Best times to book business-class award flights: Last-minute vs. advanced bookings
If you want to fly business class for an upcoming trip without paying a massive amount of cash, you may consider booking an award flight. Business-class award flights can be difficult to find on some routes as availability can be limited. You can improve your chances of snagging a great award by learning how to search for award availability and the best times to book business-class award flights.
Here's what you need to know.
How to find award availability
Some airlines make every seat available with miles. For most other airlines, though, you'll need to find award availability before you can book an award flight.
There are often multiple tiers of award availability with varying award rates that you can book through the airline operating the flight. But you can usually only book the less-expensive saver award seats through partner programs.
In short, award availability is a complicated topic with always more to learn. A good place to start is our guide on searching award availability, but I also highly recommend reading our story about apps and websites that make award redemptions easier to find. (Point.me and Seats.aero have become indispensable for me.)
It's also worth taking a look at the following stories if you're interested in booking award flights with an airline in a specific alliance:
- The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability
- The best websites for searching SkyTeam award availability
- The best websites to search for Star Alliance award availability
Related: Check seasonal flights for better award availability and pricing
Book business-class award flights far in advance
If you plan your trip at least 11 months in advance, you may be able to snag your business-class award flight right when the booking window opens.
See our guide on how far in advance you can book a flight to see when bookings might open for the award flight(s) you want to book. However, if you are booking a flight operated by a different airline than the one through which you want to book, you'll need to wait for both programs to open their booking windows.
It's best to start checking awards on dates near yours through the program you plan to use at least a week before you expect the booking window to open. Doing so will let you see award pricing and whether the program tends to have saver award availability at the start of the booking window.
Earlier this year, my husband and I snagged some end-of-schedule American AAdvantage business-class award flights to fly from the U.S. to Japan for 60,000 miles plus $5.60 each. We plan to ski in Niseko, Japan, again in 2025, and these flights will help us do so.
Related: 7 of the best airline award chart sweet spots
Book last-minute business-class award flights
While last-minute paid rates are often sky-high, you can sometimes use points and miles to book last-minute flights at saver rates. A glance at Seats.aero may show a significant amount of last-minute business-class award availability from a city you live in or a city in which you could book a positioning flight.
Some programs don't release award availability to partner programs for premium cabin award flights until the last minute. One well-known example is if you want to book Lufthansa First Class through a partner program (such as Avianca LifeMiles, Air Canada Aeroplan or United MileagePlus). A look at the Seats.aero Lufthansa First Class Finder shows ample award options — but as is now common, they were all within the next three days.
My husband and I previously based ourselves in Frankfurt, hoping to book a last-minute Lufthansa First award flight. A now-fixed Avianca LifeMiles glitch led us to find another way home. We plan to base ourselves in Frankfurt again and wait for an award we want to book this fall.
Related: These award tickets are best to book at the last minute
Book business-class award flights when there's availability
If you need a flight between two airports, you can check for award availability periodically. However, it's often better (and easier) to set up award availability alerts. Various services let you set up award availability alerts, but I use two paid services: Seats.aero Pro account and ExpertFlyer Premium account (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures).
Once you get an award alert (or find availability on your own), check that it is available via the loyalty program you plan to book through. Then, transfer in points if needed and book your award.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points
Use airline promotions to book business-class award flights
Some airline loyalty programs offer periodic promotions that you can use to snag business-class award flights at lower-than-usual rates. The best time to book your business-class award flight might be during an airline promotion.
For example, you can often find good transatlantic deals for flights operated by Air France and KLM through the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards. These Promo Rewards can be great if you want to travel between the U.S. and Europe.
You can also find deals on award flights operated by Singapore Airlines through KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes. These deals are great for visiting Asia. Promo Rewards are occasionally valid on Singapore's fifth-freedom routes, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt.
Related: Points and miles travel deals for this month
Use transfer bonuses to book business-class award flights
Finally, you'll occasionally find transfer bonuses that give you more miles when you convert transferable points into airline miles. The best time to book a business-class award flight might be when there's a transfer bonus to the airline loyalty program you plan to book through.
For example, if a business-class award flight costs 80,000 miles and the transfer ratio to the program is 1:1, you'd usually need to transfer 80,000 points to book the award flight. But, during a 20% transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 67,000 points since the transfer bonus would give you an additional 13,400 miles.
Related: A complete list of transfer bonuses over the past decade — which issuer is the most generous?
Bottom line
As you can tell, there's no set "best" time to book a business-class award flight.
It does pay to be patient, though, and to set up award availability alerts. By doing so, you can book when and if award availability appears for the flights you want.
If you grow impatient or can't find award availability at the price you want, leveraging a transfer bonus to book an award priced slightly higher than you'd like can still provide good value.
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta
- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members receive 15 Visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and can unlock an unlimited number of Visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you’ll receive four One-Time Guest Passes each Medallion Year so you can share the experience with family and friends when traveling Delta together.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. and select international locations (as set forth on the Centurion Lounge Website), Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. (see the Centurion Lounge Website for more information on Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge availability), and Escape Lounges when flying on a Delta flight booked with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. § To access Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 90 minutes of their departing flight (including layovers). To access The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 3 hours of their departing flight. Effective July 8, 2026, during a layover, Card Members must arrive within 5 hours of the connecting flight.
- Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
- $120 Rideshare Credit: Earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month after you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card to pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers. Enrollment required.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees