We have a wedding in LA next year and trying to secure 4 redemption tickets in CW and above seems almost impossible. I can however see availability in J and A if we flew to San Diego.

We're going to go out for a few weeks, so whilst the outbound is available, the return isn't.

Is the best strategy to buy the 2xJ and 2xA outbound redemption tickets one way with Avios and once the return is available, contact customer service and cancel the outbounds and try to then buy the outbound and return using the companion ticket.

The only downsides are:
- I'm going to have to pay a cancellation fee of around £50 I believe (is that per ticket or per booking?)
- There is no 100% guarantee that once the redemption tickets are released back into the population, that someone else doesn't buy them before I finalise the companion return ticket.

Whilst the downside is concerning, I'm also worried that waiting a few more weeks will mean the outbound availability has gone. Is there another strategy to follow here?

One final question, with the companion ticket I know you have to book from your home household country (e.g. UK). However, if we will be flying from Amsterdam, can I still on the same ticket buy 4 redemption RFS, which switch to the companion ticket so we can interline and ensure that should there a be any delays coming from Amsterdam we will be moved onto the next available flight - or will BA only allow these to be purchased onto separate PNRs.

Thanks ahead of time