Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,620
One year to fly.
In my experience Standard awards are inferior to points for bookings far in the future. They are much better than points for bookings near the date of travel except for peak flights, namely those flights destined to sell out at relatively high prices. Want a last-minute trip on a Tuesday? A Standard award is (literally) your ticket. BA points (Avios) are also pretty good for this purpose, and that's what I will have to use after my Standard awards are gone.