Seats.aero vs PointsYeah: Which Award Search Tool to Use
PointsYeah has the stronger free tier and searches hotels, while Seats.aero offers deeper flight search once you pay. Neither tells you which points balance should fund the award.
We check the math and timestamp it. You confirm the seat at booking. We never show live award availability.
Key takeaways
- PointsYeah is the better free option because it searches four days at once and includes four flight alerts and four hotel alerts.
- Seats.aero PRO is the deeper paid flight search because it includes a full year of results, live search, and SMS and push alerts.
- PointsYeah searches hotel awards as well as flights, while Seats.aero focuses on flights.
- Neither Seats.aero nor PointsYeah determines which transferable points balance should pay for an award.
- Confirm the seat with the loyalty program before transferring points because transfers are usually irreversible.
What is the difference between Seats.aero and PointsYeah?
PointsYeah is better for free searches and hotel awards, while Seats.aero is better for deeper paid flight searches when you already know the route.
Seats.aero describes its scope as: "Search award flight availability across 20+ airline mileage programs" Its results use a dense, filterable table that works best when your origin and destination are already clear.
PointsYeah searches both flights and hotels. Its free tier has a published four-day search span and defined alert limits. The public pages we read did not state how many mileage programs it searches, so there is no reliable program-count comparison.
Seats.aero and PointsYeah are each better than AwardMath for finding award space because AwardMath does not show live seat availability at all. AwardMath tells you which of your points balances can fund an award and what using those points costs you.
Which one is better if you don't want to pay?
PointsYeah is the stronger free tier because its public limits are useful and specific.
PointsYeah calls itself "Free Award Flight Search for Points & Miles" and says: "Free members can: Search up to 4 days at a time, Set up to 4 flight alerts, Set up to 4 hotel alerts." Those limits give you enough room to check nearby dates and monitor both flight and hotel awards without subscribing.
Seats.aero also costs $0 to start, but the free plan only promises a shortened results window. We could not verify the exact window from Seats.aero's own public pages. If four-day searches and a small set of alerts cover your trip, start with PointsYeah.
How do Seats.aero and PointsYeah compare feature by feature?
Seats.aero provides the broader paid flight-search window, while PointsYeah covers more award types and gives free users clearer limits.
| Feature | Seats.aero | PointsYeah |
|---|---|---|
| Award types | Flights | Flights and hotels |
| Free search span | Shortened window | Up to four days |
| Paid search span | Full year, live search | 2×2 airports, eight days |
| Paid alert tools | SMS and push alerts | More flight and hotel alerts |
PointsYeah describes Premium this way: "Free gives you access to powerful search tools and core filters. Premium unlocks more flexibility: Compare up to 2 departure airports, 2 arrival airports, and 8 days at a time all in one search; More flight and hotel alerts; Advanced filters (set your own points value)"
Seats.aero is faster to work through when you have a specific flight route and want a dense results table. PointsYeah is the better fit when you need hotel awards or want to compare several nearby airports without paying.
What do Seats.aero and PointsYeah cost?
Both tools have a $0 plan, but only Seats.aero published a paid price on the pages we could verify in August 2026.
Seats.aero PRO costs $9.99 per month. Its page says: "Support the development of seats.aero by signing up for a PRO account, $9.99/month for access to the full year of results, live search, SMS/push alerts, and more!" We could not verify annual pricing.
PointsYeah Free costs $0 and includes searches of up to four days, four flight alerts, and four hotel alerts. PointsYeah did not publish its Premium price on the public pages we could read. Premium expands searches to two departure airports, two arrival airports, and eight days, while adding more alerts and custom points values.
What can neither Seats.aero nor PointsYeah do?
Neither tool solves the funding decision: which of your transferable balances can reach the program and what those points cost you.
An available award may sit in a program you cannot fund directly. You may also have several possible transfer paths with different points costs. Availability search finds the seat. It does not choose among your Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or Wells Fargo balances.
AwardMath handles that separate calculation:
| Question | What AwardMath calculates |
|---|---|
| Can my balance fund it? | Eligible transfer paths |
| Which balance should I use? | Comparable points cost |
| Is route pricing covered? | Partial, dated observations |
| What if pricing is missing? | Add a route watch |
As of August 19, 2026, AwardMath's live graph contains 119 transfer pairs across six issuers. Of those, 90 are corroborated, two are verified on an issuer's own page, and 27 remain unverified. It also contains 453 dated award-price observations.
Route pricing is partial. If AwardMath lacks enough evidence for a route, it says so and offers a watch instead. AwardMath is free, has no subscription or paid tier, and uses no affiliate links. A voluntary contribution is requested after a plan lands, but it is never required.
How do you use them together with your points balances?
Use Seats.aero or PointsYeah to find the award, then use AwardMath to determine whether your balances can fund it.
Start with PointsYeah if you want a free search, need hotel awards, or want to check several nearby dates. Use Seats.aero PRO when a full year of flight results, live search, and SMS or push alerts justify $9.99 per month.
Once you find a candidate flight, confirm the seat and final award price directly with the loyalty program. Then check the transfer path and points cost in AwardMath. Do not move points until the airline confirms the space because transfers are usually irreversible. We verify the funding math. You confirm the seat.
When were these facts checked?
Every competitor fact and price here was checked on August 19, 2026.
We re-check prices monthly and features quarterly. The unresolved items are Seats.aero's exact free search window and annual pricing, plus PointsYeah's Premium price and mileage-program count. Check the vendor pages before paying because prices and plan limits can change between reviews.
Before you move any points
- Every number here carries the date we checked it. That is what we saw that day, not a promise it still holds.
- We do not show live seat availability. Award space moves by the minute, so check it in the program you will book with.
- Before you transfer anything, confirm the flight, cabin, seat count and final cash price with the program issuing the ticket. Transfers between programs are one-way.
Sources we read
Prices, ratios and promotions move. Where a figure carries a date, that date is when we observed it, not a promise that it still holds.