Thank you NDFan, moa999 and GUWonder,

This is really helpful.

I have now joined Iberia and Quantas. I also called Finnair to explore my options. The thing is ~€400 surcharges, which pretty much kills the deal for me. For that I can just about get to NYC and back in Economy without using miles*. I wish I knew six months ago that I should plan 11 months in advance. Next time I come prepared.

* A paid ticket is around €500, and gets me miles plus MR points the equivalent of ~€60 in MR points paid toward a ticket.