The publicly available websites which allow Galileo access do not show United award or upgrade inventory.

You need to use the United website or call United.

The best advice is still to call, because the CSR on the phone can check routings that the website may not look for. For instance, there may not be availability on the IAD-SEA non-stop but you can check via ORD, DEN, LAX, or SFO (or two-stop it).

How many seats are you looking for?

FWIW, I have 2 F awards booked for IAD-SEA myself.

While awards do seem to be a bit tougher to get these days, with redemptions up on fears for the airine's future, with the kind of flexibility (roughly six months!) that you're talking about you shouldn't have any problem.

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets