Aston100

Hi guys, what method or tool are you using to calculate the release date of award seats?
I thought it was simply a case of adding 11 days to the flight date, and then minus a year?
But I'm being given two different dates when I (eventually) got through to BA to query this.

Specific examples:
Outbound on 23rd July 2021.
Inbound 7th August 2021.

I'm being given dates of 2nd or 3rd August 2020 at midnight GMT for the outbound seats to appear, and 18th or 19th August 2020 for the inbound by different BA personnel.

Thanks.

Globaliser

I use a calculator.

BA sells 355 days at any one time, including today.

On 2 August 2020, from 0000 GMT onwards, BA will sell 30 days of August (ie every day except 1 August 2020).

Sep 2020 to Jun 2021 are 30+31+30+31+31+28+31+30+31+30=303, making a total of 333 days up to the end of June 2021.

Therefore on 2 August 2020, BA will also be selling the first 22 days of July 2021.

Aston100

Not sure I fully understood that, especially the bit about "On 2 August 2020, from 0000 GMT onwards, BA will sell 30 days of August"
However, it sounds like you are saying that my outbound flight on 23 July 2021 will become available to book with Avios at 1am in the UK on 3rd August 2020. Is that right?

Could you please also have an attempt at the date my inbound flight on 7th August 2021 will be available to book with Avios?
Thanks.

sunshinebob

Or just google your question.

https://www.convertunits.com/dates/daysfromnow/355

Works in reverse too

Globaliser

August has 31 days. So when 2 August 2020 starts, BA will no longer sell 1 August 2020 but will be selling 2 to 31 August 2020 inclusive, ie a total of 30 days.

BA will also be selling 1 September 2020 to 30 June 2021 inclusive, which is 303 days, as calculated above.

So 2 August 2020 to 30 June 2021 inclusive is therefore 333 days.

BA sells a total of 355 days at once. So there are then 22 more days that BA will sell beyond 30 June 2021. These are therefore 1 to 22 July 2021 inclusive.

If it's not clear, from all of that: On 2 August 2020 you cannot yet book for 23 July 2021.

I'm setting all of this out in longhand so that everyone can see the method and can do their own calculations for whichever travel date they need to work out. You asked "what method or tool" - and this is how I do it.

MNMAA

Just stick the date in your spreadsheet of choice and subtract 354 (three-five-four) from it?

Scots_Al

All very complicated. Look at what BA releases tonight. Add the number of days until your flight.

Aston100

That gives me:
23/07/2021 = 03/08/2020
07/08/2021 = 18/08/2020

Why subtract 354 and not 355?

Aston100

I honestly thought there would be a site or a specific tool that frequent flyers commonly use as a reference point, and it would be in one of the stickies here.

Scots_Al

I’m a simple lad! When I knew I had one I had to get coming up, I just checked a few days out and put a reminder in my phone!

Aston100

You might be surprised, but I did that before posting this thread.
I could only find one tool that seemed to kind of work, but it tells me 2nd August 2020 and 17th August 2020 respectively, which is different from above
See this: https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dat...w=&ad=355&rec=
And this: https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dat...w=&ad=355&rec=

The link you posted doesn't seem to give me the option of subtracting a number of days by the way.

MNMAA

Because one of the days is the day you want to travel.
If you were to subtract 355 you would be one day off.

Hawk777

5th of Jan out tonight in a couple of hours if that helps

ricktoronto

www.timeanddate.com has calculators where you can even include or exclude the last day in the count and dozens of other handy time zone functions, etc.

mikeyfly

Just scroll calendar to as far as it goes and bingo! The next day is released at midnight. Is it really anymore complicated?!