I went round the world on a business-class award in Feb.-April, 2002; I booked each segment 331 days before the flight and got everything except Puerto Vallarta-Mexico City, on which I had to fly economy class (even though first-class seats were empty):
JFK-CDG-Rabat/Marrakech-CDG-Berlin-CDG- Ho Chi Minh Ville (side trip to Cambodia)- ICN (side trip to Taipei)-Auckland-ICN-LAX- Mexico City-Puerto Vallarta-Mexico City-JFK. The last segment was interrupted because of a technical problem on the airplane, so I actually flew MEX-ATL (hotel and meal at DL expense)-LGA.