If you’ve ever opened an airline site, typed in your preferred destination, and found… nothing but sadness and despair… welcome.
“Award availability” is a term you’ll hear pretty often in the miles and points world, and it’s not necessarily random. But it can feel that way when you don’t know how to plan for it.
Award travel gets way easier when you line up these three things:
When you open a new card
When you hit the minimum spend (and earn the welcome offer)
When you start looking for award seats
And the holidays are a great time of year to set all of this in motion. Between Black Friday, year-end spending, and all of the food, gifts, etc., you’re already spending more than normal.
You might as well let that spending pay for your flights next spring or summer. So, let’s chat through how to take all of this on, with a timeline and some next steps.
Award Availability is Easier When You Plan Ahead
Airlines don’t necessarily “sprinkle out” award seats whenever they feel like it. Most of them operate systematically, usually releasing seats 11 to 12 months before departure, and then again (in waves) as the date approaches.
If you line up your points-earning with those “release” dates, you’ll likely find more space, better prices, and you know… more joy.
Think of the whole process like this: (1) earn points now, (2) have them ready when airlines open next year’s calendar, and (3) book your 2026 travel while space is still reasonable.
Step 1: Choose Your 2026 Trip (Before You Choose Your Card)
Most people pick a card first and then decide where they want to go. In my personal opinion, that’s the backwards way, especially if you’re traveling just a couple of times each year.
Instead, figure out: where you want to go in 2026, when you can realistically travel, and how many seats you’ll need.
The answers here determine everything else — which card you pick, which points you need, when you apply, and how early you should be searching.
👀 Don’t Miss: We regularly update our top travel credit card picks.
If you already know you’re traveling during peak weeks (school holidays, beach season, Europe in July), that’s your sign to get ahead of the game.
Step 2: Apply for the Right Card Now
Once you know the general trip you want to take, pick a card that actually earns the points that can get you there. Nine times out of ten, that means going with flexible points (such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou points, Bilt points, or Wells Fargo Rewards).
Here’s a little rundown of what each program might give you access to:
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Great for: Hyatt hotels and United, Air France/KLM, Avios, and Southwest
Best if you want: A super beginner-friendly ecosystem with lots of award options
Amex Membership Rewards
Great for: ANA, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore, and Marriott
Best if you want: High-value international redemptions, especially premium cabins
Capital One miles
Great for: Air Canada, British Airways, Turkish, Qatar, and TAP Air Portugal
Best if you want: Strong all-around earning and simple everyday use
Citi ThankYou Points
Great for: American Airlines, Turkish, Avianca, Qatar, and Wyndham.
Best if you want: Some of the lowest award pricing on the market
Bilt Rewards
Great for: Transfer to Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, United, and Alaska (Atmos); and great for earning transferable points on rent
Best if you want: A no-annual-fee card with a solid pool of partners
Wells Fargo Rewards
Great for: Avios, Air France/KLM, JetBlue, and Choice Hotels
Best if you want: Low-fee cards with generous welcome offers and simplicity
🌟 Pro Tip: Time to transfer your points? Here’s our full list of transfer partners.
Pick the ecosystem that gives you the widest access to the flights you want. Because again, you don’t want to guess which airline will have space — you want to give yourself some options. And, holiday timing could help here.
If you apply around mid-November, you could get the card (or the digital number) before Black Friday, have all of December to hit the minimum spend, and start the new year with fresh points ready to spend.
🌟 Pro Tip: Running all your holiday spend through one new card is the easiest, least painful way to meet a minimum spend without changing your actual budget.
Step 3: January Could Be Your Sweet Spot
January could be a prime time for award searches. You’ve got a fresh points balance, a clean new year of award availability, and fewer people booking big trips (most people just paid holiday bills…)
This is when you want to sit down, take a breath, and pair your goals with the right airline program.
If you’re going to Europe? You might look at Flying Blue, Aeroplan, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, British Airways, or even Turkish, depending on the route.
Hawaii? Maybe try Alaska, American partners, United, or Hawaiian.
Asia? ANA, JAL partners, EVA, Cathay, Singapore…
You do not need to memorize anything — you just need to see what’s available.
Think of this like shopping. Don’t transfer points yet, but get an idea of what’s available to you. You can use a mix of airline websites (for their real award calendars), search tools like Daily Drop Pro, seats.aero, and Google Flights.
You’re looking for which dates are cheapest, which routes have the most space, and which airlines are showing promise. Once you see the space, then you move the points.
Step 4: Book Based on Your Trip Type
Here’s how early you should book based on where you’re going. And please keep in mind, this timeline I’m giving you starts at the beginning of the year, but award seats are extremely fluid. There’s no “right answer” or universal “right time” to book.
That said, start here, and be sure to keep checking throughout the year if you don’t find what you’re looking for.
Trip Type | When to Start Searching | Best Booking Window | Flexibility Needed |
Europe in Summer | January to March | 6 to 10 months early | Medium to High |
Spring Break | January | 3 to 6 months early | High (especially for families) |
Hawaii (Spring/Summer) | January to April | 4 to 8 months early | Medium |
Asia (Fall 2026) | January to June | 6 to 11 months early | Medium |
Thanksgiving and Christmas | As early as possible | 10 to 12 months early | Very High |
Off-Peak Destinations | January to March | 2 to 6 months early | Low |
Step 5: Have a Backup Plan
Even with perfect timing, sometimes the exact seat you want doesn’t pop up. That’s totally normal, y’all. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
Here’s what smart award travelers do:
They change one variable — shift your travel by one day, try a different departure airport, or connect through a different hub.
They book something “good enough,” then improve it — many programs let you: switch flights later, reprice an award, or upgrade cabins if better seats open, so you’re not stuck with your first booking.
They remember that hotels can be a better use of points — if flights aren’t pricing well, sometimes hotels deliver insane value — especially with Hyatt and Hilton via transfer bonuses, or Bilt transfer partners.
The point is… you have options.
Pro Tips
Award availability is a moving target, not a one-and-done search. Check morning and night for a week, since availability genuinely changes daily.
Families need to search earlier than solo travelers. Two business-class seats are realistic. Four? Much tougher. Start early, friends!
👀 Extra: Does waiting until the last minute stress you out? Book a safety flight — book with a program and continue your search for last minute space. But remember: your points will get stuck wherever you transfer them, so use caution.
Book one way at a time. Round-trips look pretty, but one-ways are typically more flexible.
Use “positioning flights” to make itineraries work. If JFK to Lisbon is sold out, but Boston to Lisbon is wide open? Book Boston with points and use a cheap positioning flight.
🎥 Visual Learner? We have a YouTube video explaining everything you should know about positioning flights. Check it out here.
Be careful not to transfer points until you see an actual seat. Transfers are one-way, so don’t trap yourself into one option.
Bottom Line
Award availability is all about timing. When you choose your trip early, apply for a card when you know you’ll be spending more (like the holidays), use that time to earn a bonus effortlessly, and start your searches early…
…you’re suddenly playing the game from a really, really great position.
This is how beginners start booking the same trips the “experts” do. Not because they know every award chart but because they lined up their credit card strategy with the airline calendar — and that’s on being prepared. 💅
If your 2026 travel dreams are starting to kick in, now’s the perfect time to make sure the points will be waiting for you when you’re ready to book.
