Originally Posted by
JonP
I am reaching out for some guidance in using Avios for a trip to the Caribbean late January 2026 (dates are reasonably flexible). I have been tracking availability from the start of 2026 and it appears that there are few seats if any available (except economy).
We require two seats outbound to Barbados (BGI), either premium economy or business and returns a couple of weeks later from either Antigua (ANU) or St Lucia (UVF). And if necessary, Barbados (BGI).
To secure seats I will book outgoing/inbound separately. At what time are the flights uploaded for booking? Are seats uploaded after the first day of booking?
Any advise would be much appreciated.
For both Jan 2024 and Jan 2025 I managed to secure a pair of returns to ANU using a CV in J. It’s not easy and you need a bit of luck. I booked online both times at the stroke of midnight. I timed to the second how long the page took to refresh and load flights so at 23:59 and 18 seconds I hit refresh. Then grabbed them. Yes book outbound first then same process for return then phone to get 50% refund on avios by applying the CV. It does mean you’ll need I think 270,000 avios in the bank to do this. Taxes were £450 pp. Flight costs today circa £4- £5k pp I’d imagine so worth the effort.
My only regret is I got the return at first attempt and didn’t bother going back another night to have a longer trip. So only 7 nights in Carlisle Bay when I would have preferred 10.
Edit. Just did a dummy booking for our flights £6.1K pp.