Jul 19, 2021, 9:34 pm
Last edit by: Adam Smith
SADLY, AS OF OCTOBER 5, THIS TOOL HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN INDEFINITELY AND LIKELY PERMANENTLY, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS POST.
Other cowtools remain available at cowtool.com
ACCESS RULES ARE CLEARLY DESCRIBED BELOW. READ THEM. DO NOT POST OR PM ADAM SMITH ABOUT ACCESS, OR YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM EVER GETTING ACCESS TO THE TOOL.
[PSA from forum moderator Adam Smith: since it doesn't seem obvious to everyone, please note that the cowtool was created by cowtool. He has invested hundreds of hours in creating this very useful tool and making it available to the FT community. I, Adam Smith, have had nothing to do with creation of the cowtool. I can do nothing to get you access to the cowtool. Please do not ask me to give you access - I can't and won't, and will suggest that you be blocked from the tool for this waste of time, and lack of appreciation for cowtool's efforts, as described in more detail in this post. Also note that, other than this section and a clearly indicated moderator note below, the author of this wiki, writing in first person, is canadiancow, on behalf of [cowtool].
Please do not PM other Flyertalk users to try and gain access to cowtool, for the same reasons Adam's laid out above. - YOWgary
https://acrewardsearcher.cowtool.com/
Due to abuse, you must now first register (see https://www.cowtool.com, and read the rest of this wiki) and sign in to use it. All access is logged (not what you're searching, but the complexity of the searches, and the number of searches). Abusers will be throttled or terminated. Continued abuse will lead to a more involved registration process, up to and including personal vetting by cowtool.
Access to this cowtool for new users is temporarily disabled due to anticipated ("I'm going to make a big blog post") publicity and actual increases in usage. This is not free for me, and I am concerned what will happen if all the US major blogs pick it up.
If anyone "new" needs an account here, as long as you have 25 posts and your account is at least 3 months old, please register for a cowtool account, and then PM me (please include your email address) and I'll set you up with reward search access.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO INCLUDE ANYTHING IN THE PM OTHER THAN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. The PM interface shows me your posts and join date. A lot of people have explicitly included that information. It's unnecessary. I also don't need a paragraph of text, whether it's a please to bend the rules, or immense thanks. My life is immensely easier if the subject is "cowtool access" and the message is "[email protected]". I don't read the messages anyway.
However, I will read your posts, so don't spam FT with crap please. If you have a genuine interest in travel, points, and so on, it really isn't hard to make 25 contributive posts to FlyerTalk and be eligible for access. If you do not meet this threshold, I am not making an exception for you. Not because you live in SFO like me, not because you're really excited, and not because of any personal issues. In fact, if you PM me without meeting the requirements, you will be blocked from ever getting access. Moderator note: the rules for access are very clear. Please don't post in this thread, or anywhere else, asking how you can get access, offering to pay for access, or asking for the access rules to be changed. Those posts will be deleted.
I do not process PMs instantly. My goal is at least once per week, so it may take a few days.
Additionally, any Prince of Travel Platinum members may contact canadiancow over POT Discord for access.
Alerts
Basic price alerts were currently in available to all registered users. They have been turned off due to high load, until the system can be re-written to accommodate them.
Full search/availability alerts are in early alpha.
Each account is limited to 4 alerts* for now.
A price alert is set on a specific itinerary that includes AC metal (this may be expanded as we begin to see EK dynamic pricing). The general idea is that you making a booking at price X, set an alert, and then if the price drops, you'll get an email, and can rebook the itinerary at a lower price and cancel the old, more expensive, booking. This really only works well if you're SE or booked a fare with no cancellation fee. All results with AC flights will show a "Price alert" link on the right. Clicking this will add one. You can view all your alerts in the alerts section, where you can delete them, or select two one-way alerts to merge into a round-trip alert, which will determine the current round-trip price and reset the alert level (since round-trip pricing is not the sum of the two one-ways).
If you have at least 2500 FT posts and would like access to the price alert beta, send me a PM including the email you used to sign up for cowtool. There are currently no exceptions on the post count restriction. I am trying to slowly roll this out, and need an easy way to expand access, ideally to people who have contributed to FT a lot.
* Due to the fact that a round-trip alert requires making and then merging two alerts, the technical limit is 5, but I'm advertising it as 4.
Having Trouble? Hold "shift" and click the refresh button.
Feature Requests:
Bugs:
Other cowtools remain available at cowtool.com
https://acrewardsearcher.cowtool.com/
Due to abuse, you must now first register (see https://www.cowtool.com, and read the rest of this wiki) and sign in to use it. All access is logged (not what you're searching, but the complexity of the searches, and the number of searches). Abusers will be throttled or terminated. Continued abuse will lead to a more involved registration process, up to and including personal vetting by cowtool.
Access to this cowtool for new users is temporarily disabled due to anticipated ("I'm going to make a big blog post") publicity and actual increases in usage. This is not free for me, and I am concerned what will happen if all the US major blogs pick it up.
If anyone "new" needs an account here, as long as you have 25 posts and your account is at least 3 months old, please register for a cowtool account, and then PM me (please include your email address) and I'll set you up with reward search access.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO INCLUDE ANYTHING IN THE PM OTHER THAN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. The PM interface shows me your posts and join date. A lot of people have explicitly included that information. It's unnecessary. I also don't need a paragraph of text, whether it's a please to bend the rules, or immense thanks. My life is immensely easier if the subject is "cowtool access" and the message is "[email protected]". I don't read the messages anyway.
However, I will read your posts, so don't spam FT with crap please. If you have a genuine interest in travel, points, and so on, it really isn't hard to make 25 contributive posts to FlyerTalk and be eligible for access. If you do not meet this threshold, I am not making an exception for you. Not because you live in SFO like me, not because you're really excited, and not because of any personal issues. In fact, if you PM me without meeting the requirements, you will be blocked from ever getting access. Moderator note: the rules for access are very clear. Please don't post in this thread, or anywhere else, asking how you can get access, offering to pay for access, or asking for the access rules to be changed. Those posts will be deleted.
I do not process PMs instantly. My goal is at least once per week, so it may take a few days.
Additionally, any Prince of Travel Platinum members may contact canadiancow over POT Discord for access.
Alerts
Basic price alerts were currently in available to all registered users. They have been turned off due to high load, until the system can be re-written to accommodate them.
Full search/availability alerts are in early alpha.
Each account is limited to 4 alerts* for now.
A price alert is set on a specific itinerary that includes AC metal (this may be expanded as we begin to see EK dynamic pricing). The general idea is that you making a booking at price X, set an alert, and then if the price drops, you'll get an email, and can rebook the itinerary at a lower price and cancel the old, more expensive, booking. This really only works well if you're SE or booked a fare with no cancellation fee. All results with AC flights will show a "Price alert" link on the right. Clicking this will add one. You can view all your alerts in the alerts section, where you can delete them, or select two one-way alerts to merge into a round-trip alert, which will determine the current round-trip price and reset the alert level (since round-trip pricing is not the sum of the two one-ways).
If you have at least 2500 FT posts and would like access to the price alert beta, send me a PM including the email you used to sign up for cowtool. There are currently no exceptions on the post count restriction. I am trying to slowly roll this out, and need an easy way to expand access, ideally to people who have contributed to FT a lot.
* Due to the fact that a round-trip alert requires making and then merging two alerts, the technical limit is 5, but I'm advertising it as 4.
Having Trouble? Hold "shift" and click the refresh button.
Feature Requests:
Allowing alerting by brandFinish and release alerts"Copy into round-trip alert" instead of "merge into" in case you want bothOption to launch AC.com in new tab should be saved to your accountShow more information about stops, such as the timeSave filters to profileHistorical pricesColored background gradiated by %age of mixed cabin. Solid green if 100%, fading to white as percentage drops...Option to enable a priority reward discountLie-flat filter (maybe with lie-flat % filter as well?) - Unsure if this data is easily accessible+/- 1 or 2 days dropdown if entering a single value for date at top, grayed out if entering more than one date or rangeCities/Aircraft/Airlines should allow an OR condition in addition to the default/current AND
Annoying error dialog pops up far too regularly related to JS/Cognito crap
[SHUT DOWN] Unofficial Advanced AC Reward Search Tool (cowtool)
Jun 27, 2022, 3:44 pm
#421
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: aeroplan,aaadvantage
Posts: 472
thank you for a wonderful portal
i am trying to book
yyz-vie 8/20
mia-muc 8/26
muc-jnb 9/18
jnb-blq or jnb-muc 10/4
muc-mia 10/14
you saved me hours
i am trying to book
yyz-vie 8/20
mia-muc 8/26
muc-jnb 9/18
jnb-blq or jnb-muc 10/4
muc-mia 10/14
you saved me hours
Jul 2, 2022, 2:03 pm
#422
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,328
I just added a "Swap" button for origins/destinations.
I'm working on the seats filter now. I'll update this post when that's done.
Edit: That's done.
I'm working on the seats filter now. I'll update this post when that's done.
Edit: That's done.
Last edited by canadiancow; Jul 2, 2022 at 2:36 pm
Jul 3, 2022, 7:10 am
#423
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
For the seats filter, I assume it's the "Minimum passengers" part? vs. the one above Origins " Passengers "?
it may be hard to understand without some description or example beside it though ... but probably not applicable to most
I assume it means searching for say 4 pax, and only want say minimum of 4 available seats (=it won't show options with 1-3 seat?). Sorry I forgot the original reply's context
Jul 3, 2022, 11:58 am
#424
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: USA
Programs: AC SE100K, F9 100k, NK Gold, UA *S, Hyatt Glob, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 5,194
would the 'minimum passengers be easier to understand if the title was changed to 'hide results with less than this # of passengers' ?
Like the other filters, it is best used after an initial search. It will save folks like me from re-searching to expand, or re-searching to narrow. I may want 3 tickets, which never show, but 2J1Y may be available on a short connecting flight, so it is helpful to see it.
Last edited by expert7700; Jul 3, 2022 at 1:51 pm
Jul 4, 2022, 12:46 pm
#425
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,328
It seems AC has tweaked the deltas between Standard/Flex/Latitude, which is really screwing with my price alerts for my Latitude bookings. The Standard price has dropped several times, but the Latitude price has gone up.
So I think I'll have to prioritize filtering (and alerting) by brand price, rather than just by cabin price.
So I think I'll have to prioritize filtering (and alerting) by brand price, rather than just by cabin price.
Jul 4, 2022, 6:36 pm
#426
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,328
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
Jul 4, 2022, 6:42 pm
#427
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,399
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
Jul 4, 2022, 6:43 pm
#428
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: USA
Programs: AC SE100K, F9 100k, NK Gold, UA *S, Hyatt Glob, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 5,194
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
//but, hey, 18.5 years on FT
Jul 4, 2022, 6:58 pm
#429
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,328
Jul 4, 2022, 8:01 pm
#430
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
but wow, I've been here 15 years? time flys by for sure, and it's amazing Aeroplan still remains the BEST FFP (relatively) to use, thank god
Days of 100K (?) Mini-RTW J to 150K, to now 100K just for YYZ-Asia r/t in Y
-----------
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,706
Jul 4, 2022, 10:27 pm
#431
Join Date: Jan 2001
Programs: AC SEMM
Posts: 724
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
Jul 4, 2022, 11:13 pm
#432
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,328
I'm just want to slowly ramp up a group of people I don't "know".
The goal is to make it open to everyone.
The goal is to make it open to everyone.
Jul 4, 2022, 11:42 pm
#433
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,289
This tool saved me 7,500 pts per person for a Latitude reward round trip, all AC metal vs. searching for the same flights on AC.com. Ended up booking two one ways via the tool links.
YVR-LHR = 69.2k via tool vs. 70k via AC.com
DXB-YYZ-YVR = 108.3k via tool vs. 115k via AC.com
I'm also expecting 25% back with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve promo.
Values above are after sign in and status/credit card discounts. The website seems to discount the price shown, but I'm not sure why there is a discrepancy with the original price in the first place.
YVR-LHR = 69.2k via tool vs. 70k via AC.com
DXB-YYZ-YVR = 108.3k via tool vs. 115k via AC.com
I'm also expecting 25% back with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve promo.
Values above are after sign in and status/credit card discounts. The website seems to discount the price shown, but I'm not sure why there is a discrepancy with the original price in the first place.
Jul 5, 2022, 1:12 am
#434
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
This tool saved me 7,500 pts per person for a Latitude reward round trip, all AC metal vs. searching for the same flights on AC.com. Ended up booking two one ways via the tool links.
YVR-LHR = 69.2k via tool vs. 70k via AC.com
DXB-YYZ-YVR = 108.3k via tool vs. 115k via AC.com
I'm also expecting 25% back with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve promo.
Values above are after sign in and status/credit card discounts. The website seems to discount the price shown, but I'm not sure why there is a discrepancy with the original price in the first place.
YVR-LHR = 69.2k via tool vs. 70k via AC.com
DXB-YYZ-YVR = 108.3k via tool vs. 115k via AC.com
I'm also expecting 25% back with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve promo.
Values above are after sign in and status/credit card discounts. The website seems to discount the price shown, but I'm not sure why there is a discrepancy with the original price in the first place.
This tool helped filtering nonstop easy for sure
FYI: Not much discounts after login (P4 25K vs. me P1 as TD Aeroplan CC holder) for segment involving AC (YYZ-YVR)
Jul 5, 2022, 6:57 am
#435
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: YHZ
Programs: AC SE100K, AC 1MM, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold,Hertz something or other, Sandals Sapphire, etc
Posts: 1,163
I'm going to start opening up price alerts to a broader group of people soon. I think for now, it will be limited to FTers with at least 5k posts. As time goes on, I will lower that threshold. But my main goal is to prevent people from creating dozens of accounts to get around whatever limits I set, so the entry barrier can't be too low.
At my posting rate (pause, pulls up excel to do math) it will be 26 years before I get access...