Originally Posted by enzian

We are going in First in late December on our AS miles but from LAX to SYD on Qantas. Then we will fly to the South Island on a paid ticket on Air New Zealand. Options to get to NZ with Alaska miles seemed limited as ANZ is in the star alliance group and flights on Emirates are limited. And yes, lots of mixed cabin awards show up on the AS website, especially if you start from Boise. I suggest you look from LAX and add the Boise leg later.

We booked at the 330 day mark and felt like we won the lottery when we got the seats. Qantas mileage members and BA executive club members can book at 355 days so most of the award seats go then. Anything that shows up later, especially in the premium cabins, is pure luck --either a cancellation, or the airline decided to release more seats for mysterious reasons.