Qantas has launched a free engine to search for award tickets: it's sort of like SeatSpy, but it can also come in very handy for people flying oneworld

Those who seek prize tickets knows it well: the problem is not just getting the points, but being able to find the right places without wasting hours between incomprehensible calendars, slow sites and partial results. That's why in the last few hours a new tool signed Qantas which, at least as an idea, is very reminiscent of SeatSpy: a simple, free and immediate engine for locating award flight availability.

The most interesting thing is that you don't even need to log in. Open the tool, choose starting area, destination, number of passengers and class of travel, and within seconds you get a very broad overview of the options available. And it is this simplicity that makes it attractive even to those who do not actually accumulate Qantas points.

Why this tool may also be of interest to TFC readers

The issue is not so much Qantas itself, but coverage. The Australian program has a very extensive network of partner companies, between oneworld carriers and other external agreements, and his list includes names such as British Airways, Finnair, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qatar partner oneworld, but also Emirates, Air France and KLM. Translated: even if you don't then book with Qantas Points, this tool can be a very clever way to get a quick idea of where there is award availability.

For those looking for places with Emirates, Qatar Airways or other companies connected to the oneworld ecosystem, it can become an excellent starting point. It is not the ultimate engine and does not replace final verification on the official sites of individual loyalty programs, but as a scouting tool it is really handy.

What is good for

The real strength is all in the user experience. This is not the classic tool built for geeks: it is designed to be intuitive. Instead of searching route by route, day by day, you can reason by geographical macro-areas and quickly visualize where availability is concentrated. If you're thinking about an award trip for August or Christmas, it's one of those tools that lets you know quickly whether you're looking at a mission impossible or a concrete booking.

Plus, just because the interface is so simple, it can help even the less experienced do what I usually always recommend: first you look at where there is room, then you decide how to issue it. This is the correct approach when playing with points, especially if you don't want to fixate on one course and then find out that there is not even a free award spot.

This tool makes sense in a very specific situation: when you want to make a exploratory research. You don't know what program you're going to use yet, you don't want to go crazy opening ten different sites, and you need a quick overview of whether there's a real chance of finding a place in business or first. In that case it works great.

The limits to know before getting too excited

That said, it is not all gold. The first limitation is very concrete: you can't list the results by company. And this weighs in. If you're looking for a flight to book with Avios, for example, seeing so much Emirates availability pop up can be unhelpful. If, on the other hand, you're reasoning with other programs, the problem flips. Bottom line, tool is excellent for searching, but much less accurate when you want to filter based on the program with which you will actually spend your points.

Second important aspect: the data is not live. Precisely because the system must show availability over many routes and wide time windows, the data may not be updated by the second. Ne results appears the time reference of the last update, and it is a useful detail to keep an eye on. It should therefore be considered for what it is: a radar, not a definitive confirmation.

Then there is a third key clarification: Miles claimed and fees shown refer to Qantas Points. And that means they should not be taken as absolute truth if you then plan to issue with Avios, with another oneworld partner or with different programs. The same flight can have very different prices depending on the program used for booking.

Last but not least, being designed for Aussies, you can't look for Emirates' MXP/JFK, because flights leave from all over the world but to only the East. Translated no FCO/JFK with American or MAD/SCL with Iberia.

No seats on the Rome/Perth

In recent days, we have written about how Qantas has Added many frequencies on the direct Rome/Australia route, but the bad news, at least according to this tool, is that there is not the slightest trace of award tickets on the flight that will connect Fiumicino with Perth on a daily basis.

In conclusion

Is it worth trying? Yes, it absolutely is. Not because it is perfect, but because it is free, simple and surprisingly useful. For those with Qantas points it is clearly even more attractive, but also for those seeking award availability with Emirates, Qatar Airways and other partners oneworld can become a concrete ally.

In a world where so many good tools are fee-based, having such an engine accessible to everyone is a small breakthrough. It won't work miracles, it won't replace experience, and it won't avoid final verification. It can, however, greatly reduce the time wasted in the most tedious phase of all: Figuring out whether a prize ticket really exists or not.