I've been collecting miles and points for about 2 years, and have accumulated a fair amount.
But when it comes to using the miles, I fall short. I own a successful business that only functions when I am there...so my schedule is very tight, and vacation time extremely valuable.
Even though I am flexible on destinations, I am not flexible on times.
Because all of my travel has to be Th PM-Sun or Mon if I take an extra day, long connections are difficult to fit into my plans, and award space is scarce.

I find myself buying revenue tickets time and time again, because the award tix don't fit my schedule (NYC-MCO trip last weekend, NYC-UVF on Thanksgiving were both bought for cash).

I've been trying to get away to Rio or Buenos Aires for a weekend, but non-stop premium cabin award space does not exist for any weekend in the next 12 months. So, I am considering redeeming at AAnytime or Standard levels. The redemptions are pricey - 200K/250K for business, for a $4K revenue ticket. However, I figure if I get most of my Chase UR pts at 5 pts per dollar, it may be worth it.

So, my question is, if I have to shell out lots of miles, how do I at least make as much from my high-level redemption as I can?
I understand the free-one ways, are there any other ways to make redeeming awards at these ridiculous levels more palatable?

Thanks!