Guides · Get connected
Get connected
Most of AwardWise works the moment you sign in. One thing needs a few extra minutes: award search needs your own Seats.aero account.
What works right away
You can chat with the concierge, search cash fares, build trips, and read every guide without connecting anything. Cash flight search runs on AwardWise's own data source, not yours, so there's nothing to set up for it.
Award search is the exception. AwardWise finds award seats through Seats.aero, a real-time seat-availability search engine (not affiliated with any airline). Those searches run against your Seats.aero account and quota, not a shared one, so each AwardWise user connects their own. That also means the award half of an Award vs cash comparison needs it too; the cash half doesn't.
Get a Seats.aero Pro account
Award search runs on your own Seats.aero Pro subscription (see current pricing at seats.aero). A free Seats.aero account can search the site itself but can't be connected to AwardWise. You don't copy or paste any keys; you connect the account itself, once.
- Create a Seats.aero account (or sign in) and subscribe to Pro.
- Use the same email on Seats.aero as your AwardWise account. AwardWise checks that the two match when you connect, so they need to be the same address.
Connect it in AwardWise
Connecting takes one click and one sign-in, and there are no keys to copy or paste. AwardWise uses Seats.aero's own secure sign-in: you approve the connection on Seats.aero's site, and AwardWise never sees your Seats.aero password.
Open Wallet in the left nav to reach Edit Your Smart Wallet, then find the Seats.aero Connection section and click Connect Seats.aero.
The Seats.aero Connection section in the Wallet. Connect Seats.aero starts the one-click sign-in; the badge reads "Not connected" until you do.
- Click Connect Seats.aero.
- You're taken to Seats.aero to sign in and approve the connection. Sign in with the same email as your AwardWise account.
- Approve, and you land back in AwardWise with the status showing Connected. That's it: no key to paste, nothing to validate.
Once connected you'll see Reconnect and Disconnect. Disconnect removes the connection whenever you want; Reconnect re-runs the same one-click sign-in if the connection ever needs re-approving.
After you approve, the badge switches to "Connected" and a Disconnect button appears.
Award search is an invite-only beta. A limited number of accounts can connect while we're in beta. If Connect Seats.aero shows an "invite-only" note instead of connecting, your account isn't on the list yet: ask Tung for a seat.
Check it works
Ask the concierge for an award search, for example "find me a business class award from JFK to CDG next month." If your account is connected, you'll get real award results back instead of a connection prompt.
Troubleshooting
Not connected yet. An award search (in chat or from a search screen) shows:
This only blocks award search. Cash search, hotels, and the rest of the concierge keep working in the meantime.
Connection needs re-approving. If Seats.aero ever revokes the connection (for example if you remove AwardWise's access from your Seats.aero account), the Wallet shows a Reconnect Seats.aero button. Reconnecting is the same one-click sign-in as the first time.
"Use the same email for AwardWise and Seats.aero." The connection only succeeds when the email on your Seats.aero account matches the email on your AwardWise account. If you see this, sign into AwardWise (or Seats.aero) with the matching address and try again.
Award vs cash before connecting. The comparison is blocked the same way a plain award search is: a notice appears over the results panel explaining that award search needs a connected Seats.aero account, with a Connect Seats.aero button that takes you straight to the Wallet. Any cash results you already have stay intact behind the notice and come back as soon as you switch to them.
Privacy
AwardWise never sees your Seats.aero password: the sign-in happens on Seats.aero's own site. What AwardWise stores is the connection token Seats.aero issues, encrypted, tied to your account, and used only to run your own searches. Disconnect in the Wallet removes it whenever you want.
Try an award search →