Seats.aero’s AI tool finds cheaper awards—then still misses

Seats.aero AI – A Points Guy test of Seats.aero’s new AI Assistant shows how it can surface lower points prices for flights and hotels in seconds—saving around $100 on one ticket and hundreds overall—while also falling short on day-trip realities like passport requirements fo

A few days free, a stash of transferable credit card points, and a simple brief: make it painless. The test wasn’t about whether AI could “help” with travel. It was about something more specific—whether it could actually steer a points-and-miles plan toward better value without hours of searching.

Seats.aero. which already markets itself as a fast way to find award availability across routes. dates. and loyalty programs. has now added a new AI Assistant. In the trial described by one frequent points-and-miles user. the payoff came quickly: the tool didn’t just suggest an itinerary idea. It combined redemption guidance with live award pricing, pushing toward cheaper mileage options on flights and strong-value points stays.

That combination is the feature’s core pitch. The AI Assistant can be “chatted” with like ChatGPT or Claude. but the travel-specific angle matters: it’s designed to connect what you can redeem with live availability and practical booking guidance. not just general advice. In this test. that meant short-listing destinations. pairing them with specific airline and hotel redemptions. and pointing toward which loyalty currency to use.

The AI Assistant can answer questions across several travel topics. including airline routes. alliances. transfer partners. loyalty programs. cabins operated. and live award availability. It also handles trip planning to determine who operates routes. provides information on cash costs of typical fares and airline product comparisons. and includes hotel live award searches with comparisons of cost. value. and quality through the sister site Rooms.aero. It can also answer general travel information like destination weather, airport tips, and itinerary activities.

Still, the tool draws some lines. It can’t provide currency conversion or general math. medical and legal advice. non-travel trivia. or live availability of loyalty programs that Seats.aero doesn’t support. The interface also has limits: there’s no ability to search previous chats. no branching into new chats. and no external links to click for more information.

The test focused on a tight geographic constraint and a clear flight requirement. The AI Assistant was given travel dates and asked to find a nonstop flight from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to a destination within 3 hours for a 3-night trip. with “great value” from points and miles for both flights and accommodation. The user also ruled out places already visited frequently—New York and Washington. D.C.—and listed which transferable points were available: Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Capital One miles. and Citi ThankYou Rewards points.

Instead of a broad list of possibilities, the AI Assistant short-listed Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Cleveland, Ohio. The user chose Buffalo—partly because the trip was aimed at Niagara Falls, something they’d “always wanted” to do.

From there, the AI Assistant’s value case got specific. It recommended flying from Boston to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) nonstop on American Airlines. The user already had AAdvantage miles via a Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer option. and they could book that flight for 8. 500 AAdvantage miles. But Seats.aero’s live award availability turned up a cheaper alternative: the same flight could be booked for 6. 000 Etihad Guest miles. which the user could transfer from Capital One or Citi at a 1:1 rate. The tradeoff was cost in cash terms—taxes and fees were slightly higher via Etihad Guest than AAdvantage ($19.20 versus $5.60)—but the mileage price difference still saved around $100 on the cash price of the same ticket.

For the hotel, the AI Assistant’s guidance leaned hard on points value. It recommended staying at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo for three nights at 8. 000 points per night by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 rate. The user calculated a saving of $210 per night. and they noted that World of Hyatt members do not pay taxes or resort fees on redemptions.

The return plan also stayed within the “maximize points and miles” approach. The user would fly back from Buffalo to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on JetBlue for 8. 400 JetBlue TrueBlue points. transferable from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:1 rate. That was calculated as saving $84 on the cash price. and the itinerary required flying into New York rather than returning to Boston due to an onward flight.

The hotel piece stood out most after the user booked. They said the Hyatt redemption was “excellent value,” giving almost 3 cents per point. They also mentioned they booked just before the recent World of Hyatt category changes. and that under the new five-tier pricing system there are dozens of nights at this property available this summer at the new “Low” rate of just 7. 500 points per night.

What happened once the booking was done was where the test became less about miles math and more about whether AI understood real-life friction. To push the tool further, the user asked it to build a daily itinerary with personal likes and dislikes and to prioritize the Niagara Falls visit.

They praised the AI Assistant for transport logistics—especially compared to their prior experience using ChatGPT while planning a trip in Las Vegas last year—and it provided suggestions for getting from the airport to the hotel via public transport.

At the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. the user described the experience as “fine. ” calling it an older-style property starting to look dated. But they also framed that plainly: at 8. 000 points per night with no taxes or fees. the stay felt like the point redemption was doing the heavy lifting. They added that if they’d been paying $200+ per night, they would have been slightly underwhelmed.

The AI Assistant also took on food recommendations in Buffalo. It suggested “beef on weck. ” thinly sliced roast beef piled high on a German Kaiser-style roll with au jus. pickle. and horseradish. For lunch, it suggested Charlie the Butcher, described as a short walk from the hotel. For the question of what to eat in Buffalo. it pointed to buffalo wings—adding that if they only ate one thing. wings should be it—then named two options: one near the hotel and the birthplace of the dish. Anchor Bar.

The user went to Anchor Bar, describing it as a great choice for both atmosphere and wings. They said the wings came with a dozen sauces and rubs to choose from. including honey garlic and habanero. with the heat level adjustable. They warned that even “medium was pretty spicy,” and noted the standard accompaniments of celery sticks and blue cheese sauce. Since they don’t love strong blue cheese on its own. they said the mild creaminess of the blue cheese sauce worked well. balancing the heat.

Niagara Falls was where the tool’s limits sharpened. The AI Assistant “admitted there was no way to get there both easily and cheaply. ” noting trains from downtown Buffalo that run only a few times a day. at awkward times. and stopping about a 45-minute walk from the falls. It also suggested hiring a car and driving up and back. but said it couldn’t provide live pricing and that the user’s own check showed prices of $100+—steep for only half a day. especially with the need to top up the tank before returning the car.

The user chose a Lyft instead, which they said was about $90 round-trip and convenient because the falls are about a 30-minute ride from downtown Buffalo.

For the main attraction. the AI Assistant recommended the Maid of the Mist boat ride. which the user called “terrific fun” and their favorite part of the visit. They said the boat takes you close to both the American and Horseshoe Falls. and they felt the power of the water while staying mostly dry thanks to the complimentary souvenir poncho.

Two misses made the test’s stakes feel immediate. First. while looking toward the Canadian side. the user could see a glittering Hyatt Regency with views right over the falls. They later found it was a newly opened property with 611 rooms and would have had easy award availability. They said they wouldn’t have spent all three nights at Niagara Falls. but they wished the AI Assistant had flagged that it would be possible to spend at least one night there with Hyatt points.

Second was the border reality. The user knew Niagara Falls was on the Canadian border. but they didn’t realize until arriving that they could easily walk across a footbridge from the U.S. side of the falls to the Canadian side—where the view of the Horsehoe Falls is better because you face the falls rather than looking to the side. The problem: the AI Assistant hadn’t advised bringing a passport. Without it, the user couldn’t cross into Canada for better views and photos.

The user’s “bottom line” was careful but firm. They said the Seats.aero AI Assistant is brilliant at finding the best transfer options and sourcing live award availability. After flights and accommodation are locked in, it can provide basic destination tips. But they also said it doesn’t deliver the same depth or intuitiveness as tools like Claude. Gemini. or ChatGPT. while also noting it doesn’t claim to be a one-stop shop for travel planning.

They also reiterated that Seats.aero doesn’t support every airline and hotel loyalty program, and that it’s slowly adding more.

For anyone building a trip around a specific attraction or moment—like a day trip to Niagara Falls—the user recommended doing some of their own research. ideally from a real person. in addition to using AI. to avoid missing opportunities and to make sure they’re prepared for practical requirements like travel documents.

Even with the gaps, the user said the platform can still save hundreds of dollars on a trip, with the comfort of knowing the redemptions were pursued with strong availability and value in mind.

Seats.aero AI Assistant points and miles award availability transferable points hotel redemptions World of Hyatt category changes Niagara Falls Etihad Guest American Airlines JetBlue