HOW IT WORKS
blackout dates
EarlyReturns® redemption seats are subject to blackout dates and availability. A blackout date is defined as a day that there are no regular redemption seats available anywhere in our system. Because of blackout dates, award seats will not be available for redemption travel on all flights on the days you see below. Available award seats will depend on the flight, the date of travel, the expected demand for the flight, the season, the destination, and various other factors.
2010 Domestic & International Blackout Dates
November 24, 28, and 29th
December 23, 26, and 27th
2011 Domestic & International Blackout Dates
January 2nd and 3rd
EarlyReturns® blackout FAQs
Why Blackout dates?
While it sounds strange, Blackout Dates actually increase the value of your miles and the EarlyReturns® program overall. Essentially, in exchange for adding blackouts on dates that offered fairly limited seat availability to begin with, we have increased the availability of redemption seats throughout our system by approximately 30 percent. We feel this will give our members a better opportunity to use the miles they have accumulated, thereby increasing the value of those miles.
Will this mean there are fewer seats?No. In fact, quite the opposite-we are actually adding redemption seats to the system overall. In exchange for a few blackout dates during the year we are reallocating seats to create increased availability on all other flights. This will increase a passenger's opportunity of getting a redemption seat on all non-blackout dates. However, please remember that being flexible is key when booking award travel. Passengers who are able to travel on a Thursday or a Monday (as opposed to a Friday or a Sunday), stand a much better chance at securing an award seat. For additional redemption tips and a list of recommended cities for redemption, click here to visit our Redemption Tips page.
It sometimes seems that I can never find a seat on a particular flight now matter how flexible I am. How is the number of seats available for redemption determined?The number of redemption seats available is determined by consumer demand. So, unfortunately the most popular flights (such as the day before Christmas or Thanksgiving) may be considered blackout dates, but other non-peak days will have more seats available than the previous set amount.
The date I want to travel is not a blackout date, why aren't there any seats available?As an example: If there are 4 flights to "City USA" on Tuesday March 17th, and there are 10 award seats allocated for that market on that date, those 10 award seats may be spread across those 4 flights in any number of ways. It could even be possible that one of the four flights on that day may contain zero award seats, while the 10 are split among the other three flights.
Planning ahead and being flexible is most definitely the key when booking award travel. Redemption seat availability is not guaranteed and depends on the flight, the date of travel, the expected demand for the flight, the season, the destination, and various other factors.
Possibly. With the exception of the blackout dates, there are award seats allocated for every city every day, although the quantity may vary by city and by date. Once set, award seat allocation generally does not change - except on rare occasions, which is why it is key to plan ahead. Our eSpecials emails are a good place to check for last minute award seat availability. To ensure you are receiving these emails, check your EarlyReturns account profile and view your communications / email settings. Because it is unlikely that additional award seats will open up at a later date, we strongly recommend that you check alternate dates, cities and times to book award travel if your first choice is unavailable.
Will the blackout dates change from year to year?Yes, according to the day / holiday. IE: Thanksgiving, New Year's, etc. Click here to go to our Blackout Dates page and you will find a year long calendar with our Domestic and Mexico blackout dates.
