I am new to using miles and I am trying to develop a strategy where I could fly out of NYC to Japan and then on the return trip stop in Turkey for a couple of days before continuing back to nyc on awards flights. I am not even sure if something like this is possible or what airlines/alliance would be best to focus my earnings on. Currently I got some UR points saved up and I have status on United as well as some miles saved up in my united account. I am not looking to make the trip for another year maybe longer and have a number of credit card apps coming up where I was going to focus on UR bonuses. Is it possible to buy coach tickets and then use miles to upgrade to a higher cabin class?