Originally Posted by
yoyo
That's correct. No chance I am flying before expiration.
You don't need to fly before expiration. You only need to redeem before expiration and you can book 353~360 days out (maybe only 330 days for AA, AS, LA, and GF). If a future guideline covers you and / or your flight gets cancelled, you can get the miles re-deposited with extended expiry to the next annual cycle.