A Search-Engine Startup with the Frequent Flyer in Mind MileWise lets users manage their travel rewards programs and search for flights that offer them maximum benefits

Like many frequent fliers, Sanjay Kothari often struggled to redeem his travel rewards points, taking hours to search for prices and availability, decipher special rules and analyze the benefits. Realizing that many airline miles go unused because consumers have difficulty managing the programs in which they're enrolled, Kothari teamed up with former Hunch senior technologist and Reble.fm co-founder Vinay Pulim to launch MileWise.

A search engine with the frequent flier in mind, MileWise allows travelers to find flights that can be purchased with cash, airline miles or hotel and credit card points. The site also recommends the best ways to pay based on users' individual rewards programs and travel preferences. Unlike other flight search engines that allow for searches only by price, airline and number of stops, MileWise factors rewards points into its rankings to try and find the optimum deals.