cdmoye

As a disclaimer, I've looked for this type of a site for a while, but I can't seem to find one. Is there a service (paid or free) that lets me type in an originating airport, a desired date range (flexible +-3 would be ideal), a carrier and a number of miles that will then present me with a list of possible destinations?

I sure can't find one

clacko

do you want the result to be destinations & dates that have availability?....

cdmoye

Obviously that would be ideal, but honestly, it doesn't have to. If it doesn't provide results with availability, I can still use it as suggestions for future planning.

clacko

KVS may have something to offer.....there is a thread in travel buzz new kvs availability tool, iirc.....

for point to point awards, a lot of info is on the carrier sites....things like rtw, circle, & distance based are hard to understand....what mi's do you have?

teege

I'd recommend awardnexus.com and milewise.com. I'd advise against KVS tool. Horrible customer service, bad application as well.

cdmoye

Do those tools (KVS, AwardNexus, MileWise) allow me to leave the destination open in a search? That seems to be the hard part. I'm really looking for something of the "I want to get 2 25,000-mile tickets from RDU to somewhere in mid-November. Where can I go?" sort.

Edit: In looking at them, I don't see the ability to list out destinations based on an origin, a date range and a mileage value. Am I missing something?

ckpeter

It sounds like there are two parts to your question. One is "what destinations have award availability?" and the other is "where can I go, given my mileage balance?"

If you use Award Nexus, there is a Search Builder tool that can currently search up to 20 destinations at a time. Do note that because of the intensity of such searches, you will need to upgrade to premium membership, otherwise, the free account has less allowance.

Since each mileage programs differ in the amount they charge, your other question is probably best answered by looking at your own program's award chart. If you have 25K, for example, you can do most destinations with the US. I know there are some tools out there that will price an itinerary for you, but I don't think there is a reverse-look up of mileage to possible destinations.

johndoe123

There is one out there that does the same thing with a neat map (I think yahoo runs it?) but it's based on cash payment not miles.

cdmoye

That's sort of the krux of the matter. Published award charts are not always what the actual award costs are. For example, if I want to travel November 10th-12th, 2011 on US Airways, in searching the airline website, I can't find any domestic destination originating from RDU for 25,000 miles roundtrip. In fact, I think 42,500 is the lowest I found.

What I'm truly after is something to satisify the impulsive flyer in me. The "Hey, November 11th is a holiday for my wife and it would be fun to take a 3-day weekend somewhere... I wonder where I can go on miles..."-type of impulse. There may not be an offering that hits that mark, but it would nice to know if there is.

FrequentFlyer9000

It sounds like someone doesn't understand how to use KVS.

ckpeter

US's award chart has multiple levels, and the 25K/RT is the low level, which can be hard to find sometimes. However, the site has a handy calendar feature with color-coding, so it should not be too difficult to get an idea. As an example, I found RDU-LGA low awards for 2 people available on Nov 10, returning Nov 12 (not saying that's a good trip to take, but there are low-level awards if you just look for them).

It sounds like you are only looking at US's web site. Have you tried looking for other Star Alliance partners? US may not have the low awards (25K roundtrip), but other Star Alliance partners, such as UA or CO, may have them.

In my experience, the most painful award redemption tends to be those where the travelers have no flexibility and have to travel on a certain route, on a certain date. Your situation, in contrast, is much more comfortable, since you sound like you are open to go anywhere. With that kind of flexibility and 15 minutes of time with the US calendar, it should not be hard to find a few destinations with low-level awards.

gravydavy

Sounds like the answer to the OP is, um "no".

x712xdamx

This site will tell you how much it costs IN MILES on pretty much all airlines to go from Point A to Point B. A Flyertalk member made it, and he posted about it a few months ago. Every now and then I pull it up to save time or to refresh my memory on what the route costs. Pretty handy, and hopefully helps the OP:

http://www.wandr.me/tools/Frequent_F...n_Options.aspx

diljs

awardnexus has a "test" tool that will do this