Knowing where and how to search for award space is one of the most complicated and important aspects of using your frequent flyer miles effectively. Unfortunately, the airlines do not always make this an easy task.

Some airlines only show awards for some partners and other airlines won’t show you all of the valid connections you can make. This article is going to look at where are the best places to search for award space for oneworld alliance members. There are currently 14 full members of the as well as a handful of member affiliates.

Knowing where and how to search for award space is one of the most important, and most complicated aspects to using your frequent flyer miles effectively.

Unfortunately, the airlines do not make this an easy task. Some airlines only show awards for some partners, other airlines won’t show you all of the valid connections you can make – just to name some of the challenges you are likely going to run into. Oftentimes, you won’t even know that these things are problems.

ITA Matrix is popular among frequent flyers and travel hackers because it provides so much control over the parameters of your search. You can force connections in a certain city, exclude airlines, and even pick exact flight numbers. Some of these functions are possible with other websites but can be extremely cumbersome. Finding a great itinerary with ITA Matrix can make it easier to reconstruct elsewhere for cash or award tickets.

The best feature of ITA Matrix is the advanced routing language that can be used to specify a traveler’s exact needs. Many other airlines and online travel agencies use the same technology as ITA Matrix precisely because of powerful abilities like this.

There are many ways to search for flights: airline websites, online travel agencies (OTAs), search aggregators like Kayak, and even visiting a human travel agent. However, many of these tools are trying to sell you something — a ticket for your next business trip or vacation — and may not always provide the most useful information.

One of the most luxurious options for redeeming American AAdvantage miles is on Etihad Airways, which operates out of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Etihad has received significant press for The Residence, a private three-room cabin on its Airbus A380 aircraft.

It may seem like a bit player in the U.S., but Alaska Airlines has long offered more flights between Hawaii and the mainland than any other carrier—yes, even more than Hawaiian Airlines. This is in addition to its extensive network throughout the West Coast and the State of Alaska.

Cathay Pacific, like most Asian carriers, is known for its good service. A reverse herringbone business-class and spacious first-class suites provide some of the best award redemption opportunities for those crossing the Pacific Ocean. Cathay even operates a “fifth freedom” route between Vancouver and New York-JFK.

As far as award bookings with domestic carriers go, United is one of the most straightforward. You have all the options you’d expect one ways, multicity tickets, unlimited less-than-24-hour stopovers and you’re able to make almost all bookings online without any inexplicable system glitches keeping you from seeing the seats you’re entitled to cough, cough, Delta.