Planning family award travel can be daunting, especially when searching for those elusive premium cabin award seats. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by clunky airline websites, endless search results, and the race to snag highly sought-after seats. Enter Seats.aero, a game-changing tool I rely on as my personal assistant for every early bird, complex or last-minute award travel search. Whether you’re new to award travel or an experienced points enthusiast, this tool can transform the way you find and book flights for your family without feeling unsure and overwhelmed.
In this post, I’ll break down what Seats.aero is, why it’s a robust tool for beginners and families, and share my personal experience using it to plan family vacations.
What Is Seats.aero?
Seats.aero is an intuitive award search tool designed to make finding economy, business, and first-class award space easier, less overwhelming and more efficiently. Their interface is simple, straightforward and no-nonsense. Even beginners can navigate it quickly to find the best flights. Seat.aero currently covers 17 Frequent Flyer Programs as of January 2025 for award availability. The list of programs includes:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Azul Brazilian Airlines TudoAzul
- Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
- Delta Air Line SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Airways Etihad Guest
- GOL Smiles
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- United Airlines MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer
Even if the airline programs you prefer isn’t covered – such as British Airways or Cathay Pacific – you can still find award space through their partner programs. For instance, Cathay Pacific flights can often be booked via Qantas, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines or Air Canada depending on the route and type of the cabin.
This approach came in handy for me last summer when I had to pivot a trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok instead of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Using Seats.aero, I discovered Cathay Pacific award availability (economy, premium economy, and business class) through both Alaska Airlines and Qantas, which have proved just how powerful partner program searches can be.
Further reading: Scared To Do Last-Minute Family Travel Changes? 3 Simple Tips To Start.
How Much Does Seats.aero Cost?
There are Free and Pro options:
- Free Plan: You can get Seat.aero for free, and start search award availability across 17 programs for the next 60 days and set up unlimited email alerts.
- Pro Plan ($9.99 / month or $99.99 / year): This offers access to:
- Award searches for travel up to one year in advance.
- Advanced filters to refine your search for specific cabins, dates, or routes.
- Unlimited alerts with notifications via SMS and / or email.
- Custom requests: Ask Seats.aero to track specific routes for you.
- Private discord access: Connect with other points enthusiasts and Seats.aero staff for tips and updates.
- Beta features, including:
- Seat Map Viewer: See available seats before booking.
- Fare Class Finder: Identify fare classes eligible for upgrades.
Why Using Seats.aero For Families
For families, finding award flights can often feel like piecing together an intricate puzzle. Coordinating multiple seats, juggling flexible dates, and maximizing points can be overwhelming. That’s where Seats.aero steps in – acting like your personal travel assistant to:
- Save hours of manual searching by providing real-time results and giving you a clear starting point for your search.
- Maximize your point redemptions by identifying the most direct and optimal routes, so you can book confidently without second-guessing your choices.
- Uncover hard-to-find premium cabin seats, putting you back in control of your family’s travel plans and elevating the entire experience.
What Are The Key Features?
Unlike airline websites that can feel slow and clunky, Seats.aero offers many different search features. The following is most outstanding for families and ourselves:
- Regional Award Availability
Search for flights across entire regions (e.g., all London airports, New York City airports or the US West Coast) for a comprehensive view of options.
- Explore Page
The “Explore” page lets you search for bookable award seats by program. It also highlights transferable rewards partners, so you’ll know exactly which points to use for your booking. To use “Explore” function, you first need to select an airline. From there, you’re able to choose the regions you’d like to fly to or from and filter down results from there.
In this example, I am looking at all flights that Air Canada Aeroplan has from Asia to anywhere else in the world. You can see:
- Date: The date that the award is available
- Last Seen: How recently Seats.aero refreshed this information
- Departs: Departure airport
- Arrives: Arrival airport
- Cabin: Whether you’re flying economy, premium economy, business, or first class
- Color: Green indicates a direct flight, blue indicates a flight with connections.
- Search: Allows you to type in a date or an airport code to narrow down results
- Information Button: Displays detailed information on your search results, including flight number and airline
Pro Plan subscribers can even create filters for region, departure and arrival airport, airlines, seats available, and more. Filters are valuable if you’re looking for a specific award operated by a particular airline for your family.
- Search Page
Search function lets you search across regions with up to 180 days of flexibility. It also allows you to hone in on specific dates and routes. It is ideal when you need to go somewhere specific, as it can return live results to ensure that the seats you need are actually available. Let’s say, for example, that you need to go from Taipei (TPE) to Vienna (VIE) later this year. It looks similar to the “Explore” function, and you can also see new information, including :
- Last Seen: Search includes live results, which means your seat is guaranteed to be there
- Program: The frequent flyer program you want to use to book
- Custom Alerts
Set and receive notifications when award seats open up for specific routes or cabins or time range, helping you plan trips without constantly checking availability. Pro version allows you to set up to a year in advance, and to get notified via SMS (text message).
- First Class Award Finders / Advanced Premium Cabin Tools
Discover availability for high-demand seats, such as Qatar Airways Qsuites, ANA first class, Japan Airlines first class, Delta Air Lines Delta One and Lufthansa first class. This feature is especially useful for premium cabin awards, which are ideal for every walk of families looking to travel in comfort – whether it’s a last-minute trip or a meticulously planned dream vacation.
How Seats.aero Helped Me Plan a Family Trip (Joining Their Family of Four)
My sister and her family just let me know she’s planning a spontaneous trip to Japan for the cherry blossom season in April. I set up an alert in Seats.aero for my preferred dates and airline programs (Air Canada Aeroplan and United Airlines MileagePlus). On January 24th, I received a notification about award seats availability, booked them within minutes, and saved hours of searching. That trip set the tone for how I approach award travel now: with confidence, efficiency and less stress.
My Tips For Families To Leverage Seats.aero
As always I love making every post into your actionable tips:
- Stay Flexible: Being open to alternate routes or travel dates increases your chances of finding award availability.
- Use Alerts Strategically: Set alerts for premium cabins, like Qatar Airways Qsuites or ANA first class, to be notified before they’re gone.
- Learn Transfer Partners: Knowing how points transfer between programs is essential for securing flights.
- Start with Seats.aero: Use the tool to narrow your options, then finalize your booking with the appropriate frequent flyer program.
Final Thoughts
If you’re tired of endless searches and missed opportunities, Seats.aero is the ultimate award travel assistant for families. With its intuitive features, customizable alerts, and support for premium cabin awards, this tool helps you:
- Save time and effort while finding award availability.
- Enjoy more comfortable travel experiences in premium cabins.
- Unlock the full potential of your points and miles.
Whether you’re planning a bucket-list trip to Asia or a last-minute family getaway, Seats.aero simplifies the process and brings your travel goals within reach. Ready to take your family’s award travel to the next level? Sign up for Seats.aero today and start exploring a world of possibilities!
