How soon should we consider booking award seats?
 

We are considering using FF miles for award seats to Europe this winter over the Christmas/New Year's holiday. What is the recommended booking timeline for these seats? I am beginning to check itineraries w/ various partner airlines.. but they don't go out past the New Year. Just how soon should be book these seat? Our concern is that they will be limited. Thanks.

As soon as possible is your best bet to book seats using FF miles. Once your date is availabe book it. With most award tickets, you can change dates when available and even cancel the ticket with a small fee. Traveling to Europe during the holidays is a busy time and therefore award seats will be limited.

Popular times (like the Christmas holidays) always go very quickly. Book as soon as you can. You should be able to book the Christmas/New Years time now. Most airlines will let you book just under a year in advance.

Most airlines will allow you to reserve award seats around 330 days in advance. Which airline do you have miles with? Some, like Delta, will hold your reservation for 14 days. So if your outbound is within the 330 days, you can go ahead and try to reserve those seats, then call back later for the return. Normally in my experience, winter seats to Europe are not hard to come by, but since you're planning to travel over the holidays, it may be more difficult.

Another thing to keep in mind: the Christmas and New Years holiday time often fall in the blackout period for many FF programs (unless you use more miles to bypass).

Thanks for all the help. Since we never usually travel over the Christmas holiday, we weren't sure how far in advance we needed to plan. We are holding seats and plan to book them shortly. 10 months out seems like such a long way away!