The latest trend in points and miles is good news for some of you – and terrible news for others.
Here’s the gist: If you want to find and book business class award space, some of the best availability is now being released overnight or super early in the morning in the U.S.
Airlines release award space on their own flights or on partner airlines seemingly at random. That unpredictability is what makes our job at Thrifty Traveler Premium so challenging – and why we have flight deal analysts working nearly around the clock to find award availability and send it to our members. But lately, our colleague Katie Rollins – who works an unenviable early-morning shift on our team – noticed something unusual. These award space releases weren’t coming as randomly as they used to.
Instead, they were showing up consistently in the wee hours of the morning. That’s why many of you have been waking up to emails in your inbox that look like this.
This is an example of one of our Thrifty Traveler Premium points and miles alerts for Japan Airlines’ fancy new business class seats. Because we have team members searching overnight, we found the availability, vetted it, analyzed it, and sent it to our members – all before your pot of coffee finished brewing.
But it wasn't an isolated incident: Just one day earlier, the exact same thing happened.
And it’s not just Japan Airlines or the Oneworld alliance releasing award space overnight. Delta Air Lines did the same thing on its exciting new route to Hong Kong (HKG), launching next year.
And when Delta runs a flash sale, it typically isn't limited it to just a few airports. Just look at all the departure cities included in this deal!
For a while, we assumed this trend was limited to Asia routes – where overnight award dumps make sense given the time difference. But now, we’re seeing the same thing with Europe business class availability.
Travelers in the desert could snag this comfortable option flying to Paris (CDG) next year – but only if they woke up before 7 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time) to book it.
While business class award space still appears at all hours of the day, airlines increasingly seem to be adjusting their award inventory overnight and into the early morning hours on a more consistent basis.
The same early-morning trend showed up with this Iberia business class deal from Orlando (MCO) to Madrid (MAD) …
… for these Lufthansa business class flights to Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) …
… with these Virgin Atlantic business class seats to London (LHR) …
… and even with these LATAM business class flights to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
In every one of these cases, award availability popped up during the early morning hours. If you’re hunting for business class award space on your own, setting an early alarm is quickly becoming the name of the game.
Of course, you could let our team of flight deal analysts at Thrifty Traveler Premium do the hard work for you. Just check your inbox from bed – no searching required.
Bottom Line
The newest trend in points and miles award availability is great news for early risers. The best business class award space is increasingly appearing in the early morning hours.
If you want to find business class awards, log on early – or let the experts at Thrifty Traveler Premium notify you instead.
