timing for booking award travel

[sbft77]

Is there a general rule for how far in advance you should book a flight, to be able to use frequent flyer miles to pay for it? I don't usually want to plan months in advance.

Or a related question: If I generally want to book a flight about 2 weeks in advance, are there particular airlines that are best for this? Or instead of using frequent flyer miles directly, in this case is it better to book through Ultimate Rewards (even though that might not give as much value as transferring to another program?)?

 

[MarkD]

I think the general rule is book 330 days out when the schedule opens ( for the advanced planners) or wait until award space gets released as the flight nears (for the last-minute spontaneous).

In other words - it depends. Award space isn't released on a set schedule. Sign up for one of the award search services (ExpertFlyer, AwardNexus, etc...) so you get a text message if award space opens up.

Some people would tell you absolutely, positively do NOT use UR points to book flights but the truth is that you need to do what makes sense for you. Everyone values their points/miles differently.

What points do you have? You mentioned UR. They transfer to British Airways, Southwest, and United among others. This will usually determine the airline and their partners you can fly.

Look up the alliances - OneWorld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam. Wikipedia is good for showing airlines and the alliances they belong to. You can also use it to lookup airports and routes to particular destinations.

Where do you want to go? Post more info here and I'm sure you'll get more good advice.

 

[jdlucas24]

It really depends, certain airlines are better 330 days out, while some are very good about releasing unsold space closer to departure.

Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific are good examples of this. Starting at about 2 weeks out, LH will start releasing F awards to partners if there is a lot of unsold space in the cabin. One Mile at Time has a few articles about trends on when and how much space LH will open up as it gets closer to departure. Trends seem to be somewhat similar for J class. You can transfer UR to United to book these awards.

Same goes for CX - they generally release F space, but much closer to departure (24-48 hours out).

It definitely helps to know which types of routes you are trying to book to get the best advice. Domestic? International?