 13 carriers can be an overwhelming task. And even if you do find award space, prices can vary significantly depending on the program you use to book your flight.

Thankfully, there are some preferred search engines that can help you find award availability across the Oneworld alliance of airlines, seats that can then be booked through programs like American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

Here are some of the best websites to use when looking for award availability on Oneworld carriers.

Oneworld alliance overview

From a redemption standpoint, Oneworld is simple. You can redeem any Oneworld miles on any member airline if award space is available. This means that if you have British Airways Avios, you can use them to fly American Airlines. Likewise, if you have American Airlines miles, you can use them to fly British Airways. Again, this all assumes award space is available.

These are the Oneworld airlines:

• Alaska Airlines.
• American Airlines.
• British Airways.
• Cathay Pacific.
• Finnair.
• Iberia.
• Japan Airlines.
• Malaysia Airlines.
• Qantas.
• Qatar Airways.
• Royal Air Maroc.
• Royal Jordanian.
• SriLankan Airlines.
• Fiji Airways (Oneworld Connect member).

Additionally, Oman Air will soon be joining the alliance.

So how can you check for award space? Here's a look at the best websites for finding Oneworld award availability.

Related: From zero to Executive Platinum: Why and how I qualified for American's top-tier status without plans to fly the airline

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AA.com

The future of American Airlines partner redemptions is uncertain since the airline recently dropped saver award charts. That said, if you're planning on redeeming AAdvantage miles for your award, start on American's website.

AA.com shows real-time award space for the following carriers (note that some of these aren't Oneworld carriers, but you can still use your AAdvantage miles to fly these carriers):

• Air Tahiti Nui.
• Alaska Airlines.
• American Airlines.
• British Airways.
• Cape Air.
• Cathay Pacific.
• Fiji Airways.
• Finnair.
• GOL Airlines.
• Hawaiian Airlines.
• Iberia.
• Japan Airlines.
• JetBlue.
• Malaysia Airlines.
• Qantas.
• Qatar Airways.
• Royal Air Maroc.
• Royal Jordanian.
• Silver Airways.
• SriLankan Airlines.

You can also use your American miles to fly China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airways and IndiGo, but you'll need to call AAdvantage to book award flights with these carriers.

Searching for award space on American's website is easy. In fact, you don't even need to log in to your AAdvantage account. You can simply visit AA.com, select the "Redeem miles" box, enter your search criteria and click "Search."

On the next page, select the drop-down arrow in your desired cabin class to sort by the lowest price. In this case, I've searched for business class.

There's one business-class seat left on the partner Japan Airlines flight.

You can also filter by number of stops, the airline and any nearby airports.

If you plan to book this ticket with AAdvantage miles, you could select the award ticket and follow the on-screen prompts to book it. If you plan to book with another airline, you can note the flight numbers and dates for when you book your flight with your Oneworld miles.

You can also use the award calendar to see award availability on other dates. For example, in this screenshot, I've searched for nonstop business- and first-class award space from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) and Haneda Airport (HND).

While American's website no longer shows that these are saver awards, any partner flight that shows up on AA.com should be bookable using rewards from any Oneworld carrier.

Related: Elite status vs. miles: How to make the most of Oneworld partner tickets

Alaskaair.com

Another great option for searching Oneworld availability is Alaska's website. In addition to the Oneworld carriers, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can redeem their miles with these airlines:

• Aer Lingus.
• Hainan Airlines.
• Ravn Alaska.
• Air Tahiti Nui.
• Icelandair.
• Singapore Airlines.
• Condor.
• Korean Air.
• Starlux Airlines.
• El Al Israel Airlines.
• LATAM Airlines.

You can also use the Alaska Airlines website to search for award space by month. Here's a look at award space on the same SFO-to-Tokyo route.

One limitation of the Alaska Airlines award calendar is that you can't search for premium economy awards. To search for premium economy awards, select each day to see award availability.

In addition, if you're trying to book business class or first class, watch out for mixed-cabin itineraries, which are designated by a small blue chair icon.

In this example, only the outbound flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Seoul's Incheon International Airport (ICN) is in business class. The connecting flight to Sydney Airport (SYD) is in economy.

Related: Alaska Airlines devalues Japan Airlines awards without notice, increasing award rates by up to 100%

ExpertFlyer

Finally, a non-alliance tool to consider is ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures). ExpertFlyer can be used to find award space across alliances. If your desired flight isn't available, you can set an alert to email you if and when a seat opens up.

While some Oneworld airlines show award space on ExpertFlyer, you won't be able to search for Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Japan Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Here's an example of a search for American Airlines business- and first-class awards from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Since the U-fare class is available on some of these flights, you could redeem frequent flyer miles in a Oneworld program to book a business-class seat. Or, set an alert for a first-class seat to notify you if first-class award space becomes available.

Related: Beginners guide to award searches on ExpertFlyer

How to book Oneworld award tickets

Now that you've found award space, you can use a Oneworld program with low award rates to book your flight. We recommend comparing award rates on American, Alaska and British Airways before you book your ticket.

Here are some of our favorite Oneworld redemptions:

• 55,000 Alaska miles from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Sydney in Qantas business class.
• 4,750 British Airways Avios for economy-class BA flights under 600 miles.
• 70,000 AAdvantage miles from the continental U.S. to South Asia in Qatar's Qsuite.
• 34,000 Iberia Plus Avios for off-peak Iberia business-class flights from the East Coast to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD).

Related: How to book free stopovers with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Bottom line

Even though it's the smallest alliance by the number of member airlines, Oneworld has great partners like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways. Knowing how to redeem your Oneworld miles across partner airlines can unlock significant value for your rewards.

Note that the above websites are best for finding availability, not necessarily for booking your award ticket. The miles required will be determined by the program you use to book your flight.

If you're unsure how to maximize your transferable points for Oneworld flights, check out our guides for the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points.

Additional reporting by Richard Kerr and Andrew Kunesh.