Explore the options prior to calling. And in the case of LifeMiles award travel call the operating carrier first. Certainly do not hesitate to hang up and call again and again if required. Ultimately with no good options LifeMiles will cancel the itinerary and issue the refund. The operating carrier can open up award space. LifeMiles cannot open up award space on the operating carrier. A proactive approach is the better approach.

As an example, I booked award travel via LifeMiles with an itinery consisting of Asiana Airline, ANA and United. Asiana changed the time by 5 minutes. I attempted to check on the status of the ticket via the Asiana Airlines site without success due to an error message. I called Asiana and the customer service representative acknowledged the change and informed me I needed to confirm the change via the Asiana web site. I noted the error message on the web site and the customer service proceeded to confirm the change. And do check on the itinerary regularly as the changes are often not limited to the one change and at some point the ticket is without rhyme or reason due to multiple changes.