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by Joseph Hostetler Joseph is a travel rewards expert with 10 years of experience covering credit cards and loyalty programs for publications including Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, and Business Insider. He's made multiple guest appearances as a credit cards authority on WGN.

Hi, Reader.When your air travel is delayed or canceled, your airline will happily book you on the next available flight. But what happens when that next flight is too late for your needs?

Sometimes a flight delay or cancellation simply isn't an option for your travel schedule. You've got to be somewhere at a specific time — whether it's a business meeting, a wedding, or a memorial. At that point, you've got to take your itinerary into your own hands. It'll cost you, but with the right tools, you can quickly find a good deal. Points Path is my go-to resource when I need to rebook a trip in a hurry.

When the airline's backup option is too late

I'm not usually on a time-sensitive trip. But when I am, you can bet that the flight will be delayed.

I was recently on a flight home to see family. We'd been up in the air for 15 minutes before I heard a muffled cabin announcement, unintelligible through my noise-canceling headphones pumping a podcast into my ears. To this day, I don't know what that announcement was, but 15 minutes later, the plane was landing — at the airport we'd just departed from.

This was the last flight of the day. The next available flight wasn't until the following morning, which would be too late. If I was going to make it in time for my family event, I was going to have to book another flight myself.

Points Path can help you quickly find a cheap alternative

Jumping on Google Flights, I was able to quickly see all the remaining available flights that could get me back home. The Points Path extension conveniently showed me the best award prices of each option.

Points Path also supports searching multiple airports at a time on Google Flights. So if your destination is served by more than one airport, it's easy to see a healthy list of your award options by entering them all at once.

​When a flight is delayed or canceled, the speed at which you rebook your travel is critical. That's because many travelers on that flight are likely looking for an alternative, as well. Points Path spared me the burden of sifting through multiple different award programs to find the cheapest option; it spoon-fed me top choices and analyzed whether or not the award price was a good deal. With a couple of clicks, I was on the American Airlines website booking my alternate trip home with AAdvantage miles.

Points and miles aren't just for trips you plan in advance

​Collecting travel rewards comes in handy for more than just booking a vacation; it can help you to book cheap travel in emergencies when you need it.

Again, forfeiting an airline's "free" next available flight means you'll have to foot the bill for your alternate travel arrangements. If your flight is canceled or significantly delayed (three hours or more for domestic flights, six for international ones) and you turn down the airline's rebooking, you're entitled to a refund of your original ticket. But you'll still be paying for your new travel.

And because last-minute bookings are often exorbitantly priced (the airlines know that same-day travelers often have little flexibility), you may be digging deep into your pocket. So keeping a reservoir of travel rewards just in case can soften the blow for just such an occasion. And Points Path can help you to spend those rewards wisely.