Here's the Best Time to Actually Book Your Flights in 2026-and When Not to Use Your Miles

"When schedules first open, airlines often release a handful of saver-level award seats per flight, particularly in business class. As demand takes shape, those cheaper award seats often disappear. Then, as departure approaches and airlines reconcile how many seats are likely to go unsold, they quietly release another wave of award seats ... Award space often dries up during the months when cash fares are typically cheapest."

"Points don't age well because loyalty programs keep changing the rules. And lately, those changes have tended to make your points less valuable, not more," the company wrote. "Waiting for the 'perfect redemption' is no longer strategic-it's risky. The longer you sit on your points, the more likely you'll wake up to another quiet devaluation."

When paying with cash, travelers should book domestic flights one to three months before departure and international flights two to eight months before departure, adding extra months for peak seasons such as summer. When booking with points or miles, optimal award redemptions often appear when airlines release schedules about ten to eleven months out and again in the final weeks before travel. Award space often vanishes during the middle months when cash fares hit their lowest. Loyalty programs are changing rules in ways that erode point value, making waiting for a perfect redemption increasingly risky in 2026.

Read at Travel + Leisure