---
title: "What is Blackout date? | Benefit Systems"
description: "A blackout date is a day on which a programme refuses a redemption or certificate as a matter of rule, no matter how many seats or rooms are free."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Blackout date?

A blackout date is a day on which a programme refuses a redemption or certificate as a matter of rule, no matter how many seats or rooms are free.

Also called: Blackout period.

## How it works #

Blackout dates fall on high-demand days and apply more often to certificates and promotional awards than to ordinary points redemptions. Many programmes have dropped formal blackout lists and achieve the same result through price: instead of a ban, no cheap inventory is loaded on those days. For planning the two are equivalent; only the justification differs.

## Not to be confused with #

A blackout date is not the same as a lack of award availability: a blackout excludes redemption by rule, while availability is an inventory decision on an individual flight.

## In German #

The German term is Sperrtermin. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/sperrtermin)

## Related terms #

- [Award availability](/en/glossary/award-availability): Award availability is the number of seats an airline releases on a given flight for redemption with miles, which is usually far smaller than the number of seats still on sale.
- [Peak and off-peak award pricing](/en/glossary/peak-off-peak-pricing): Peak and off-peak award pricing is an award chart with several price levels depending on travel dates, typically high, low and shoulder season.
- [Free night certificate](/en/glossary/free-night-certificate): A free night certificate is a voucher for one hotel night up to a fixed points ceiling, usually granted once a year as a credit card benefit.

## Articles that use this term #

- [How do you find award space an airline’s own site won’t show?](/en/knowledge/award-availability)
- [When is a free night certificate worth using?](/en/knowledge/free-night-certificates)
- [How do hotel award categories work?](/en/knowledge/hotel-award-categories)
- [Why you get turned away from a lounge you have access to](/en/knowledge/lounge-turned-away)