if you’re a frequent traveler, you can get the most out of your award miles but only if you know the right tools. Is AwardHacker one such tool? I will explore the answer in this review in detail.
Although fairly enjoyable, traveling is a lucrative pastime. Whether you’re visiting the attractions in Ravello or discovering the villages in England, you should be ready to do major damage to your bank account.
However, if you’re a bit smart about planning for travel, you can save on everything from plane tickets to hotel accommodation.
Additionally, you’ll get the chance to add more activities to your itinerary – the ones you skipped earlier due to budget constraints.
A popular tool among travelers in AwardHacker. It’s a website that helps you find travel codes to get the best value on your airline miles or credit card points.
Plus, you’ll learn if you can transfer points across programs to get your desired ticket.
In this AwardHacker review, we’ll discuss the tool in detail, exploring how it works and things you need to know before using it for your next vacation.
Table of Contents
What is AwardHacker?
AwardHacker is an online tool that lets you compare different options for reward travel. It collects information from reward programs and shows you the best deals that suit your itinerary.
Some programs that this website focuses on include:
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Amex Membership Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Air France’s Flying Blue
- Delta’s SkyMiles
- American Airlines’ AAdvantage
People who’re using AwardHacker for the first time are often confused. Suppose you have air miles on American Express. Why would you need to know about flying on Delta or any other airline?
Here’s the thing: the option for using your airline points doesn’t always give you an ideal point to dollar ratio.
Travel hackers use different strategies to ensure that they get the most out of each air point.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can transfer miles and points from one provider to another. Likewise, they are transferable among programs too. While it may sound a bit complicated, it can help you save money.
For instance, you might get a better deal if you transfer the points from one program to another. Or, you may save some points if you book a flight from a partner airline for your designated program.
Basically, AwardHacker shows you all these ideas. Instead of you browsing through different websites, AwardHacker displays cumulative results for your travel route. Thus, it helps you make informed decisions about traveling on a budget.
How to Use AwardHacker
Many people wonder how to sign up for AwardHacker. Well, luckily, you don’t have to go through an extensive process to find deals on the website.
The interface is quite simple, making it easier for you to find what you need.
When you go to the AwardHacker website, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how sparse it is. Unlike other travel websites such as Hotels.com or Expedia, the AwardHacker website is precise and to the point.
On the home page, you’ll see a few input fields that must be filled in to find the deals for that itinerary. Here’s what you need to enter:
- The arrival and departure airports
- Class of service you want to travel in (business class, economy, etc.)
- Route type – one-way or round trip
- Stops along the way
- Reward programs you want to find results for
Once you type in this information, you’ll see a list of the money-saving options. For instance, if you want to cover the Golden Triangle in India, you can find rewards by setting one destination as your final and putting the others as stops in the way.
Reading the Results
As discussed above, the website’s interface is very clean and user-friendly. Thus, it’s easy to read results – you just need to know where to find each piece of information.
Firstly, let’s discuss how to find award flights with AwardHacker. When you run the search, you’ll see a list of results. Click on the arrow facing downward – a white arrow in a blue circle. It will open information for that flight airline and trip route.
When you click on the arrow, it will show you the available flight options and the transfer rates between different rewards programs. Additionally, you’ll see how you can redeem the points for any ticket.
Keep in mind that you’ll only find total ticket options since airlines have reserved just a few seats on each flight for rewards travels. AwardHacker merely shows you the number of reward seats on that flight. It wouldn’t tell you if the seat is available or not.
To find that information, you should visit the airline’s website and check in the reward’s portal.
AwardHacker also shows you the cent per mile worth. You can find this by clicking on the ‘Show c/mile’ option on the results page.
When you search for this information, the website will prompt you to a page where you have to enter the dates you want to travel on. Then, it will show you the available flights through Google Flights.
Although AwardHacker has a section for this, sometimes the website isn’t properly responsive. In that case, you’ll have to enter the travel dates directly into Google Flights to get the available options.
Using AwardHacker to Find Program-Specific Deals
Depending on the program you have, you can use AwardHacker to find specific deals for your itinerary.
Rewards Transfer Partners
If you’re using a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card for traveling, you can easily get a lot of points on your card.
However, you may still not have enough points to book a free flight for a two-day trip to Amsterdam. Fortunately, AwardHacker solves this problem.
When you’re on the home page of the website, select Chase Ultimate Rewards in the search parameters.
Then, the tool will show you how you can transfer points from another program into the Ultimate Rewards account to be able to book a certain flight.
In some cases, programs let you buy points too. You have to determine if buying points is really worth it by calculating the cost of the points and how many you’ll need to book a flight.
Will you save money if you pay for the flight through points? That’s what matters. With this information, you can acquire the required points through different means, such as signing up for a credit card bonus.
A credit card sign-up bonus is the best way to rake points for budget traveling. Doing this will not negatively affect your credit score. Instead, if you manage your profile well, your score may even rise.
Booking International Flights
Let’s say you’re taking an international trip, and business class is the only option. What do you do? Can you get enough points to get a business class ticket?
For example, let’s say you want to go for a two-day trip to London. You’ll put this information in AwardHacker’s form. Plus, you’ll enter the dates of traveling and if there are stops on the way.
AwardHacker will show you all the options that you can explore. Moreover, it will tell you the number of points you need to score that flight. How do you use this information?
Firstly, you have to select an airline. On the left corner of each row will be the logo of the airline that you can book this particular flight through.
When you click on the ‘ZZ Miles’, you’ll see the award program’s name.
For example, if it’s Asiana Airline’s Asiana Club, the option will pop up once you click on the Miles link.
Next, there’s an Operated By column. It shows you the airlines that are operating from your departure to destination points.
At this point, many travelers are disappointed if they can’t find their preferred airline. Worry not, though. Here’s an important thing to know: airlines have alliances or teams that are spread worldwide.
Therefore, you can use the travel points earned from one airline in any partner of the alliance. For example, if you have 50,000 miles on Korean Airlines, you can use them on any of the 19 other airlines operated by SkyTeam.
When you click on ‘show routes’ in the search results, you’ll see the flights that you can take to your destination. The larger an alliance is, the more options you’ll see.
Best Cards for AwardHacker
If you want to take a month-long vacation at the end of the year, you must be prepared for it. Make sure you’re using a credit card that earns you more points. You can later convert the points to any program when you’re booking a flight.
If you have a Citi Premier, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or an American Express Gold credit card, you’ll be golden.
While the Gold members get 4x points on US grocery stores and restaurants, the Reserve card gets you 3x points on traveling and dining. Likewise, you’ll earn 3x points on traveling and gas with a Premier membership.
On the other hand, if you have an American Express Platinum Card, you’ll earn 5x on flight tickets. Here are some other lucrative options too:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred users get 2x points on travel and dining.
- Citi Prestige cardholders earn 5x points on dining and airfare.
- Citi Double Cash members get 2% cashback that they can convert into Citi Points if they have a Prestige or Premier too.
If you regularly travel for business, there are a few credit card options specifically suitable for business owners. The American Express Business Platinum card comes with a 35% points rebate and earns 5x points on flight tickets.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred cardholders get 3x points while traveling. Plus, there are some other benefits too.
Finally, the American Express Blue Business Plan gets you 2x points on every transaction.
Is AwardHacker Legit?
Yes, AwardHacker is legit, and many budget travelers vouch for it. However, if it’s your first time using the tool, you may have some trouble finding the flights since all the information is confined in a limited space.
Once you get the hang of it, AwardHacker will become your go-to place to find the best use for your travel miles and points.
Sites Like AwardHacker
If you don’t like the AwardHacker user interface or can’t find your desired flight on the site, there are many other rewards tools you can use.
ExpertFlyer
ExpertFlyer provides you the complete flight information for your itinerary to make your experience stress-free. You can create an alert on the website according to the seat you want. You can select everything from the class of service to the seat location.
For instance, if you want a window seat in economy, you can set an alert. ExpertFlyer will send you an email when such a seat is found.
KVS Tool
The KVS tool isn’t free, but it can help you find much more about a flight than just the available rewards. You can also find information about visa requirements and related things.
If you travel frequently, get a $35 yearly subscription to use the tool. It’s best if you know basic airline coding and terms to use this site to your full advantage.
Pros and Cons of Using AwardHacker
Pros of Awardhacker
AwardHacker is a must-use tool for people who want to enjoy cheap air travel while using their earned points smartly.
- Shows the flight routes for the whole itinerary
- Displays the number of miles needed for a ticket
- Also works with multiple stops
- Shows the whole alliance instead of one airline
- Shows the programs you can transfer points to and from
Cons of AwardHacker
Although a handy tool, AwardHacker has some limitations.
- Does not list some popular loyalty program, including Etihad Guest
- Does now show if a rewards ticket is available on the flight
- Won’t show fuel surcharges on the award ticket
- Does not consider tax information for the airfare
Conclusion
With that, we have come to the end of our review of AwardHacker. As evident, the tool is quite useful if you want to search for cheap flights and put your air miles to good use.
One of the most notable things about the website is that it shows you transferable options too.
Therefore, you can transfer miles from one program to another to book flights with points.
Although the rewards tool is of most help to businessmen or frequent travelers, you can leverage your credit card points to find cheap flights for your annual vacation too.
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