When do airlines release frequent flyer reward seats?

Like so many situations in life, timing is everything for getting a great deal on turning your hard-earned frequent flyer points into an airline reward ticket – especially if you hope to secure first or business class on popular routes.

Every airline has its own rules for how far in advance flights can be booked, both with cash and when using points. If you know when an airline opens its booking calendar for award tickets, you can swoop in to quickly take advantage of any initial reward availability before it’s gone.

You planned ahead and unlocked two business class reward seats for that special trip, so cheers!

Get in early and you can get the best deal – it’s as simple as that.

Rather than leaving you to scour the Internet for details on when these individual booking calendars open though, we’ve done the leg work for you, compiling the dates award flights become bookable across many popular airlines, plus some handy tips.

How far in advance can I book a reward flight?

Understanding each airline’s award calendar gives you an edge when it comes to redeeming points for first and business class flights; in some instances you can even book an entire month before other would-be flyers.

While great deals can pop up at any time, your best bet to get one is to act quickly as soon as carriers open up their schedules for paid fares.

Here are the dates award flights become bookable through some of the major airlines:

Note that these numbers may vary one or two days due to timezone differences, therefore it’s always a good idea to start searching for award seats some days in advance.

Likewise, if there’s nothing interesting on the release day, try again a few days later.

Qantas makes points-based award seats available 353 days in advance.

Which flights are more likely to have reward seats available?

The holy grail of points redemption is extracting one of those first class tickets. However, with fewer of those seats on a plane, their availability is heavily restricted. 

First class remains the prize for award-hunters, and planning ahead gives you a vital edge.

Business and premium economy are usually more achievable for securing an award seat. Of course some routes are more hotly-contested than others, so if you have firm dates in mind, you might want to aim instead for the lower-end fares. 

What’s the best way to search for award availability?

As shown in the table above, there is a lot of variance with how far out airlines load flights into their systems. There are also some conditions unique to each airline.

Qantas, for example, releases its premium awards 353 days before departure but those are only accessible to Qantas Gold, Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers: it’s not until 297 days before departure that lower-tier frequent flyers, and members of other partner airlines, will be able to book those awards.

Similarly, Lufthansa only offers premium seat redemptions to its own loyalty program members. But its first class cabin is rarely sold out - especially on less frequent routes - and it’s on those flights that they unload their remaining first class inventory to partner airlines, normally around two weeks before departure. 

Premium seat redemptions on Lufthansa are only open to Miles & More members.

You can also take advantage of the differences between when airlines open their award bookings for their own frequent flyers and partner airlines. In some cases you can use partner airline programs to redeem points for those premium award seats before anyone else. 

For instance, when booking Qatar Airways' QSuites – one of the most coveted business class products currently flying – with American Airlines AAdvantage Miles, you’d have to wait until 331 days before departure.

Qatar Airways opens its bookings calendar to Cathay Pacific almost a month ahead of American Airlines.

However, booking them with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles would give you access to those seats 360 days in advance – that’s a 29-day advantage, and could be the difference between securing the seat or not. 

The same thing happens when booking a Qantas first class seat with Alaska Airlines’ Miles instead of Qantas points. Since Qantas’ own Frequent Flyer members have access to award seats 353 days before departure – as opposed to Mileage Plan’s 331 days – you may find that much of the award space has already been sold. 

How can I increase my chance of booking premium award seats?

While you may be able to get difficult-to-find awards if you plan ahead of time, the truth is that award availability changes all the time, as passengers cancel bookings and airlines add or remove space.

Couple that with the limited functionality of most airline websites and the whole process can become a nightmare.

In order to avoid unnecessary headaches, here are some additional tools that will make the entire process a seamless experience:

ExpertFlyer: this subscription service collects information from several reward programs and shows you the best deals that suit your itinerary. It also allows you to set alerts on award space availability, it also offers a set-it-and-forget-it function that will notify you if a seat on your desired flight becomes available.

Award Nexus: another subscription-based service, Award Nexus allows you to search for awards on several loyalty programs, routes and cabin classes in a single query.

Seats.aero: also subscription-based, though you can search two months in advance from today’s date using the free option.

The right online tools help you uncover points-based seats on any airline, route or flight.

Booking an award flight in advance: FAQs

What time of the day do award bookings open?

There is not an exact science to the time that airlines release their award calendar, but if you log in early in the morning on the targeted day and there’s not a seat on the flight you want, that doesn’t necessarily mean someone else took it from you.

Some airlines will release a few award seats as soon as the schedule opens while others will scatter their release throughout the day.

Should I wait for last-minute award travel bookings?

It depends. While you may find occasional last-minute bargains if an airline is trying to fill a plane, you’ll have to be very flexible with dates and destinations if you want to follow this strategy.

For trips that you really want to take, you should aim to book as soon as you see saver award seats available for your desired date. Award bookings tend to be more flexible than cash bookings  when it comes to cancellation policies, so you can always make changes after your booking if you end up finding a better deal.