Save thousands of points by utilising off-peak dates.
When paying cash for plane tickets, flying on less popular days or during quieter periods of the year helps reduce costs. The same goes for reward seats that you book using points. These points you’ll save, for most airlines at least, are well documented, and the “off-peak” dates are announced in advance.
What do peak and off-peak dates mean?
Some airlines operate a two-tier points pricing system for award tickets, where the points required vary depending on whether the travel dates are considered peak or off-peak periods. Not only are these dates (at least with BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus) publicised and fixed well in advance, but you also have clarity on the difference in points needed for a peak or off-peak journey.
Most peak dates will come as no surprise. The Summer months have the most peak dates, and most days around Christmas (and the lead-up to it) are also peak. Easter is another point, but there are other times of the year where peak dates exist, and are less expected.
If you want to use your Avios with Qatar, then their off-peak dates are dynamic, based on the route, but they tend to fall into roughly the same periods. I will write more about Qatar’s off-peak periods later.
What difference does it make to redemptions?
Booking off-peak can save you a significant amount of Avios, even in the economy cabin.
If I look at all of BA’s flights, then the difference (per person, each way)
- For long-haul flights, this can be as much as 21,000 points
- For short-haul flights, the difference can be as much as 1,250 points
If I break this down to the different cabins (again, per person, each way)
- In Economy, the maximum difference between peak and off-peak is 5,000 points
- Premium Economy is 25,000 points
- Business Class, the difference is surprisingly much lower. The maximum is 10,000 points
- First, it’s 21,000 points
So it’s clear that booking off-peak will deliver some sizeable point savings. Flying two people, return, in business class to Singapore using Avios will be 40,000 points cheaper if you fly both legs off peak. That’s a total of 440,000 Avios in total versus 480,000 Avios, or if you’re using an Amex two-for-one voucher, 220,000 Avios instead of 240,000.
What are the off-peak and peak dates for BA Avios redemptions in 2025?
Click here to be taken to a Google Sheet with all of the off-peak dates.
Consider all dates off-peak, except for the following.
- January 2025: 1st to the 6th
- February 2025: 14th to 17th, 20th to 24th
- March 2025: None
- April 2025: 4th to 7th, 9th to 14th, 16th to 22nd
- May 2025: 3rd to 5th, 24th to 31st
- June 2025: 1st to 8th, 14th to 15th, 21st to 22nd, 28th to 29th
- July 2025: 3rd to 7th, 9th to 14th, 16th to 21st, 23rd to 28th, 30th to 31st
- August 2025: 1st to 4th, 6th to 11th, 13th to 18th, 20th to 25th, 27th to 31st
- September 2025: 1st, 6th to 7th, 13th to 14th, 20th to 21st, 27th, 28th.
- October 2025: 24th to 27th, 29th to 31st.
- November 2025: 1st to 3rd, 22nd, 30th.
- December 2025: 13th to 14th, 19th to 24th, 26th to 31st
Which months should you avoid? Here’s a breakdown of months with the percentage of days that are off-peak. No surprises in that the Summer months are particularly bad. June, July and August have the highest number of peak days (69.6% of those three months are peak).
December, a month where people typically fly home to their families or look to use the time off between Christmas and New Year to take a break, is also one of the more challenging months, with just under half of the days marked as peak.
- January 2025: 80.6%
- February 2025: 67.9%
- March 2025: 100% – The best month for availability
- April 2025: 43.3%
- May 2025: 64.5%
- June 2025: 53.3%
- July 2025: 25.8%
- August 2025: 12.9% – The worst month for availability
- September 2025: 70%
- October 2025: 77.4%
- November 2025: 83.9%
- December 2025: 54.8%
Off-peak dates broken down by season
- Spring 2025: 69.6%
- Summer 2025: 30.4%
- Autumn 2025: 77.2%
- Winter 2025: 67.8%
The best periods with long runs of off-peak days
If you’re fairly flexible on dates, but you want to travel at a particular time of year, what parts of the calendar are best to look at?
Late September and into October is a good part of the year. From the 22nd September 2025 to the 23rd October 2025, there are just two peak days.
Late February 2025 to March 2025 is also a good period; you can travel from February 25th to April 3rd, with every single day between those dates being off-peak.
Another window of off-peak dates is from early November to mid-December. From the 4th November to the 13th December, there are just two days that are peak (22nd Nov and 30th Nov).
Strategies for Christmas 2025
If you’re looking to travel over Christmas, then there’s just one off-peak day at the end of December, and that’s the 25th. In 2024, we flew out to Bahrain starting on the 24th of December, and it was a great experience. The flight and the airport were quiet; however, it’s a challenging day if you have family. In January 2026, the off-peak redemption days start on January 5th. That means you could go away for just under two weeks using off-peak days.
What are the off-peak and peak dates for BA Avios redemptions in 2026?
I’ve outlined the dates for 2026 (accurate up to June 2026) and then added in what I believe will be the off-peak dates for the remainder of 2026. Click here to be taken to a Google Sheet with all of the off-peak dates.
Comparing 2025 and 2026 for BA, there are a lot of similarities between the years. In 2025, there were 142 peak days, which represent 39% of all dates. In 2026 peak dates are marginally lower, at 34%.
The big shifts in 2026 are fewer peak days in the Spring, the same number in the Summer and then fewer in Autumn and Winter. The usual lock-out dates in December and August will still apply each year.
What are the off-peak and peak dates for Qatar Avios redemptions in 2025 and 2026?
Qatar have dynamic off-peak periods depending on where you travel to and from. You’ll see that the off-peak periods have similarities, which is a long Autumn off-peak, followed by peak over Christmas, then another off-peak period up to Easter, then another period at the end of April into May.
The table below shows off-peak dates from July 2025 to June 2026. I’ve marked the dates in bold that are significantly different.
| Route | Off-Peak Period 1 | Off-Peak Period 2 | Off-Peak Period 3 | Off-Peak Period 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to London | 26th Aug to 14th Dec | 15th Jan to 23rd Mar | 13th April to 24th Jun | NA |
| New York to Doha | 26th Aug to 14th Dec | 15th Jan to 23rd Mar | 13th April to 29th May | 5th June onwards |
| Doha to Singapore | 26th Aug to 14th Dec | 15th Jan to 16th Mar | 13th April to 20th May | 26th May to 24th Jun |
How many Avios points do you need to fly to different cities?
I’ve created a tool that shows you the points needed for each destination, as well as the breakdown of peak and off-peak dates. You can view all of the cities on my “How Many Avios” tool or if you want to jump to one of the most popular cities, here are links that take you straight to those pages
- How many Avios to fly from London to New York
- How many Avios to fly from London to Singapore
- How many Avios to fly from London to Paris
- How many Avios to fly from London to Tenerife
- How many Avios to fly from London to Dubai
Should this be a part of your points usage strategy?
Utilising off-peak dates can be important if you have a limited number of points. The savings across a few years could give you enough points to book a further flight.
If you have flexibility on dates, and departing a day later or a day earlier isn’t an issue, then it’s worth doing that to maximise your points.
On the flip side, if you have precise dates that you need to fly out or back, then you may have to ignore off-peak. If you have a wealth of points, there’s also the argument that the off-peak dates won’t have a material impact on your points.
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