Originally Posted by SacCalFlyer

I had been planning a trip (SMF<->MUC) for next June, assuming I'd be able to get a coach class MileSAAver Award if I booked 331 days in advance. Today a did a test drive with earlier dates, and discovered the exorbitant BA fees involved (more than 50% the cost of a purchased ticket).

I've searched and read quite a few posts here about this issue, so I'm not optimistic. But is there some trick I've missed to get around this and still use only 30,000 miles OW? Or should I pick a different destination (continent) for these miles?