How do I find award ticket availability?

Finding award availability: it is not as hard as you think

I hear this complaint regularly, and I understand the frustration. You have worked hard to save your miles and then there never seems to be a seat available. But in most cases it is a matter of search strategy, not a lack of seats.

The golden rule: book at the right time

Award availability follows a clear pattern:

• 3 to 11 months in advance: this is the sweet spot. Airlines open their award seats about 330 days before departure. The earlier you search, the more choice you have.
• 2-3 weeks before departure: surprisingly, availability often opens up again. Airlines release unsold seats for miles bookings.
• 1-3 months before departure: this is the worst period. Too late for early availability, too early for last-minute offers.

7 tips for better availability

1. Search on weekdays: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday almost always have better availability than Friday through Sunday.
2. Be flexible with dates: departing a day earlier or later can make the difference between "no availability" and an available award ticket.
3. Check connecting flights: a direct flight Amsterdam-Bangkok is hard to find, but via Paris (with Air France) there is often much more choice.
4. Also look at partner airlines: you can spend Flying Blue miles at SkyTeam partners like Delta, Korean Air and China Airlines. They have their own award seats that are not shown on KLM.nl.
5. Use the app and the website: it sounds odd, but sometimes the Flying Blue app shows different availability than the website. Always check both.
6. Business Class often has more seats: it seems counterintuitive, but Business Class award seats are sometimes easier to find than Economy. Airlines fill Economy first with paying passengers.
7. Set up alerts: on the Flying Blue website you can set an alert for specific routes. You will receive a notification as soon as availability opens up.

The most common mistakes

These are the things I see most often with people who cannot find availability:

• Only searching for direct flights - add connecting flights and your options triple
• Too popular routes in peak season - Amsterdam-Curacao during Christmas holidays is nearly impossible with miles. Try the shoulder months.
• Only searching on KLM.nl - the Flying Blue website also shows Air France and partner flights

My personal approach

I always book my award tickets 6-10 months in advance. I check multiple dates (at least a week of flexibility), look at connecting flights and search on both KLM and Air France. With that strategy, in 20 years I have never been unable to book a desired trip with miles.

Tip: with more miles you have more options. A Flying Blue Amex Platinum (1.5 miles per euro, welcome bonus up to 120,000 miles) quickly gives you enough miles to also consider Business Class awards, where availability is surprisingly often better.