No matter if you fly once a year or twenty, you probably have some points or miles sitting around on one of your credit cards. I fly quite often and honestly haven't used points in a while because I never really knew the best way to optimize them
While millions of Americans have earned credit card rewards points or airline miles, 87% of people surveyed don’t know the best way to use them. If you’re not up to date on the whole ‘points & miles thing,’ you’re not alone. I guess I'm a part of that.
AwardTravel is the best tool I've found to help you travel for free, and it works as a beautiful Chrome Extension directly inside Google Flights to show you the cost of flights in points & miles for all major US carriers.
The extension currently works on both One Way and Round Trip flights and gives you the direct link to book the flights you want from Google Flights.
However, my favorite feature is called Transfer Partners. I put all of my business spending on an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points.
Amex points can be transferred to various partners, so if you don’t have enough Delta SkyMiles, you can transfer your Amex points to Delta to book. This feature shows you all of the transfer partners, enabling you to book the best deal out there. I genuinely might book a trip in the next week just because I've been finding some good deals.
Using AwardTravel
- Installing the Extension
To Install the AwardTravel extension, download the extension on the Chrome Store
- Navigate to Google Flights
Once you’ve installed the extension, search on Google Flights like you normally would
- See Cost in Points & Miles (alongside cash)
AwardTravel displays the cost in airline miles along with the cash price from Google Flights
I spoke with one of the founders, Sam. He said “AwardTravel was designed with the casual traveler in mind.” “Our goal is to help the everyday traveler who wants to visit home for the holidays, go on a vacation with friends, or have a weekend getaway with their significant other, all while using their points and miles.”
Sam mentioned many new features that will be added to AwardTravel in the coming weeks, including expanded airlines to search as well as additional insights. After speaking with dozens of users, he’s super excited for what’s to come. I'm glad he reached out to me as well.
After spending a few minutes using the tool, I was able to book a trip to see some family in South Florida, all for just 15,000 Delta SkyMiles (transferred from Amex - thanks to my Business Platinum card).
The AwardTravel extension is great for anyone looking to get started with the ‘points & miles thing’ for free travel. Their tagline sums it up perfectly: “You don’t have to be a millionaire to travel like one.”
