Short answer: use a mix of real‑time award-search engines, availability/alert tools, and account‑tracking services. Top tools frequent flyers use to find the cheapest award tickets (what they do, cost/limits, and when to use them):

• Point.me — real‑time cross‑program award search + step‑by‑step booking instructions; good for beginners and transferable‑points users. Paid plans (standard ≈ $12/month or $129/yr) and a concierge option. Works across many loyalty programs but can be slower and has some feature limits (single‑day, single‑airport in some cases). (connect.point.me)

• Seats.aero — fast, power‑user award search and alerts (good for finding specific premium‑cabin saver seats); free tier with limited window, paid ≈ $9.99/month or $99.99/yr for extended features and unlimited alerts. Excellent for route‑level stats and near‑real‑time alerts. (forbes.com)

• AwardFares (and AwardFares Alerts) — multiplatform real‑time award searches, multi‑date/airports and flexible alerts; tiered subscriptions with real‑time refresh and advanced alerts. Strong for broader multi‑program comparisons and monitoring. (awardfares.com)

• PointsYeah — beginner‑friendly, very fast multi‑day award search and hotel award support; free tier and a reasonably priced premium (annual ≈ $89–$100). Good if you want quick multi‑day comparisons across popular programs. (nerdwallet.com)

• SeatSpy — focused on Avios/BA/partner availability and “where can I go” discovery; inexpensive tiers with instant/higher‑frequency alerts for paid members (pricing in the $3–$9/month range depending on tier). Great for British Airways/Avios users. (seatspy.com)

• AwardHacker (and similar award‑chart comparison sites) — not a live availability tool but extremely useful to compare which programs should cost the fewest miles for a given route (helps decide where to transfer points). Use it for strategy, then check live availability. (blog.awardfares.com)

• ExpertFlyer — airline fare‑class and award/upgrade availability checks plus seat maps and alerts; long‑standing tool for detailed fare‑bucket work (some airlines’ award buckets may not be fully supported, so check supported carriers). Paid tiers available. (expertflyer.com)

• AwardWallet — tracks balances, expirations and (with “Balance Watch”) alerts you when transferred points post; very handy so you don’t transfer points too early or miss a booking window. Not an availability search engine but critical operationally. (awardwallet.com)

Why use multiple tools (and a couple of cautions)

• No single tool covers every program and every kind of award (tools differ in programs searched, update frequency and UI). Cross‑checking is common practice. (wsj.com)
• “Phantom” availability can happen (a tool may show seats that aren’t actually bookable); always validate the result on the airline’s official website (or call the airline) before you transfer points. WSJ and reviews flag differences between tools and the need to double‑check. (wsj.com)

Practical workflow (how frequent flyers combine tools)

1. Use AwardHacker (or award‑chart/lookups) to identify which programs usually price the route cheapest. (blog.awardfares.com)
2. Run live searches on a dedicated award search engine (Point.me, Seats.aero, AwardFares, PointsYeah depending on route/program) and set alerts for routes/dates you want. (connect.point.me)
3. Monitor opening drops with seat‑specific tools (SeatSpy, ExpertFlyer) and set instant alerts for high‑demand routes. (seatspy.com)
4. Before transferring credit‑card points, confirm live availability on the airline site and ensure your points will post in time (use AwardWallet Balance Watch to know when transfers complete). (awardwallet.com)

Final tips

• Alerts beat constant manual checking — set well‑filtered alerts (cabin, date range, airports). (awardfares.com)
• If you value time over money, consider a concierge/booking service (Point.me and some others offer paid booking help). (connect.point.me)
• Keep an eye on subscription costs vs how often you book awards — many casual users are fine using free airline sites + one inexpensive tool; heavy bookers often justify multiple paid tools. (nerdwallet.com)

If you’d like, I can:

• Recommend 2–3 tools tailored to the specific airlines/programs you use most (e.g., Avios, United, AAdvantage, Aeroplan), or
• Show a short example workflow for searching a sample route (origin/destination and dates you give) and which tools to run first.