Originally Posted by
susanyaz
Need to go to LAXto NYC June 12,13 then would love to take a 5 day trip to somewhere in Carribean or Bahamas with my two daughters , then Florida (thinking about moving there cost of living in LA getting prohibitive) then back to LAX.
This is three total stops; you are only allowed two on a single award trip. That's part of your problem.
Beyond that, search each chunk of your trip as a one-way award based on your dates rather than trying to put together a multi-city trip to start. Once you've figured out LA-NY, NY-Caribbean and Florida-LA you can call in to book. And then look at using the AmEx points -> BA Avios to get from the Caribbean to Miami to fill out the trip.
Also, with only 70k in UA that's not enough for three tickets so you'll have issues there.