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Booking award travel can be extremely satisfying. But what happens when you’ve planned your itinerary, you’re ready to book, and the dates you want aren’t available?
If you’re planning an award trip using points and miles, a free night award, rewards certificate, or other benefit this year, these are some of the details to know about restrictions and blackouts so you can make the most of your savings.
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Generally speaking, blackout dates are periods when travel is restricted if you’re using rewards to book your trip. This might include any bookings that use points, reward certificates, credits, vouchers, or other noncash payments.
Today, most airline and hotel loyalty programs — as well as credit card rewards programs — explicitly state there are no blackout dates when redeeming points and miles. That’s effectively made blackout dates a thing of the past for most award travelers, though they do still exist under some programs.
For example, if you want to redeem your Wyndham Rewards points for free hotel stays with the chain, the program terms outline blackout dates for specific types of properties. There are none for Hotels by Wyndham properties, while Caesars Rewards Destinations, Wyndham Vacation Clubs, and Vacasa Vacation Rentals are all subject to blackout dates.
JetBlue also publishes blackout dates each year, though only for specific rewards. These blackout dates apply to travelers using travel certificates and don’t apply to those redeeming TrueBlue points earned with the airline. The certificate blackout dates tend to fall during busy travel seasons like Thanksgiving week, Labor Day weekend, or busy periods for specific destinations (New Orleans over Mardi Gras and Austin, Texas during SXSW).
See our top picks for the best airline credit cards and best hotel credit cards
Even without blackout dates, your ideal itinerary could be difficult to book — especially when using awards and certificates from the airline or hotel rather than redeeming rewards.
With airline companion pass certificates, for instance, the airline will often specify the specific fare classes you can book with a companion certificate. These classes use internal codes designated by the airline, and there can be different fare classes within each seat type.
Here’s an example:
If you have a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, one benefit is an annual companion certificate on a main cabin domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flight with Delta (not including taxes and fees). The pass is limited to main cabin fares, but the certificate terms specify it only applies to L, U, T, X, and V classes of service. According to Delta, those letters apply to main cabin, discounted main cabin, and deeply discounted main cabin fares.
Looking at the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, there are currently no available flights from New York to Atlanta eligible for the companion certificate because it’s one of the busiest travel weekends of the year (Nov. 27 and Dec. 1).
However, that doesn’t mean every flight is sold out. The fare classes available for companion pass holders are not the only main cabin classes available. H, Q, and K tickets are also in that fare type, so a main cabin seat may be available to purchase but not open for companion pass tickets. In fact, there are still seats available for purchase using the same itinerary, but the letter next to “Main” shows these available seats are not certificate-eligible.
At the end of the day, you don’t need to know too much about fare classes and airline codes. But availability can always affect how you can use your rewards and benefits, whether you’re redeeming a companion pass or cashing in points and miles.
While few travel rewards programs have blackout dates anymore, they do have restrictions. Like with availability, these restrictions more often apply to special coupons, award nights, companion certificates, and other free travel than to points and miles rewards.
Make sure you read the specific terms of your agreement to find any restrictions that could make it more difficult to book when you want. Here are some examples to keep in mind.
In some cases, you’ll face restrictions when trying to combine your free award night or award certificate with another discount. For example, Hawaiian Airlines offers an annual companion discount for Hawaiian Airlines® Bank of Hawaii World Elite Mastercard®, but you can’t combine it with any other discount or promotion.
The Hawaiian Airlines companion discount is also not valid on award bookings — only purchased tickets. This is also true for companion fare bookings with Alaska Airlines (a benefit you can get with the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card).
Some programs, on the other hand, allow you to use awards and certificates along with sales. For instance, Hilton Honors members who earn a Free Night Reward with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card can combine it with other Hilton promotions and deals.
Read our full review of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
While you can often use points or miles to book award flights on codeshare flights with other airlines, it can also be a restriction with some airfare certificates and discounts.
For example, with the American Airlines companion certificate you can get with an AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, the airline specifies that eligible flights are only those marketed and operated by American Airlines or marketed by American Airlines and operated by a select list of other airlines. Codeshare flights that you can book through American Airlines but are operated by other airlines don’t apply.
Delta’s companion certificates via the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card have similar restrictions. The certificates are only valid on flights marketed by Delta and operated by Delta Air Lines, Endeavor Air, SkyWest Airlines, or Republic Airways.
Read our full review of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex card
If you don’t see availability to use your rewards or credits when booking online, try calling to speak with a representative. They may have access to more booking options and can help you secure your trip. Or they can give you more information about why you’re unable to book and offer other options.
Whenever you open a new credit card, join a loyalty program, or get rewarded with a free night or airfare certificate — make sure you read the terms and conditions.
The program terms will have all the details you may not get from the marketing materials: what type of flights and seats you can use a companion certificate on, for example, or which specific hotel properties don’t accept free night awards earned with your credit card.
Knowing these details before you’re ready to book can make the process much easier when you log on to explore options later.
One of the best ways to maximize your points, miles, and other travel awards is to make sure your travel plans remain flexible, including the days you can travel, how long your trip will last, and even how far in advance you book. The more flexibility you have, the less likely you are to find no availability or restrictions that keep you from using your rewards.
Ready to start planning your next trip? Read about our top credit cards for vacations here
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
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