Can I ask for when you are trying to redeem said ticket? Inventory might open up at a later date, but there's no guarantees, so depends on how flexible the kid's plans are. Also, what is the origin point of the ticket? Redemptions out of JFK are cheaper (125k vs 142k) but then you're quite short of mileage.

To be quite honest though, and this is something I'm sure everyone on this forum will agree with, 125k miles on JFK-DXB is a HUGE waste of miles. You could upgrade both legs of the journey for that much if you don't mind paying circa $1700 for the economy fare.