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serpapi

Google Flights cash prices, Google Hotels, and Google Travel Explore via SerpAPI. Use for award-vs-cash comparison, hotel search, and destination discovery.

Published by borski ↗borski/travel-hacking-toolkit

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serpapi

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Use serpapi to find and rank Google Flights cash-fare options for [itinerary], including price, total duration, stops, schedules, and price-insight context.

Required inputs

[itinerary]

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SKILL.md

name: serpapidescription: Google Flights cash prices, Google Hotels, and Google Travel Explore via SerpAPI. Use for award-vs-cash comparison, hotel search, and destination discovery.category: hotelssummary: Google Hotels search and destination discovery.api_key: SerpAPIlicense: MIT

SerpAPI Skill

Scrape Google Flights, Google Hotels, and Google Travel Explore via SerpAPI. Provides cash flight prices (for Chase/Amex portal comparison), hotel pricing, and destination discovery.

Source: serpapi.com — Free tier available, paid plans for higher volume.

Authentication

SERPAPI_API_KEY is set in .env. All requests use api_key query parameter.

API Base

https://serpapi.com/search

Google Flights (Cash Prices)

Search for flight prices and schedules. Essential for comparing: "Is 88,000 United miles better than paying $900 cash through the Chase portal?" (Chase portal pricing is now dynamic via Points Boost, ~1.5-2.0 cpp on select bookings; verify the actual quote.)

One-Way Search

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_flights&departure_id=SFO&arrival_id=NRT&outbound_date=2026-08-10&type=2&adults=2&travel_class=1&currency=USD&stops=2&sort_by=2&api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY" | jq '{best: [.best_flights[]? | {price: .price, duration: .total_duration, stops: (.layovers | length), flights: [.flights[] | {from: .departure_airport.id, to: .arrival_airport.id, airline: .airline, flight: .flight_number, depart: .departure_airport.time, arrive: .arrival_airport.time}]}], price_insights: .price_insights}'

Parameters

Param	Required	Description
`engine`	Yes	`google_flights`
`departure_id`	Yes	Airport code(s), comma-separated: `SFO,PDX`
`arrival_id`	Yes	Airport code(s), comma-separated: `NRT,HND`
`outbound_date`	Yes	`YYYY-MM-DD`
`return_date`	Round trip	`YYYY-MM-DD` (required if type=1)
`type`	No	`1` = round trip (default), `2` = one way, `3` = multi-city
`adults`	No	Default 1
`children`	No	Default 0
`travel_class`	No	`1` = economy, `2` = premium economy, `3` = business, `4` = first
`stops`	No	`0` = any, `1` = nonstop, `2` = 1 stop or fewer, `3` = 2 stops or fewer
`sort_by`	No	`1` = top flights, `2` = price, `3` = departure, `4` = arrival, `5` = duration
`include_airlines`	No	IATA codes: `SK,KL,UA` or alliances: `STAR_ALLIANCE,SKYTEAM,ONEWORLD`
`max_price`	No	Maximum ticket price in USD
`max_duration`	No	Maximum flight duration in minutes
`bags`	No	Number of carry-on bags
`deep_search`	No	`true` for browser-identical results (slower)
`currency`	No	Default `USD`

Multi-City (Open Jaw)

Use type=3 with multi_city_json:

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_flights&type=3&multi_city_json=%5B%7B%22departure_id%22%3A%22SFO%22%2C%22arrival_id%22%3A%22NRT%22%2C%22date%22%3A%222026-08-05%22%7D%2C%7B%22departure_id%22%3A%22ICN%22%2C%22arrival_id%22%3A%22SFO%22%2C%22date%22%3A%222026-08-26%22%7D%5D&adults=2&travel_class=1&currency=USD&api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY" | jq '.'

The JSON value for multi_city_json is URL-encoded. Decoded:

[{"departure_id":"SFO","arrival_id":"NRT","date":"2026-08-05"},{"departure_id":"ICN","arrival_id":"SFO","date":"2026-08-26"}]

Response Fields

Each flight in best_flights[] and other_flights[]:

Field	Description
`price`	Cash price in USD
`total_duration`	Total minutes
`flights[]`	Array of legs with airline, flight number, times, airplane, legroom
`layovers[]`	Array with duration and airport for each connection
`departure_token`	Token to get return flight options (round trip)
`booking_token`	Token to get booking options

price_insights includes lowest_price, price_level (low/typical/high), and typical_price_range.

Portal Comparison Math

Chase Sapphire Reserve: dynamic Points Boost pricing, typically 1.5-2.0 cpp on select bookings (not a fixed floor). Verify actual portal price for the specific booking. If cash price is $900, portal cost = 60,000 UR points. If award price is 88,000 United miles, cash via portal is better value.

Amex: typically 1 cpp via portal (worse value, use transfers instead).

Capital One Venture X: 1 cpp via portal, but transfer partners can be better.

Google Hotels

Search hotels and vacation rentals with pricing from multiple OTAs.

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_hotels&q=hotels+Tokyo+Japan&check_in_date=2026-08-10&check_out_date=2026-08-13&adults=2&currency=USD&sort_by=3&api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY" | jq '[.properties[]? | {name: .name, type: .type, rating: .overall_rating, reviews: .reviews, price: .rate_per_night.extracted_lowest, class: .extracted_hotel_class, amenities: .amenities}] | .[0:10]'

Parameters

Param	Required	Description
`engine`	Yes	`google_hotels`
`q`	Yes	Search query: `hotels Tokyo Japan`
`check_in_date`	Yes	`YYYY-MM-DD`
`check_out_date`	Yes	`YYYY-MM-DD`
`adults`	No	Default 2
`children`	No	Default 0
`sort_by`	No	`3` = lowest price, `8` = highest rating, `13` = most reviewed
`min_price` / `max_price`	No	Price range filter
`hotel_class`	No	`2,3,4,5` (comma-separated)
`rating`	No	`7` = 3.5+, `8` = 4.0+, `9` = 4.5+
`vacation_rentals`	No	Set to `true` for Airbnb-style results
`property_token`	No	Get details for a specific property

Google Travel Explore

Discover destinations and cheapest flights from an origin. Great for "where can I fly cheaply in August?"

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_travel_explore&departure_id=SFO&outbound_date=2026-08-05&return_date=2026-08-26&adults=2&travel_class=1&currency=USD&api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY" | jq '[.destinations[]? | {name: .name, country: .country, airport: .destination_airport.code, price: .flight_price, duration: .flight_duration, stops: .number_of_stops, airline: .airline}] | .[0:15]'

Parameters

Param	Required	Description
`engine`	Yes	`google_travel_explore`
`departure_id`	Yes	Airport code or kgmid
`arrival_id`	No	Specific destination
`arrival_area_id`	No	Region kgmid (e.g., `/m/02j9z` for Europe)
`outbound_date`	No	`YYYY-MM-DD`
`return_date`	No	`YYYY-MM-DD`
`month`	No	`1`-`12` for flexible dates
`travel_duration`	No	`1` = weekend, `2` = 1 week, `3` = 2 weeks
`interest`	No	`/g/11bc58l13w` = Outdoors, `/m/0b3yr` = Beaches
`include_airlines`	No	Filter by airline or alliance
`max_price`	No	Maximum price
`stops`	No	Same as Google Flights

Workflow: Compare Award vs Cash

Search cash prices on Google Flights via SerpAPI
Estimate portal cost. Chase uses dynamic "Points Boost" pricing (~1.5-2.0cpp on select bookings, not a flat rate). Amex/Capital One ~1.0cpp. For rough math, run the actual portal quote against the cash price; do not assume a flat cpp on Chase.
Compare with award price from Seats.aero
Lower number wins (accounting for the value you place on each currency)

Notes

Cached results are free (1hr cache). Set no_cache=true to force fresh.
deep_search=true gives browser-identical results but is slower.
Results include price_insights with historical price data and trend.
Multi-city supports open jaw itineraries natively.
Hotels support vacation rentals mode for Airbnb-style results.