Short answer — the current top award-flight search tools (mix of real-time search engines, pro/industry tools, and helpful calculators) are:

1. Point.Me — best all-around, user-friendly paid engine for transferable points and partner redemptions. Great for beginners: real-time searches across many programs, transfer guidance and step‑by‑step booking instructions; standard plan runs about $129/yr (or monthly tiers). (Point.Me)

2. Roame.travel — fast, easy-to-use award search with visual “SkyView” discovery, flexible-date/region searching and alerts; competitively priced (free limited tier, paid ~ $110/yr). Good when you want quick discovery across multiple programs. (thewaystowealth.com)

3. AwardTool / PointsYeah / Seats.aero (group of strong competitors) — these engines often turn up results other tools miss, offer alerts and multi‑airport/calendar views, and are generally cheaper than some competitors. Results and UX vary by route so pros often subscribe to 2–3. (AwardWallet.com)

4. KVS Tool — a professional-level availability engine used by frequent‑flyer hackers and agents. Very powerful (segment-by-segment award availability, wide alliance coverage, advanced “power search”), but technical and aimed at experienced users; typically requires membership/paid access. (kvstool.com)

5. ExpertFlyer (and similar alert/availability services) — long-standing service for award/upgrade alerts, seat maps and fare class info. Coverage has changed over time for some airlines, so check current supported carriers before relying on it. (Reddit.com)

6. AwardHacker (and award-chart calculators) — useful quick calculator to compare theoretical prices across programs, but it’s NOT a live‑seat search engine and is less useful now that many airlines use dynamic award pricing. Use it for planning/learning, not final booking. (blog.AwardFares.com)

Why you’ll often want more than one tool

• No single engine returns every award seat; different tools scrape different airlines/systems and show different results. Review multiple search engines and always verify availability on the airline’s website before transferring points. (AwardWallet.com)

Quick pick by use-case

• Beginner / transferable points user: Point.Me (easy transfer guidance + booking steps). (Point.Me)
• Fast discovery + calendar/region searches: Roame.travel or PointsYeah. (thewaystowealth.com)
• Power users / pro award hackers: KVS Tool + ExpertFlyer (alerts + deep availability searches). (kvstool.com)
• Compare award charts & program costs (not live): AwardHacker. (blog.AwardFares.com)

Practical tips

• Always confirm results directly with the airline before transferring points or paying — award engines can show stale or “phantom” availability. (WSJ.com)
• If you care about getting alerts when space opens, prioritize tools that offer alerting (many do; Point.Me’s alerting historically limited so check current tiers). (nerdwallet.com)
• For complex multi-carrier routings, use a combination: an aggregator (Point.Me / Roame) to find options, then KVS/ExpertFlyer or airline sites to verify and lock the booking. (kvstool.com)

If you want, I can:

• recommend 2–3 tools to try first based on the airline program(s) or route(s) you use most, or
• run a sample comparison for a route/date you care about (I’ll search multiple engines and show results to compare).