The cowtool Alternative With Superpowers

AwardFares lets you search flights to find available award seats in a quick way with modern user interface. In just a few clicks, you can search award availability across multiple frequent flyer programs, setup alerts, lookup seat maps and flight schedules.

Similarly, Cowtool, aims to make things easier for Air Canada Aeroplan frequent flyers when it comes to getting the most out of their airline miles, points, and benefits.

This guide closely examines the key differences between AwardFares and Cowtool.

Current availability: Cowtool’s AC Reward Searcher is closed indefinitely, while its other Air Canada utilities remain listed. AwardFares does not currently search Aeroplan or LifeMiles. For Aeroplan redemptions, use Air Canada’s own search; check the AwardFares program directory for alternatives you can book with other points.

What is Cowtool?

Cowtool is a collection of unofficial Air Canada utilities. Its former AC Reward Searcher helped Aeroplan members search award flights; the remaining catalog includes reservation, schedule, flight-status, and earning tools.

Air Canada’s “R space” refers to inventory used for eligible upgrades, including eUpgrades. It is distinct from award-ticket availability, and an upgrade still depends on the applicable fare and program rules.

Cabin and booking-class codes describe different things. A fare-bucket value such as J6 or Y9 indicates inventory offered in that class, often with a display cap. It does not establish how many seats are physically empty or how many award seats a program can book.

AwardFares vs. Cowtool: What are the differences?

1. User Interface: AwardFares has a modern UI and beautiful charts

With a visually appealing and easy-to-understand interface, AwardFares is accessible to both beginners and experienced travelers. The platform is easy to navigate and simplifies the task of finding the best award flight deals. Users can set notifications for particular routes and airlines, and the system automatically alerts them when a good deal pops up.

Search results on AwardFares are presented in stunning timeline and map views, with color-coded availability indicators and easy-to-read tables. This simplification makes it easy for users to assess award seat availability and make informed decisions quickly.

Cowtool, on the other hand, offers a more data-centric interface that is assumes users to be frequent flyers who are comfortable navigating complex information. Its highly detailed information makes it a comprehensive tool for seasoned award travelers, but the steep learning curve makes it hard for beginners.

2. Functionality and Features

AwardFares excels in its ability to provide real-time updates on available award seats across a wide range of airlines, specifically focusing on business and first-class award spaces. It allows users to easily check award seat availability and potential costs, making it a valuable tool for those looking to optimize their premium travel experiences.

The search results on AwardFares are presented clearly, making it easy to compare options and identify the best opportunities for booking award flights.

One of the biggest advantages of AwardFares is the possibility to search across entire regions, like whole countries or continents. In a matter of seconds, search results pop up with available award flights to different destinations within that region.

Filters on AwardFares are one click away. From the dropdown menus, it’s possible to trim down results based on frequent flyer program, airline, number of passengers, number of stops, or equipment type. The Cowtool award-search screenshots here are historical.

Another convenient feature on AwardFares is the possibility to set up alerts for award availability directly from search results. Live Alerts send email and optional push notifications; Flex Alerts require push notifications.

Cowtool’s remaining utilities focus on Air Canada reservation and operational details. They can complement award research, but the closed AC Reward Searcher is no longer an option for live Aeroplan award searches.

The Cowtool catalog lists these focused Air Canada tools:

• AC Reward Searcher (closed indefinitely). Formerly searched Aeroplan redemptions across multiple dates, origins, and destinations, with detailed filters. Signing in or donating does not restore access.
• Air Canada (AC) PNR Viewer. Shows reservation details from a booking reference and surname. Its page warns of ongoing maintenance and missing functionality, including ticket and price information.
• Air Canada Schedule Change Notifier. Unofficial tool to notify you have AC schedule changes. It looks for any AC operated, and many AC marketed flights in your TripIt account that have times or aircraft types that are different than what’s currently on AC’s schedule, and sends an email if it finds anything.
• Air Canada SQC/Points Calculator. Estimates Aeroplan points and status qualifying credits for the current earning system.
• Air Canada SQD/SQM Calculator. Retains calculations for the previous status system; use the SQC calculator for 2026 activity.
• Air Canada Flight Status. View flight status, seat maps, menus, and departure/arrival information. Some information is only available as departure time gets closer.

3. Frequent Flyer Programs

Cowtool focuses on Air Canada. AwardFares searches 17 loyalty programs, including American AAdvantage, Atmos Rewards, United MileagePlus, SAS EuroBonus, and Flying Blue. It does not currently search Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles. The current program directory lists the supported booking currencies; airline and partner availability varies by program.

4. Mobile Experience

AwardFares has been meant for mobile from day one. It doesn’t compromise the intuitive searches nor the beautiful user interface when going mobile, and you can even install on your phone.

Cowtool’s utilities can also be opened in a phone browser, although dense tables can be harder to read on a small screen.

5. Customer Support: One tap to reach AwardFares’ support

Customer support is at the core of AwardFares’ principles. That’s why some UI elements at hand aim at seeking help quickly. On the AwardFares site, the contact bubble button lets users quickly reach out and ask for help, regardless if they are on a desktop, tablet, or mobile. Users get access to a library of frequently asked questions and can post new ones immediately. Email and social media support channels are also available for help with searches and account questions.

6. Pricing

AwardFares has a free Basic account and paid Gold and Diamond subscriptions. Cowtool accepts optional contributions; these are not subscriptions that unlock extra access.

AwardFares packages and features are tailored to award searches and aim at showing real seat availability from different frequent flyer programs with just a few clicks and with the help of intuitive and clear exploration tools to help make more informed decisions.

AwardFares Pricing Tiers:

1. Basic (free): A preview of existing availability for one program and five Seat Map lookups per month. No Live Search, alerts, Journey Planner, or Flight Schedules.
2. Gold ($9.99/month or $99/year): 100 Live Searches per day, two programs per search, seven active searches, 30 Live Alerts, 100 Flex Alerts, 30 Seat Map lookups per month, Journey Planner, and Flight Schedules.
3. Diamond ($19.99/month or $199/year): Unlimited Live Searches and Flex Alerts subject to abuse controls, five programs per search, 30 active searches, 500 Live Alerts, 200 Seat Map lookups per month, and the Gold planning tools.

See the current AwardFares plans for prices and allowances. The separate 24-hour Gold or Diamond trial requires a payment method and continues into billing unless canceled.

On the other hand, Cowtool has a “pay what you want” pricing model, where the default is $0. If you choose to pay for Cowtool, you will not be granted access to any tools, features, or betas, that you do not otherwise have access to. This is just to help support the time and cost involved in developing and running Cowtool. Nothing extra will be provided in exchange for any payment.

In a nutshell

Conclusion

Cowtool’s former AC Reward Searcher was useful for experienced Aeroplan members. That searcher is closed indefinitely, while its catalog still lists Air Canada tools such as flight status, reservation viewing, and schedule-change notifications.

AwardFares provides a modern user interface for searching and filtering award space, with mobile access, Live and Flex Alerts, and trip-planning tools. It searches supported loyalty programs, but does not provide Aeroplan or LifeMiles availability. Basic offers a free preview; Gold and Diamond add live searches and monitoring.

AwardFares is an alternative for travelers who can use one of its supported loyalty programs. It is not a replacement for direct Aeroplan searches or Cowtool’s specialized Air Canada utilities.

Get Started With AwardFares

You can try AwardFares for free. We are rolling out new features and improvements regularly, so sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay on top of the latest news, announcements, and pro tips.

With our Gold and Diamond tiers, you can use Live Search, alerts, Seat Maps, Flight Schedules, and Journey Planner. Gold includes 100 Live Searches per day; Diamond offers unlimited Live Searches subject to abuse controls.

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