January 2015 trip to SYD/MEL
So looking at a "last minute" (for mileage purposes anyway) trip to Australia using miles. Hoping to arrive in MEL by Jan 18th. I would prefer to leave on the 15th or 16th from the WAS area. I've tried the usual suspects online (AA/United) and neither have available low level awards. I'm tempted to just book the standard award on United even though it is 85k in economy (ick!). In your experience do more flights open up closer to the date even if it is peak season? Any other ideas that will get me there on time without taking up too many work days? I have a wide swath of points in various programs at my disposal so don't hesitate to go out of the box.