Originally Posted by
stargold
Where do you actually need to go?
If you need to go to Europe, JFK-FRA would make the most sense.
If you need to go to Japan, you can get JFK-LAX-NRT all in one award as a KrisFlyer Star Alliance award, which will probably be the cheapest way overall (rather than suffering transcon Y or using a lot of miles for a separate award).
The goal is to actually go to Japan. I am eyeing the frankfurt award for a european trip to maybe Turkey and Greece but that would require other flights to get around.