I have plenty of Amex/UR points, i.e., *A (usually use UA or ANA) or Avios miles. Flying out of NYC. I have no problem finding award seats to Sao Paulo. Rio is a little trickier but doable, connecting via IAD, MIA or GRU. But say I wanted to fly to Salvador, Recife Fortaleza. Can't seem to connect to these airports, is it not possible? Separate searches for domestic flights (e.g, TAM) also shows no availability.

Just wondering if any of you have successfully used miles to get seats on flights to cities other than SP and Rio.

Thanks!