Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology.
![Airline Peak & Off-peak Award Charts: The Ultimate Guide [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Peak-Travel.jpg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.
Commercial aviation is one of the most seasonal industries in the world. Typically, the busiest time of the year for airlines is from May to October.
Of course, this varies depending on the exact destinations, countries, or even cities that you visit. That being said, customer demand plummets in the winter months from November to March, especially when visiting Europe.
Airline revenue ticket prices fluctuate wildly thanks to revenue management departments, crazy algorithms, and seats sold. The same is generally true for airline award tickets. As a result, many major airlines have chosen to adopt a binary award pricing scheme, whereby there is an off-peak set of dates priced cheaper than the remaining peak dates.
In this guide, we’ll be taking an in-depth look into every major airline’s seasonality charts and discussing the nuances of each program, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the number of points you’ll use for award flights.
Travelers with flexible plans ought to book flights during off-peak when possible in order to spend fewer miles.
You’ve already worked so hard to earn your points and miles, so why spend any more than absolutely necessary?
By planning trips around off-peak award dates, you’ll extract the maximum value from your points and miles. There’s a minimal amount of work in understanding what constitutes peak and off-peak dates for each airline you want to fly on, but it’s all worth it in the end!
This guide is not about variable award pricing, which itemizes mileage and award prices based on distinct levels. Instead, we’re going to be talking about the major airlines that have specific peak and off-peak travel dates.
Before talking about each individual airline, keep in mind that some airlines adopt different seasonality policies depending on what route you fly on, while others have a simple binary system.
Let’s look into the airlines and dissect their peak and off-peak award charts.
Aer Lingus is Ireland’s flag carrier. Aer Lingus is owned by the same company that owns British Airways, IAG, and its frequent flyer currency is known as Avios.
Each calendar year, Aer Lingus publishes its off-peak and peak periods. The off-peak periods constitute two-thirds of the year, whereby you can book award flights for fewer Avios.
Additionally, Aer Lingus has a distance-based award chart along with peak/off-peak pricing. You can redeem Aer Lingus Avios for great value, especially if booking during off-peak dates.
Aer Lingus’s off-peak dates for 2023 are as follows:
Now that we’ve pieced together the seasonality, let’s talk briefly about how many points you’d save by booking off-peak. Here’s Aer Lingus’s award chart for one-way flights:
| Zone | Origin | Destinations | Off-peak Economy | Peak Economy | Off-peak Business | Peak Business |
| Zone 1 | Belfast | Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds Bradford, London, Manchester, Newquay | 4,000 | 4,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Cork | Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Paris | 4,000 | 4,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Donegal | Glasgow | 4,000 | 4,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Dublin | Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bristol, Brussels, Cardiff, Donegal, Doncaster, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kerry, Leeds Bradford, London, Manchester, Nantes, Newcastle, Newquay, Paris, Rennes | 4,000 | 4,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Shannon | Birmingham, Bristol, London, Paris | 4,000 | 4,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Zone 2 | Belfast | Palma | 6,500 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Cork | Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Geneva, Lisbon, Malaga, Munich, Nice, Palma | 6,500 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Dublin | Alghero, Alicante, Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Bologna, Copenhagen, Faro, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Murcia, Nice, Palma, Perpignan, Pisa, Prague, Pula, Salzburg, Santiago de Compostela, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich | 6,500 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Shannon | Barcelona, Faro, Malaga | 6,500 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | |
| Zone 3 | Belfast | Alicante, Faro, Malaga | 8,500 | 10,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Cork | Dubrovnik, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife | 8,500 | 10,000 | N/A | N/A | |
| Dublin | Agadir, Athens, Bourgas, Brindisi, Budapest, Catania, Corfu, Dubrobnik, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Izmir, Lanzarote, Malaga, Naples, Rome, Santorini, Split, Tenerife | 8,500 | 10,000 | N/A | N/A | |
| Shannon | Lanzarote | 8,500 | 10,000 | N/A | N/A | |
| Zone 4 | Dublin | Rhodes | 10,000 | 12,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Zone 5 | Dublin | Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Hartford, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington | 13,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| Shannon | Boston, New York | |||||
| Manchester | New York | |||||
| Zone 6 | Dublin | Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle | 16,250 | 25,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 |
| Manchester | Barbados, Orlando |
Suppose you wanted to fly from Miami (MIA) to Dublin (DUB) in Aer Lingus business class on September 18, 2023. Assuming you find availability on this date, you’ll be traveling on off-peak dates, meaning you’ll pay 62,500 Avios one-way as opposed to 75,000 Avios (the peak season price).
Let’s also suppose that the departing segment of your trip falls on peak dates while the returning flight falls on off-peak dates. In this case, you’d simply pay the peak price one-way and the off-peak price the other way.
Aer Lingus’ system is pretty straightforward, but you can save up to 12,500 Avios each way by planning your off-peak travel accordingly.
All Nippon Airways’ Mileage Club loyalty program is a fantastic overall program. Although its online user interface is somewhat dated, ANA has so many fantastic redemptions that you can’t miss out on.
ANA Mileage Club takes some time to learn about, but once that time is invested, you’ll find yourself digging up value redemption after value redemption.
Hot Tip: You can start racking up ANA miles pretty easily by following our guide on how to earn lots of ANA Mileage Club miles!
You can only book round-trip award bookings with ANA, so keep that in mind, too.
However, you can book one-way award bookings on ANA using Virgin Points via Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club.
Most airlines split up their peak/off-peak dates into a simple binary system, whereby a date is either a peak or off-peak date. ANA has 3 seasonality periods — low season, regular season, and high season.
ANA uses seasonality only for ANA flights. Seasonality does not apply to partners like United Airlines. The following is a chart that depicts the most updated seasonality dates for flights between Japan and Europe/North America until early 2024:
| ANA Seasonality Periods | 2023 | 2024 |
| Low Season (L) | January 4 – February 28 April 1-26 | January 4 – February 29 |
| Regular Season (R) | March 1-31 May 15 – July 20 August 28 – December 17 | March 1-31 |
| High Season (H) | January 1-3 April 27 – May 14 July 21 – August 27 December 18-31 | January 1-3 |
Keep in mind that there are different seasonality periods depending on what regions you’re flying to/from, and even for domestic flights. For example, Hawaii has a slightly different set of dates to the above as it is in Zone 5, while the rest of North America is in Zone 6. You can find out more here.
For flights between North America and Japan, here’s the round-trip award chart:
| Cabin Class | Low Season Price | Regular Season Price | High Season Price |
| Economy | 40,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 |
| Premium Economy | 62,000 | 72,000 | 77,000 |
| Business | 75,000 | 85,000 | 90,000 |
| First | 150,000 | 150,000 | 165,000 |
So, if you choose to fly on ANA business class round-trip from New York City (JFK) to Tokyo (NRT) departing on January 10, 2023, and returning on January 31, 2023, you’ll pay the low season price — an incredibly low 75,000 ANA miles.
On the other hand, flying during high season on the same route will cost a decent 90,000 miles. This represents a 20% hike in prices just for flying during different times.
Bottom Line: In order to figure out the price you’ll pay for a specific ANA flight during a specific date range, you’ll need to figure out the seasonality of the route first. Then, you can figure out the award price by matching the award chart pricing with the correct seasonality and route. Keep in mind that this only applies if you intend on using ANA miles on ANA flights.
American Airlines does offer off-peak awards, and these off-peak awards are often fantastic deals. However, American Airlines only does this for economy flights.
Additionally, qualifying tickets include partner airlines and aren’t limited to flights operated by American Airlines. That being said, American Airlines has off-peak economy tickets for many regions, and these tickets are called “MileSAAver off-peak.”
Hot Tip: In order to minimize your out-of-pocket costs at the hands of fuel surcharges, try to plan your travel solely on American Airlines flights.
Here’s the exact breakdown of flights, separated by region.
| Route | MileSAAver Off-peak Dates | MileSAAver Off-peak Cost | MileSAAver Cost |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to Hawaii | December 29, 2022 – March 12, 2023 August 11 – November 18, 2023 November 24, 2023 – December 10, 2023 | 20,000 | 22,500 |
| Hawaii to Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada | January 7 – March 19, 2023 August 18 – November 27, 2023 December 3-25, 2023 | ||
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America | April 21 – May 20, 2023 September 9 – November 18, 2023 | 12,500 | 15,000 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to/from Europe | January 10 – March 14, 2023 November 1 – December 14, 2023 | 22,500 | 30,000 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to Japan | January 1 – April 30, 2023 July 1 – November 30, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Japan to Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada | January 16 – April 19, 2023 May 2-31, 2023 September 1 – December 31, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to Korea | January 1 – April 30, 2023 July 1 – November 30, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Korea to Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada | January 16 – May 31, 2023 September 1 – December 31, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to Asia Region 2 (China and Hong Kong) | January 1 – April 30, 2023 July 1 – September 30, 2023 October 11 – November 30, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Asia Region 2 (China and Hong Kong) to Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada | February 1 – May 31, 2023 September 1-19, 2023 October 2 – December 31, 2023 | 32,500 | 35,000 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada to South America 1 | January 16 – June 14, 2023 September 7 – November 14, 2023 | 17,500 | 20,000 |
One thing that is important to note is the fact that the travel direction matters in order to determine whether a flight will be priced off-peak. As you can see, the off-peak bookings will save a small number of miles, usually around 2,500 miles.
The catch is you need to find MileSAAver award availability in order to get off-peak pricing on American Airlines flights. Additionally, there aren’t off-peak rates for the remainder of routes, which include flights between the South Pacific, Alaska, Canada, within the continental U.S., and South America Region 2.
Bottom Line: American Airlines offers off-peak pricing for economy flights, and these include partner airlines. You can save a small pile of points by booking during off-peak dates. Try to stick to American Airlines flights in order to reduce your taxes and fees as much as possible.
Asiana Airlines has deservedly garnered a great reputation with its loyalty program Asiana Club. In addition, Asiana Airlines continues to be a top airline of choice to earn miles on, thanks to its attractive (and niche!) ways to redeem for maximum value.
Asiana Airlines has off-peak and peak pricing only for its own flights. It also has different peak season dates departing on your exact route. Lastly, you can avoid peak season surcharges if you’re an Asiana Club Diamond Plus or Platinum member for both award bookings and upgrades.
Asiana Airlines charges 50% additional miles for flights during high season, so you’ll absolutely want to avoid flying during popular times. Here is the peak season chart for 2023:
| Route | Peak Dates | Off-peak Dates |
| International flights departing from the Americas | May 12 – July 4, 2023 December 7-31, 2023 | Every other date |
| International flights departing from non-Americas locations | January 1-8, 2023 January 20-24, 2023 February 24 – March 1, 2023 May 4-8, 2023 June 2-6, 2023 July 21 – August 20, 2023 September 27 – October 4, 2023 December 29-31, 2023 | Every other date |
| Domestic South Korea flights | January 1, 2023 January 20-26, 2023 February 19 – March 1, 2023 May 4-7, 2023 June 5-6, 2023 July 23 – August 19, 2023 September 27 – October 5, 2023 October 9, 2023 December 25, 2023 December 31, 2023 | Every other date |
The award chart for Asiana Airlines flights is as follows for one-way flights:
| Type of Ticket | Route | Economy Peak | Economy | Business Peak | Business | Business Smartium Class Peak | Business Smartium Class |
| Nonstop | Domestic Flight | 7,500 | 5,000 | – | – | – | – |
| Korea ⇄ Japan, China/Northeast Asia | 22,500 | 15,000 | 33,750 | 22,500 | 37,500 | 25,000 | |
| Korea ⇄ Southeast Asia | 30,000 | 20,000 | 45,000 | 30,000 | 52,500 | 35,000 | |
| Korea ⇄ Southwest Asia | 37,500 | 25,000 | 56,250 | 37,500 | 67,500 | 45,000 | |
| Korea ⇄ US, Oceania, Europe | 52,500 | 35,000 | 78,750 | 52,500 | 93,750 | 62,500 | |
| Connecting via South Korea | Japan ⇄ China/Northeast Asia | 33,750 | 22,500 | 45,000 | 30,000 | 52,500 | 35,000 |
| Japan, China/Northeast Asia ⇄ Southeast Asia | 41,250 | 27,500 | 52,500 | 35,000 | 63,750 | 42,500 | |
| Japan, China/Northeast Asia ⇄ Southwest Asia | 45,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 40,000 | 75,000 | 50,000 | |
| Japan, China/Northeast Asia ⇄ US, Oceania | 56,250 | 37,500 | 82,500 | 55,000 | 101,250 | 67,500 | |
| Japan, China/Northeast Asia ⇄ Europe | 56,250 | 37,500 | 82,500 | 55,000 | 101,250 | 67,500 | |
| Southeast Asia ⇄ Europe | 63,750 | 42,500 | 93,750 | 62,500 | 116,250 | 77,500 | |
| Southeast Asia ⇄ Southwest Asia | 52,500 | 35,000 | 78,750 | 52,500 | 97,500 | 65,000 | |
| Southeast Asia ⇄ US, Oceania | 63,750 | 42,500 | 93,750 | 62,500 | 116,250 | 77,500 | |
| Southwest Asia ⇄ US, Oceania | 71,250 | 47,500 | 105,000 | 70,000 | 131,250 | 87,500 | |
| Oceania ⇄ US | 78,750 | 52,500 | 120,000 | 80,000 | 150,000 | 100,000 | |
| Oceania ⇄ Europe | 78,750 | 52,500 | 120,000 | 80,000 | 150,000 | 100,000 |
For example, let’s say you want to fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) via Seoul (ICN) on Asiana Airlines, using Asiana Club miles, departing on July 3, 2023, and returning on August 10, 2023. The first segment is the peak season, while the returning segment is during the off-peak season.
Furthermore, these flights have Business Smartium Class installed, which is Asiana’s best long-haul business class seat. This means that you’ll pay 150,000 miles plus 100,000 miles for the returning flight during off-peak season. You’ll definitely want to be careful to avoid peak season if you can since a 50% price hike is huge.
Bottom Line: Asiana Airlines raises prices for peak season award tickets by 50% across the board. Therefore, if flying on Asiana Airlines while redeeming Asiana Airlines miles, you should book off-peak tickets when you can.
British Airways employs a distance-based award chart with multiple zone brackets. In addition, there’s off-peak and peak pricing. British Airways also has multiple award charts, but British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus are the only airlines eligible for off-peak pricing.
British Airways’ peak and off-peak dates for 2023 are as follows:
Off-peak Dates:
If your travel dates fall outside of these dates, your award ticket will be priced as a peak flight.
British Airways’ peak and off-peak calendars consist of wide bands, but they also contain multiple single-date occurrences for off-peak dates. Once you’ve identified the seasonality of your travel dates, you’ll want to figure out how much your flight will cost.
To accomplish this, you’ll also need to figure out what the total distance of your flight is. Great Circle Mapper is a valid resource to gauge your flight distance.
| Zone (Miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First | ||||
| Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | |
| Zone 1 (1-650) | 4,750 | 5,250 | — | — | 7,750 | 9,000 | — | — |
| Zone 2 (651-1,151) | 7,250 | 8,250 | — | — | 13,500 | 15,750 | — | — |
| Zone 3 (1,152-2,000) | 9,250 | 10,750 | — | — | 17,750 | 20,750 | — | — |
| Zone 4 (2,001-3,000) | 10,000 | 12,500 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 31,250 | 37,500 | 42,500 | 50,000 |
| Zone 5 (3,001-4,000) | 13,000 | 20,000 | 26,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 68,000 | 80,000 |
| Zone 6 (4,001-5,500) | 16,250 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 | 85,000 | 100,000 |
| Zone 7 (5,501-6,500) | 19,500 | 30,000 | 39,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 102,000 | 120,000 |
| Zone 8 (6,501-7,000) | 22,750 | 35,000 | 45,500 | 70,000 | 87,500 | 105,000 | 119,000 | 140,000 |
| Zone 9 (7,001+) | 32,500 | 50,000 | 65,000 | 100,000 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 170,000 | 200,000 |
Let’s take an example flight from Boston (BOS) to London (LHR) in British Airways first class on March 15, 2023. Since this date falls into the off-peak category and the flight distance is 3,265 miles according to Great Circle Mapper, you will pay 68,000 Avios for this flight. This represents a savings of 12,000 Avios compared to a peak flight.
British Airways gives customers the option of picking an Avios and cash combination that best suits their wallet.
For example, a flight from New York (JFK) to London (LHR) falls into Zone 5. So, in theory, an economy peak ticket should price out at 20,000 Avios + some cash. However, when you search, the first price BA gives you is significantly more at 30,000 Avios and + £47 ($65).
To see the Avios amount that matches the redemption chart above, you have to click on more pricing options. Then you’ll see you can select an option which suits you best.
Before selecting a pricing option, it’s worth bearing in mind that while paying more Avios and less cash might seem like a better deal, you could actually end up paying more when taking into consideration the true value of the Avios.
Hot Tip: See our guides on the top ways to earn lots of British Airways Avios, and then make sure you’re redeeming them for the best value possible!
Iberia is Spain’s flag carrier. The airline happens to be owned by the same company that owns British Airways and Aer Lingus (discussed in earlier sections of this guide), but interestingly, the peak and off-peak calendars don’t match when using Avios from different frequent flyer programs.
Additionally, Iberia uses peak and off-peak dates for flights on Iberia, Iberia Express, and Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum. For all other airlines, a different award chart will apply and seasonality is not used.
The 2023 off-peak dates are as follows:
2023 Off-peak Dates:
All other dates that don’t appear in the above list are peak dates.
Since Iberia uses off-peak and peak pricing only on its own flights, we’re going to be referencing the award chart for Iberia flights only.
Here’s the Iberia Avios award chart for flights on Iberia:
| Distance | Economy Blue | Full Fare Economy | Premium Economy | Business | ||||
| Miles | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak |
| 0-650 | 4,500 | 5,000 | 6,750 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | 9,000 | 10,000 |
| 651-1,150 | 7,500 | 8,250 | 11,250 | 12,500 | N/A | N/A | 15,000 | 16,500 |
| 1,151-2,000 | 10,000 | 11,000 | 15,000 | 16,500 | N/A | N/A | 20,000 | 22,000 |
| 2,001-3,000 | 11,000 | 12,500 | 16,000 | 18,750 | N/A | N/A | 21,250 | 31,250 |
| 3,001-4,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 22,000 | 28,000 | 25,500 | 35,000 | 34,000 | 50,000 |
| 4,001-5,500 | 21,250 | 25,000 | 27,750 | 35,000 | 31,750 | 43,750 | 42,500 | 62,500 |
| 5,501-6,500 | 25,500 | 30,000 | 33,250 | 42,000 | 38,250 | 52,500 | 51,000 | 75,000 |
| 6,501-7,000 | 29,750 | 35,000 | 38,750 | 49,000 | 44,250 | 61,250 | 59,500 | 87,500 |
| 7,000+ | 42,500 | 50,000 | 55,250 | 70,000 | 63,750 | 87,500 | 85,000 | 125,000 |
| Exceptions | ||||||||
| Air Shuttle | N/A | N/A | 6,250 | 6,250 | N/A | N/A | 13,500 | 13,500 |
| Madrid-London | 6,500 | 7,500 | 9,750 | 11,250 | N/A | N/A | 12,750 | 15,000 |
For example, if you’re planning on flying in business class from San Francisco (SFO) to Madrid (MAD) on September 23, 2023, then you’ll be paying for an off-peak business class award for a flight that spans 5,811 miles. This corresponds to a 51,000 Avios price, which is significantly cheaper than the 75,000 Avios for a peak award.
Just like its main competitor airline Asiana Airlines, Korean Air uses peak and off-peak pricing. Korean Air SKYPASS is a fantastic program to redeem miles on, with plenty of options ranging from Korean Air first class to Etihad first class.
Although there aren’t very many ways to accrue Korean Air miles from transferable points, there are still great ways to earn lots of Korean Air SKYPASS miles.
Korean Air employs a region-based award chart. Also, one-way flight redemptions are only allowed on Korean Air. For all partners, you must book round-trip if you want to use miles.
Hot Tip: Korean Air is one of the few airlines that still operate the A380. Check out our review of Korean Air’s A380 first class.
To determine whether or not your flights fall into peak season, you’ll need to know the route and the travel dates. Peak dates for Korean Air are:
| Origin | Destination | 2023 Peak Dates |
| Korea | Korea | January 1, 2023 January 20-26, 2023 February 19 – March 1, 2023 May 4-7, 2023 June 5-6, 2023 July 23 – August 19, 2023 September 27 – October 5, 2023 October 9, 2023 December 25, 2023 December 31, 2023 |
| Korea, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania | Korea, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America | January 2-15, 2023 January 21-24, 2023 July 15 – August 5, 2023 August 19 – September 3, 2023 September 27 – October 9, 2023 |
| North America | Korea, Asia, Oceania, North America, South America | May 12-14, 2023 May 18 – July 1, 2023 August 4-13, 2023 December 7-10, 2023 December 14-23, 2023 |
Korean Air’s round-trip award chart is as follows (one-way awards are half the price):
| Routes | Season | Economy | Prestige | First | |
| Domestic within Korea | Off | 10,000 | 12,000 | – | |
| Peak | 15,000 | 18,000 | – | ||
| Korea | Japan, China/Northeast Asia | Off | 30,000 | 45,000 | 65,000 |
| Peak | 45,000 | 65,000 | 95,000 | ||
| Southeast Asia | Off | 40,000 | 70,000 | 90,000 | |
| Peak | 60,000 | 105,000 | 135,000 | ||
| Southwest Asia | Off | 50,000 | 90,000 | 115,000 | |
| Peak | 75,000 | 135,000 | 175,000 | ||
| North America, Oceania, Europe/Middle East/Africa | Off | 70,000 | 125,000 | 160,000 | |
| Peak | 105,000 | 185,000 | 240,000 | ||
| Japan | China/Northeast Asia | Off | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| Peak | 60,000 | 90,000 | 135,000 | ||
| Southeast Asia | Off | 50,000 | 70,000 | 90,000 | |
| Peak | 75,000 | 105,000 | 135,000 | ||
| Southwest Asia | Off | 60,000 | 90,000 | 115,000 | |
| Peak | 90,000 | 135,000 | 175,000 | ||
| North America, Oceania, Europe/Middle East/Africa | Off | 70,000 | 125,000 | 160,000 | |
| Peak | 105,000 | 185,000 | 240,000 | ||
| China/Northeast Asia | Southeast Asia | Off | 50,000 | 70,000 | 90,000 |
| Peak | 75,000 | 105,000 | 135,000 | ||
| Southwest Asia | Off | 60,000 | 90,000 | 115,000 | |
| Peak | 90,000 | 135,000 | 175,000 | ||
| North America, Oceania, Europe/Middle East/Africa | Off | 70,000 | 125,000 | 160,000 | |
| Peak | 105,000 | 185,000 | 240,000 | ||
| Southeast Asia | Southwest Asia | Off | 70,000 | 125,000 | 160,000 |
| Peak | 105,000 | 185,000 | 240,000 | ||
| North America, Oceania, Europe/Middle East/Africa | Off | 85,000 | 150,000 | 190,000 | |
| Peak | 125,000 | 225,000 | 285,000 | ||
| Southwest Asia | North America, Oceania, Europe/Middle East/Africa | Off | 95,000 | 170,000 | 210,000 |
| Peak | 140,000 | 255,000 | 315,000 | ||
| Southwest Asia* | Off | 25,000 | 45,000 | 60,000 | |
| Peak | 37,500 | 67,500 | 90,000 | ||
| Oceania | North America, Europe, Middle East/Africa | Off | 110,000 | 195,000 | 240,000 |
| Peak | 165,000 | 290,000 | 360,000 | ||
*Direct flights only
If flying from New York (JFK) to Seoul (ICN) on Korean Air first class on December 17, 2023, your flight will fall into peak season. For this, you’ll pay 120,000 Korean Air miles one-way compared to 80,000 Korean Air miles for off-peak travel.
Virgin Atlantic employs standard and peak seasons for Virgin Atlantic flights only, so they are not applicable to airlines like All Nippon Airways. Furthermore, Virgin Atlantic splits up seasonality calendars between Caribbean routes and all others.
For Caribbean routes, the standard (off-peak) season consists of the following date ranges:
On the other hand, Caribbean peak dates are on all other dates.
The rest of Virgin Atlantic flights follow these standard dates:
All other dates are peak dates for non-Caribbean flights.
Flights on Virgin Atlantic can be significantly cheaper if planning during standard dates. Here’s the Virgin Atlantic award chart for one-way, standard season bookings:
| Route To/From U.K. | Economy Classic | Premium | Upper Class |
| U.S. — Northeast (Boston, Newark, New York-JFK, Washington, D.C.) | 20,000 | 35,000 | 95,000 |
| U.S. — Midwest and South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa) | 25,000 | 45,000 | 95,000 |
| U.S. — West (Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) | 30,000 | 55,000 | 135,000 |
| Nigeria and China | 25,000 | 45,000 | 115,000 |
| South Africa and Indian Ocean | 25,000 | 50,000 | 115,000 |
| Caribbean | 20,000 | 35,000 | 115,000 |
| India and Pakistan | 20,000 | 35,000 | 75,000 |
| Tel Aviv | 18,000 | 32,000 | 56,000 |
And here’s the Virgin Atlantic award chart for one-way peak season bookings:
| Route To/From U.K. | Economy Classic | Premium | Upper Class |
| U.S. – Northeast (Boston, Newark, New York-JFK, Washington, D.C.) | 40,000 | 55,000 | 115,000 |
| U.S. – Midwest and South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa) | 45,000 | 65,000 | 115,000 |
| U.S. – West (Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) | 50,000 | 75,000 | 155,000 |
| Nigeria and China | 45,000 | 65,000 | 135,000 |
| South Africa and Indian Ocean | 45,000 | 85,000 | 135,000 |
| Caribbean | 40,000 | 55,000 | 135,000 |
| India and Pakistan | 40,000 | 55,000 | 95,000 |
| Tel Aviv | 22,000 | 40,000 | 66,000 |
Let’s take an example flight from London (LHR) to Las Vegas (LAS), which is on the U.S. West Coast. If you book a flight during peak season in Upper Class, you’ll pay 77,500 miles, as opposed to the standard price of 67,500 miles.
Overall, there are a lot of airlines that have unique peak and off-peak season policies. For the most part, airlines tend to limit the price variation from seasonality to their own airlines. For example, Asiana Airlines levies peak surcharges only on flights operated by Asiana and not on any other carriers.
An exception to this would be American Airlines AAdvantage, which makes off-peak pricing in economy available on partner airlines such as British Airways.
Keeping track of peak dates and booking travel flexibly to avoid peak season is a recipe for conserving your hard-earned points and miles. As a result, you’ll want to confirm that you’re getting the best value redemption prior to committing to a flight.
Now, you have a one-stop shop for a guide on the airlines that carry peak and off-peak policies for award bookings. Happy booking!
Off-peak travel times vary by airline, route, and dates. Each airline has defined separate date ranges for off-peak seasons where a flight will cost fewer miles.
Economy MileSAAver is American Airlines’ economy ticket that uses the fewest miles. If you want to maximize your savings, you’ll want to travel in Economy MileSAAver off-peak, which is even cheaper than Economy MileSAAver.
Off-peak travel is defined as traveling at a time where there is less than maximum demand. Some off-peak travel ideas would be to fly to Europe during the winter months of January through March.
Peak travel is defined as the period of travel in which there is maximum demand. You’ll often see large crowds, expensive hotel prices, and more expensive airplane tickets.
Off-peak is almost always cheaper than peak travel. Because airlines don’t expect to sell out their seats, they release “cheaper” seats that you can use miles for. Also, the mileage price is cheaper during off-peak compared to peak. The exact discount varies from airline to airline, so you’ll need to reference one of the airlines above to figure out how much cheaper it is to travel during peak dates with points.
Was this page helpful?
Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts...
Plus — expert strategies to maximize your points & miles by joining our (free) newsletter.
We respect your privacy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google's privacy policy and terms of service apply.
