Key Points

• Avios launched a free calendar search tool showing a full month of nonstop award availability across British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus.
• The tool replaces slow, date-by-date searches on individual airline sites, making it far easier to spot open award space.
• It's search-only, so you'll still need to book directly through the operating airline once you find dates that work.

Introduction

If you've ever tried to book a British Airways, Iberia, or Aer Lingus award flight, you know the pain. The old search process meant checking a handful of dates at a time and hoping you stumbled onto availability. The new Avios calendar tool fixes that by showing an entire month of nonstop award space in a single search, and it's free to anyone with an Avios account. For members sitting on a stash of Avios and wondering when they can actually use them, this update makes planning dramatically less tedious. Here's what changed and how to make the most of it.

What Happened

Avios rolled out a calendar view inside its "Search Reward Flights" tool at avios.com. Instead of manually paging through dates on the British Airways Club, Iberia Club, or Aer Lingus AerClub sites, you can now pull up a full month at once and see which days have nonstop award seats open.

The tool covers three of the four Avios-earning airlines: British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. Qatar Airways, which also runs on Avios, is left out of this particular tool and keeps its own separate calendar search. Results show available dates, how many seats are open, which cabin they're in, and the number of Avios required, and you can filter by cabin class and flip between months without restarting your search.

The catch is that it only shows nonstop flights. Connecting itineraries won't appear, and once you find dates you like, you still have to complete the booking on the operating airline's own site since avios.com is search-only.

Why This Matters

Because award availability is tied closely to each airline's home hub, London for British Airways, Madrid for Iberia, and Dublin for Aer Lingus, this tool is most useful for point-to-point trips to and from those three cities. If your route could realistically route through more than one hub, you'll want to run separate searches from each, since availability and pricing can differ significantly between them.

For most travelers, the real win here is time. What used to take a dozen individual date checks now takes one search. That matters if you're holding a balance of Avios from a card like the British Airways Visa Signature Card or the Iberia Visa Signature Card, or if you've been transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points over as needed, since knowing when award space actually opens up is half the battle in booking premium cabin seats. It's also worth knowing what your Chase points are actually worth before deciding whether a transfer to Avios makes sense for a given trip.

It's worth being clear about what this tool isn't. It doesn't replace dedicated award search engines like Seats.Aero or Point.Me, and it won't help you piece together connecting itineraries across multiple carriers. But as a free, built-in way to get a quick read on nonstop space, it's a meaningful upgrade over digging through the old date-by-date interface.

What You Should Do

If you're holding Avios or planning to earn some, here's how to put the new tool to work.

Start by pulling up the calendar search directly on avios.com and checking your target route for an entire month at once, rather than guessing at individual dates. If your trip could connect through London, Madrid, or Dublin, search each hub separately since availability often looks different from each one. It also helps to keep the best time to book your flight in mind, since award space tends to open up on a predictable schedule for most airlines.

For anyone earning Avios through Chase transfer partners, this is a good moment to check whether your balance is close to covering a route you've had your eye on. If your search turns up nothing but you suspect there's availability on connecting itineraries, cross-check with a third-party tool like Seats.Aero before giving up on a route entirely.

Finally, treat this as a research step, not a booking step. Once you spot open dates, head straight to the operating airline's site to lock in the seats, since avios.com won't complete the booking for you.

FAQ

Does the Avios calendar tool include Qatar Airways award space?

No. Qatar Airways is part of the Avios family but isn't included in this calendar tool. It has its own separate calendar search on the Qatar Airways site.

Can I use the calendar tool to find connecting flights?

No. The tool only displays nonstop award availability. Connecting itineraries won't show up, so you'll need to search leg by leg or use a third-party tool for multi-stop routings.

Do I need to pay to use the Avios calendar search?

No. The tool is free to use and only requires an Avios account, which is free to create if you don't already have one.

Conclusion

Avios has added a genuinely useful calendar tool that shows a full month of nonstop British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus award space in one search, filterable by cabin class. It won't replace tools built for connecting itineraries, but for anyone trying to get a fast read on when award seats open up, it's a clear upgrade over the old process. If you've got Avios sitting in your account, now's a good time to put the new search to work and see what's actually available. This article contains affiliate links. If you apply through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which helps us continue sharing points and miles strategies with the community.