Here’s a practical, categorized list of the best platforms and tools for finding and booking award flights, with short notes on what each is best for and a few quick tips.

Airline websites (best for booking & lowest risk)

• United MileagePlus (united.com) — Excellent search, partner availability, no fuel surcharges on many partners.
• Delta SkyMiles (delta.com) — Good for Delta inventory; dynamic pricing means prices vary.
• American AAdvantage (aa.com) — Good for most Oneworld awards and AA inventory.
• British Airways Avios (britishairways.com) — Great for short-haul economy via distance-based pricing; collects Avios from partners.
• Air Canada Aeroplan (aircanada.com) — Powerful multi-carrier search and flexible stopovers.
• ANA, Singapore, Qantas, Alaska, Korean Air, etc. — Use the specific carrier sites when you want to ticket directly with that program or use their unique rules.

Pros: booking directly with the program reduces risk, easier changes/refunds; shows full carrier inventory.
Cons: each site shows only that program’s view of availability and partner awards can be hard to parse.

Credit-card & travel portals (easy cash+points or point bookings)

• Amex Travel (amextravel.com) — Book with Membership Rewards; sometimes offers a value option for flying with points.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal (travel.chase.com) — Redeem Chase points for travel; often easier than award routing rules.
• Capital One Travel (travel.capitalone.com) — Use Capital One miles or cash.
• Airline co-branded credit card portals (e.g., United/Delta/AA portals) — Often let you pay cash + points.

Pros: simple, one-stop redemption; can combine cash + points.
Cons: often worse value than booking through airline award charts/transfers.

Search engines & award tools (best for finding partner availability and complex routings)

• Point.Me — Powerful for complex itineraries and searching partner space across alliances; good for convoluted multi-carrier routes.
• AwardHacker — Quick idea of required miles across programs for a route (estimates, good to compare).
• Juicy Miles — Paid itinerary-finding and booking service (they can search partners and book).
• ExpertFlyer — Seat alerts and award inventory search; useful for monitoring and alerts.
• AwardWallet — Tracks your miles and alerts you to expiring miles or award changes.

Pros: aggregate partner availability, find hidden routings, set alerts.
Cons: some features are paid/subscription.

Meta-search and OTAs that support award/points (limited)

• Google Flights — Great for routing and fare discovery (not for award search but to identify routes).
• ITA Matrix (matrix.itasoftware.com) — Advanced route searches; useful for planning — not for booking.
• Some OTAs allow points transfers or point bookings via card portals (see above).

Programs & transfer hubs to prioritize

• Transferrable points programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles — these can move to many airline partners, often the quickest way to access awards.
• Hotel loyalty programs with airline transfer partners (e.g., Marriott Bonvoy) — sometimes useful for top‑ups.

Quick practical tips

• Check the airline program you’ll use to redeem first — award rules (stopovers, routing) vary widely.
• Use airline sites to ticket when possible; use aggregator tools to find availability and then book on the program site.
• For multi-carrier/complex itineraries, use Point.Me or Juicy Miles to find options, then either book yourself or use their booking service.
• Monitor award space with alerts (ExpertFlyer, AwardWallet) — availability changes frequently.
• Be aware of fees (carrier-imposed surcharges, close-in booking fees, change/cancel fees).
• Consider partner search order: sometimes a partner program shows availability that the carrier’s own site doesn’t expose — try searching allied programs (e.g., searching Aeroplan, ANA, British Airways for Star Alliance or Oneworld routes).
• Always check transfer times for points programs before transferring (transfers are often irreversible).

If you’d like, tell me:

• the route or region you want to book, and which points/miles you have, and I’ll suggest the best programs and a step-by-step search plan (I can also run searches if you want me to look up current availability).