No promises broken. Awards are and always have been a better deal for people who are flexible as to dates, routes & destinations. Want to go somewhere warm for 5-7 days? That's a lot easier than STT from 2/17-2/24 non-stop from AAA.

There were likely saver seats available, but when OP asks about 10 months out, he's forgetting that there are people who likely grabbed the saver seats at 12:01 AM on the day they became available. Why? Because they're a great deal. OP waited and now they "cost" more. Same thing is true for purchased seats. As the cheap fare buckets sell, the remaining seats price higher.

Prices may drop if the seats don't sell as anticipated, but they may not.