What are the 2023 peak and off-peak Avios flight dates?

What are the peak and off-peak dates for redeeming Avios points?  This article looks at the British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus peak and off-peak Avios calendars for 2023.

Remember that these calendars apply to the operating airline and not to where you book your flight.  An Iberia flight uses the Iberia calendar even if you book it via ba.com instead of iberia.com. (You shouldn’t do this, by the way, because taxes are higher if you book Iberia long-haul flights on ba.com instead of iberia.com.)

You can refer to this table at any time by clicking on the ‘Avios’ menu in the menu bar.

What if I am booking a partner airline such as Qatar Airways?

You need to remember that partner airlines are charged at peak rates at all times.  This applies to American Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Finnair etc.

You can see the British Airways partner chart here if you want to know how many Avios are needed for flights on oneworld airlines.

Qatar Airways operates off a totally different chart which is not made public.

Where do the Avios peak and off-peak calendars differ?

I have reproduced the calendars below.  You will note that there are substantial differences between them. Especially when travelling during school holidays on a route served by both by BA and Iberia or Aer Lingus, it may well be cheaper to book away from British Airways.

Aer Lingus is always peak over Christmas, New Year, Easter and the Summer. It is always off-peak at other dates.

British Airways is far more granular with most months seeing a mix of peak and off-peak dates.

There are different peak periods around school holidays. UK bank holidays and half terms tend not to be peak on the Iberia and Aer Lingus calendars.

Of course …. you can only benefit from this if Iberia or Aer Lingus flies to your chosen destination, and you are happy transiting via Madrid or Dublin. Aer Lingus has launched its direct flights from Manchester to New York, Orlando and Barbados (Boston was dropped) and this will provide some good opportunities to save Avios on flights to the US.

It IS now possible to use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher if you fly with Iberia or Aer Lingus.

The 2023 British Airways peak and off-peak Avios calendar

For 2023:

Click here to subscribe to the calendar on your device.

You can see the British Airways Avios redemption pricing chart here although this doesn’t reflect the recent changes to long haul pricing which give you an option of ‘more Avios, less cash’.

The 2023 Iberia peak and off-peak Avios calendar

For 2023:

Click here to subscribe to the calendar on your device.

You can see the Iberia reward flight pricing chart here.

The article looks at where you can fly long-haul on Iberia.

The 2023 Aer Lingus peak and off-peak Avios calendar

For 2023:

and for 2024:

Click here to subscribe to the calendars on your device.

You can see the Aer Lingus reward flight pricing chart here.

The article looks at where you can fly long-haul on Aer Lingus.

One caveat …. these tables were put together at different times as the data became available. There is a chance that there have been some changes since.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.5 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.