How to find Direct Flight Options

One of the things we always optimize for when booking flights is travel time. The less time we are in transit the better. This is especially important when traveling with young kids. We are willing to use more points and pay more money for the convenience of a direct flight.

Direct Flight searching

My favorite site for finding direct flights is Flight Connections. You don’t need to sign up for a paid account to use this tool, but it will unlock some additional features, such as specific travel dates.

On the home screen enter in the starting airport and it gives an interactive map of direct destinations.

I clicked on Rome as the final destination and Flight Connections found 4 airlines with direct routes, including American, Delta, Norse Atlantic and ITA Airways. The free version allows you to look at the timetable for just a month out by clicking on the days of the week.

Now if I have a direct flight to Rome in my future travel plans I will look to see what types of points I could use to book this kind of flight.

I like the Award Travel transfer partner matrix because it clearly organizes the transferrable currencies and Airline Alliances. Focusing in on the Delta direct flight JFK to Rome – the matrix shows you can either:

• Book directly with Delta, either with Delta Skymiles or by transferring from American Express Membership Rewards
• OR book through Delta’s Sky Team alliance partners from ANY other transferable currency. For example, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air France’s Flying Blue to potentially book on Delta

Booking Directly with Delta

You can book a direct flight with Delta Skymiles for Sunday, September 14, 2025 for 49,500 points and $6 in fees. In this case, you can transfer American Express Membership rewards to book this flight.

Airline Partner Booking Awards

Here the exact same flight on Sunday, September 14, 2025 can be booked for 28,500 Flying blue points and $33 in fees:

To book this flight you need an Air France/KLM Flying Blue account. Decide how many points from what currency you will be transferring (every currency transfers to Fly Blue).

This is the power of transferable currencies for traveling on credit card points and miles. The Airline Alliances make your transferable points extremely valuable, as you will have more options & flexibility than even booking cash fares.