Expert Flyer is one of the most useful online tools for frequent flyers. The many Expert Flyer features can help to secure an upgrade, find award availability, pick the best seat on the plane, and much more!
A lot of the information available on Expert Flyer, such as real-time flight availability, is not otherwise available to the general public. If you’re a frequent flyer, it is worth considering an Expert Flyer subscription. It is a paid service, but it pays for itself over time.
Here are five of the most useful Expert Flyer features:
1. Search for award and upgrade availability
Expert Flyer can be used to find award availability on most airlines – including many carriers that aren’t a member of the Oneworld, Star or SkyTeam alliances. You can search for availability up to a week at a time. On airlines with confirmed upgrades, you can also check Expert Flyer for upgrade availability. This is very handy if you wish to redeem points with a partner airline that doesn’t appear on your own airline’s website.
2. Award seat alerts
Can’t find any award availability on the flight you want? You can set an Expert Flyer award seat alert and be notified by email if any award seats are released on that flight in the future!
3. Real-time seat maps
Many frequent flyers take seat selection seriously. After all, a good seat can make all the difference between a comfortable and a miserable flight! Using Expert Flyer, you can see in real time which seats are vacant, occupied and blocked. You can also place alerts on specific seats and be notified when they become available for selection.
4. Real-time flight availability & loading information
Expert Flyer displays fare class availability on all flights in real time. If you know how to interpret this information, you can use it to work out how empty or full any given flight will be in each class of travel. This information is especially handy if you’re hoping to upgrade with points. By choosing a flight with the most premium cabin availability, your chances of upgrading successfully will be higher.
5. Minimum Connection Time information
Expert Flyer contains tons of useful travel information including interline agreements, detailed visa requirements and historical flight reliability data. One of the most useful features is the Minimum Connect Time data. Use this to easily and quickly check how long you’ll need to allow between flights at any airport in the world.
Other Expert Flyer features include access to fare conditions and real-time flight status information.
Expert Flyer subscriptions
Expert Flyer has three membership levels – Free, Basic and Premium. Free membership allows you to access airline seat maps. But serious frequent flyers should consider a Premium membership for USD99 ($128) per year. If you’re not sure whether it’s right for you, Expert Flyer does offer a free 5-day Premium trial.
AFF Gold members can access a USD15 discount on annual Premium membership, bringing the price down to USD84.99 ($109). If you’re an AFF Gold member, visit the Gold Membership Privileges forum for instructions on how to access your discount. (Only logged-in AFF Gold members can view this forum.)
Read more about the benefits of AFF Gold membership: AFF Membership Levels
