How to Book Flights in AwardHacker: A Beginner’s Guide

AwardHacker, along with Google Flights, are my sites I go to before booking any flight. Both are easy to use with clean interfaces. With respect to AwardHacker, the site makes it easy to see which award programs you should consider using to book an award flight. This greatly reduces the time it takes to reference award charts to make sure you know which points and miles to use.

In this AwardHacker review, we cover the best credit cards to earn points, how to use AwardHacker, limitations of the website, and common questions.

Best Credit Cards to Earn Points

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The Amex Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Premier Card are ones that get the most love from me. Each has high earn rates in select bonus categories and perks that make them worth holding onto year after year.

You earn 4x points on dining and US grocery stores with the Amex Gold Card. The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3x points on dining and travel. With the Citi Premier Card, you earn 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airfare, and hotels.

How to Use Award Hacker

The process to use AwardHacker is straightforward. Below are steps on how to start an award search on AwardHacker.

• Enter your departing city in the “From” tab and arriving city in the “To” tab
• Select Round Trip or One Way in the “Route Type” drop-down menu
• Select Economy, Premium Economy, Business, or First from the “Cabin” drop-down menu
• Nonstop, Up to 1 stop, Up to 2 stops in the “Stops” drop-down menu is what you’ll select next
• Select Any or your preference of US Rewards Program Transfer Partners or Frequent Flyer Programs under “Frequent Flyer Programs”

Steps to Follow When Using Award Hacker

After inputting all of the data, a results page like the one above will show. You will see an award program logo, flight routes with the number of stops, “Operated By”, “Transferable from”, and a blue drop-down arrow.

The award program logo will show you the number of miles you need. You’ll see the name of the program listed by its airline code. In the example above, Japan Airlines is shown with the code JL. Next to JL, AwardHacker shows the value of your airline miles on a cents per miles basis.

In the flight routes section, AwardHacker outlines the number of stops between your origin and destination. The example above shows the nonstop flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo (HND). You also have the option to add in multiple stops if needed.

The “Operated by” tab is where to find the operating airline. AwardHacker lists a single airline like in the example of Japan Airlines when using Alaska Airlines miles. The site also shows the name of the alliance if there is more than one airline in that alliance flying that route.

“Transferable From” is the second to the last tab. This section is where to see which points and miles transfer to the program you want to use. For example, Marriott Bonvoy (MB) partners with Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. So, Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred directly to these programs to book a Japan Airlines flight.

The blue drop-down arrow is the last item category. By clicking the arrow, you’ll “Steps #1-3” and “Show Routes”. Step #1 covers where to search for an available ticket. Select “Step #2” to determine where to transfer the miles that you need. “Step #3” shows how to redeem points and miles for an award flight. The “Show Routes” tab lists all routes for that specific origin and destination.

Award Hacker Limitations

When you’re learning how to use AwardHacker, it’s important to note its three limitations. While none of those are major limitations, you should be aware of them. AwardHacker states it is addressing these issues, so stay tuned on when the updates are made.

The first limitation is the Iberia, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad Airways are not shown as available Frequent Flyer Programs. Another limitation is that you can’t search for hotel award stays. Instead, check out awardmapper.com. The last limitation, at the time of this writing, is that it does not appear all award flight options are searchable on all routes.

Common AwardHacker Questions

How do you use an Awardhacker?

Go to awardhacker.com, follow Steps to Follow When Using Award Hacker in the section above, and book your next award flight.

How do I find the cheapest flights?

Google Flights is one of the best resources to use to find the cheapest flight. This article outlines how to use Google Flights.

How do I check my flight miles?

Awardwallet.com is one of the best resources to check your flight miles. Sign up for an Award Wallet account, input your frequent flyer programs into your profile, and Award Wallet will check your flight miles for you.

What are award flights?

Flights that you book using credit card points and/or airline miles. You earn these points with your credit card spending and/or flying on flights.

Is there an AwardHacker alternative?

Mile Value lists the AwardHacker alternatives in this article.

Conclusion on How to Use AwardHacker

One of the keys, before you search for award flights using AwardHacker, is to earn the right credit card points. Once you start earning points, go to awardhacker.com. From there, enter the details of the award flight you want to book but keep in mind there are limitations when using AwardHacker. When you’re ready to book a flight, transfer the necessary points to the program you want to use and get ready to kick back on your flight.

What about you? How do you use AwardHacker? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.

Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click-through.  The editorial content on this page and the user comments are not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.