Looks like it was 12/16/21 last year is when it was posted to all of my contacts.
Then like many I couldn’t get in to pay it for a few days.
Remember even if you are trying to get a minimum spend you could do so at Sam’s Club or BJ’s and buy gift cards to save some $$ and meet the minimum spend requirements.
Also if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve it codes as Travel so if you have not used your $300 yet you could apply to that.
You can pay in advance, your account will show a credit balance. I buy gift cards when my grocery store has fuel perks promos. I don’t want them sitting around, so I apply it to my account.