American Airlines AAdvantage
Aeromexico Rewards
Air Canada Aeroplan
Alaska MileagePlan
Azul Fidelidade
Delta SkyMiles
Etihad Guest
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Jetblue TrueBlue
SAS EuroBonus
GOL Smiles
Turkish Miles&Smiles
United MileagePlus
Virgin Australia Velocity
One of the best ways of booking your perfect award trip is to plan far in advance. While most airlines continuously release new award seats throughout the year, it’s always best to book as soon as you have set dates for your trip. Additionally, most loyalty programs are quite flexible when it comes to award bookings, often allowing you to cancel them with minimal fees. It’s better to have a ticket booked than to leave points idling in your account.
In This Guide
This guide will help you answer the question of how far in advance airlines (such as Lufthansa) release award seats and how far in advance you can book an award flight.
Key Takeaways
- Book Early: Most airlines release award seats 330 to 361 days before departure. Booking as soon as the calendar opens gives you the best chance at premium seats.
- Program vs. Airline: The frequent flyer program you use to search may have a shorter booking window than the airline operating the flight. For example, you can book ANA flights further out with Aeroplan (355 days) than with United MileagePlus (337 days).
- Not All Seats Are Equal: Some airlines have special rules. Lufthansa only releases First Class to partners 30 days out, and SWISS First Class is generally not available to partners at all.
- Be Flexible: Award availability changes constantly. If you don’t find seats today, check again later or set an alert with AwardFares.
Airline vs. Program Release Dates: What’s The Difference?
When we say an airline “releases seats,” we mean it makes them available in the booking system for purchase. From the very moment a seat is released, it’s possible to book it using miles or points.
However, there are two important and distinct concepts to understand:
- Airline Release Schedule: The date an airline makes its own award seats available (e.g., Lufthansa releases seats 360 days out).
- Program Booking Window: The furthest date a frequent flyer program allows you to search and book flights (e.g., United MileagePlus only shows flights up to 337 days out).
Pro Tip: The Program Window Matters
This is the most critical concept to grasp. Even if an airline like EVA Air releases seats 360 days in advance, you won’t see them using United MileagePlus miles until day 337. To get a 23-day head start, you’d need to use a program with a longer booking window, like Avianca LifeMiles (360 days). AwardFares lets you search multiple programs at once to overcome this.
Fortunately, AwardFares makes searching for these awards much easier by allowing you to search across multiple frequent flyer programs simultaneously.
Award Release Dates: By Frequent Flyer Program
Here are the number of days in advance that some popular frequent flyer program award search sites will show. This is their maximum booking window. Dates are updated automatically.
| Frequent Flyer Program | Days in advance | Date from today |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 355 | |
| American AAdvantage | 331 | |
| Alaska Mileage Plan | 330 | |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 330 | |
| United MileagePlus | 337 | |
| SAS EuroBonus | 360 | |
| Delta SkyMiles | 331 | |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 359 | |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 331 | |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 331 | |
| Virgin Australia Velocity | 331 | |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 331 | |
| Etihad Guest | 330 | |
| GOL Smiles (Brazil) | 330 | |
| GOL Smiles (Argentina) | 330 | |
| Azul Fidelidade | 330 | |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 360 |
Award Release Dates: By Airline
This is how far in advance specific airlines make their award seats available to partners. Use the table above to see if your chosen frequent flyer program can “see” that far out.
Star Alliance
| Airline | Days in advance | Date from today |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | 360 | |
| Air China | 361 | |
| Air India | 337 | |
| Air New Zealand | 355 | |
| ANA | 355 | |
| Asiana | 361 | |
| Austrian | 361 | |
| Avianca | 355 | |
| Brussels | 360 | |
| COPA | 330 | |
| Egyptair | 360 | |
| Ethiopian | 331 | |
| EVA Air | 360 | |
| LOT | 361 | |
| Lufthansa | 360 | |
| Lufthansa (long-haul Business) 1 | 85 |
|
| Lufthansa (long-haul First) 2 | 30 | |
| Singapore Airlines | 355 | |
| South African Airways | 358 | |
| SWISS | 300 | |
| TAP | 361 | |
| Thai 3 | 339 | |
| Turkish | 354 | |
| United | 337 |
Notes:
- (1) Lufthansa long-haul Business partner redemptions are currently released 85 days in advance.
- (2) Lufthansa long-haul First partner redemptions are released 30 days in advance. Members of Miles & More can book First Class up to 360 days in advance, but partner access is restricted.
- (3) Aeroplan and EuroBonus limited to 180 days in advance.
SkyTeam
| Airline | Days in advance | Date from today |
|---|---|---|
| Aerolíneas Argentinas | 330 | |
| Aeroméxico | 330 | |
| Air Europa | 361 | |
| Air France 4 | 359 | |
| ITA Airways 5 | 330 | |
| China Airlines | 360 | |
| China Eastern | 330 | |
| Delta Air Lines | 330 | |
| Garuda Indonesia | 360 | |
| Kenya Airways | 361 | |
| KLM | 359 | |
| Korean Air | 351 | |
| Middle East Airlines | 330 | |
| SAS 6,7 | 330 | |
| Saudia | 361 | |
| TAROM | 360 | |
| Vietnam Airlines | 360 | |
| XiamenAir | 330 | |
| Virgin Atlantic | 331 |
Notes:
- (4) From some users’ experience, availability on certain routes/code share flights gets released anywhere between 305 and 359 days in advance.
- (5) ITA Airways announced it will leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance. Date is undefined.
- (6) SAS releases 2 Plus awards within Europe at 330 days, and 4+ at 300 days.
- (7) SAS left Star Alliance and joined SkyTeam on September 1st, 2024.
Oneworld
| Airline | Days in advance | Date from today |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 330 | |
| American Airlines | 331 | |
| British Airways | 355 | |
| Cathay Pacific | 360 | |
| Finnair | 362 | |
| Iberia | 360 | |
| Japan Airlines | 360 | |
| Malaysia Airlines | 354 | |
| Qantas | 353 | |
| Qatar Airways | 361 | |
| Royal Air Maroc | 330 | |
| Royal Jordanian 8 (Economy) | 330 | |
| SriLankan Airlines | 360 | |
| Fiji Airways | 330 | |
| Oman Air | 300 - 330 |
Notes:
- (8) In Business Class, redemption can start as early as 180 days, but there’s no official statement from the airline. Typically, they also get released close to departure date.
Other Airlines/Programs
| Airline | Days in advance | Date from today |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest | 180 - 240 | |
| Frontier | 180 - 240 | |
| Spirit Airlines | 330 | |
| Emirates Skywards | 328 | |
| GOL Smiles (on GOL flights) | 330 | |
| GOL Smiles (on partner airlines) | Varies, up to 330 | - |
Find Your Next Award Flight Faster
Stop guessing when award seats will be released. AwardFares shows you live availability across all major airlines and programs in one simple search. Whether you’re planning 360 days out or looking for a last-minute gem, our powerful tools help you find the best seats in seconds.
Create alerts to get notified the moment your dream seat becomes available, explore cabin layouts with our detailed seat maps, and browse availability for an entire year with just one click.
AwardFares is the easiest way to find the cheapest and most convenient award flights. Try it for free here and see how much value you can get from your points.
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