Thanks all-- since I'm just a PremExec, I'll follow the advice to use miles for that p.s. flight, and 500 certs for LAX-ORD and ORD-EWR. And of course, fingers crossed for all three legs ;-)

I was lucky enough to get some okay E+ seats, and I'll be calling at 100 hours out to see what kind of other E+ seats become available as the higher-status fliers move up...