How I Use This Free Tool To Find the Best Business Class Deals With Miles

Updated: October 15, 2024, 8:52am CDT

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How Points Path Works
How I Use Points Path To Find Partner Award Availability

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Most airlines use dynamic pricing for award tickets, so the miles required for a flight can fluctuate greatly. There could be some patterns — as flights on Mondays and Sundays are generally more expensive — though award rates remain inconsistent based on demand and other factors.

This is why Points Path, a free browser extension, has become an invaluable tool for me. It works with Google Flights to display the mileage rate next to the cash price of a given flight. What’s more, I love to use this tool to find business class tickets using my airline miles — here’s how I do it.

How Points Path Works

Points Path is a relatively new addition to the points and miles landscape, as it was officially launched in early 2024. This browser extension can be downloaded for free for Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. (At the time of writing, Points Path is unavailable on Safari, though that could change soon.)

Points Path integrates seamlessly with Google Flights to “perform an identical search with each of its covered airlines, but requests prices in points or miles instead of cash,” according to its website. For instance, if I were to look up a flight from New York (JFK) to Miami (MIA), various results would populate in cash or miles.

Points Path New York Miami — Although the service is free, you need to be logged in to your Points Path account to access award searches beyond 60 days. Image Credit: Google Flights

Points Path assigns its own mileage valuations, which are updated frequently. For example, the company values Delta SkyMiles at 1.1 cents apiece. Therefore, using miles at or above this valuation for a flight, after accounting for the taxes and fees, would be considered a good deal by its standards.

How I Use Points Path To Find Partner Award Availability

That said, not all frequent flyer programs are compatible with Points Path. Currently, you can perform award searches on flights booked via American Airlines AAdvantage, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, United Airlines MileagePlus, and Air Canada Aeroplan.

Based on this list, you may think that Points Path is mostly useful for finding domestic flights. While that’s the main reason I love it, I actually use Points Path to hunt down partner award space, too.

For example, American Airlines AAdvantage is an excellent program for booking Oneworld tickets, such as business class flights on Japan AIrlines. However, it’s incredibly difficult to find award space for these flights to Tokyo, especially for a lie-flat seat.

That said, American tends to open up award space for Japan Airlines roughly 330 days in advance. By planning my travel far in advance and looking up the fares on Google Flights, I can see award availability in real time — and a few possible bookings.

Points Path Japan Airlines — American Airlines has some of the best partner award rates. Image Credit: Google Flights

Alternatively, let’s say that I want to plan a trip to Europe sometime in July 2025 but am flexible on dates and a destination, as my goal is to find a business class fare. I can look up flights from New York City to various cities in Europe on Google Flights, then toggle the dates until I find the best possible award rates with Points Path.

One option I found would be to fly from New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) for just 57,500 AAdvantage miles and $122 in taxes and fees, which pales in comparison to paying cash, which would be over $1,600.

Points Path Iberia — If you want to book cheap flights to Europe, now’s the time to book. Image Credit: Google Flights

I could also book a ticket to Germany on Condor Airlines, a German leisure carrier, by redeeming Alaska Airlines miles.

Points Path Condor Airlines — Reasonable award rates thanks to Alaska Airlines. Image Credit: Google Flights

Hot Tip:

We always recommend using a travel credit card to pay for your airfare, whether it’s just the taxes and fees or the full fare. This way, you can earn upward of 5 miles per $1 spent, bringing you closer to your next award flight.

Final Thoughts

Since I usually begin my flight searches on Google Flights, Points Path has been an excellent tool for redeeming my points and miles. It works like an award search calculator, simplifying the process by automatically finding the equivalent pricing in miles — even on partner airlines.