The problem is that often times the DL agents ( even at the Mediallion desks ) are either not savvy or just lazy about checking KE inventory. Most of the time they'll check inventory thru ATL or JFK and not anywhere else ( where both of those gateways typically have the worst availability ).

I've had great luck scoring 120k BE awards with 2 days notice on KE, so I do know things can change as you get closer to the date of departure. It helps if you can be a bit flexible with dates and routings ( may need to stop twice to connect thru ORD or YYZ, for example ).