Reward seats appear exactly 355 days before departure. Here is precisely when that is, why it trips people up, and how to be first in the queue.
The 355-day window is the single most important date in Avios booking — and the one most people get slightly wrong. Get the timing right and you are first in line for the best seats; get it wrong by a few days or a single hour and you stare at an empty screen.
British Airways loads its schedule — and its guaranteed reward seats — 355 days before the date of departure, at midnight GMT. That single moment, often called “T-355”, is your first and best chance to grab a reward seat on a popular route before it disappears.
Want the exact date for your trip? Our reward seat release-date tool counts back 355 days from your departure and tells you how many days away it is.
Many airlines open booking 360 or 361 days out, so BA’s 355 can catch people off guard. The exact figure is simply how far ahead BA loads its schedule; there is no deeper logic to memorise beyond “just under a year”. What matters is the practical consequence: if you count a clean 12 months ahead, you will be a few days too early and see nothing.
It also means the window is a moving target. Each day that passes, one more day of the calendar becomes bookable. If your ideal date has not opened yet, it will — simply check back, or set an alert, until T-355 arrives.
Seats load at midnight GMT. During British Summer Time (from late March to late October) the UK clock is one hour ahead of GMT, so the release effectively happens at 1am UK time. Set your alarm for the correct UK-adjusted moment — a common mistake is to wait up for “midnight” in summer and miss the release by an hour.
Placing a seat in your online basket does not remove it from sale. Until you finish entering passenger and payment details, anyone — or a phone agent — can take it. For the most contested seats, speed at checkout genuinely matters.
Only the outbound leg becomes bookable at T-355. The return date opens 355 days before it departs — so for most round trips you book the outbound as a one-way first, then add the return a few days later when it opens.
The British Airways Amex Premium Plus companion voucher unlocks extra Club World reward seats at release that other collectors simply cannot see — a decisive edge on the most popular routes.
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On long-haul flights, BA commits to a minimum number of reward seats the instant the window opens:
| Cabin | Heathrow / Gatwick | London City |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | At least 8 | At least 2 |
| Premium Economy | At least 2 | — |
| Business (Club World) | At least 4 | At least 2 |
| First | Not guaranteed | — |
Partner airlines run their own clocks — some oneworld carriers load inventory 330 to 361 days out. See our partner award availability guide for the differences.
Call the US line at midnight GMT
The UK call centre is usually closed when seats release. Many experienced collectors call BA’s US line, where an agent can hold a seat — removing it from inventory instantly — while you confirm.
Have everything ready in advance
Be logged in, with passenger details and payment saved, before the clock strikes. Every second at checkout counts on a contested route.
Missed it? Don’t panic
Seats reappear through the year as BA reviews demand and other travellers cancel. There is no waitlist, so a standing alert on your route is the smart move — see how far in advance you can book.
The AviosArcana Editorial Team
We decode the British Airways loyalty programme in plain English, cross-checking every figure against BA’s published rules.