brytpa

This is where AA comes in as a guilty party. It's the only option they give ya! AA's own award inventory has been cut down severely, so it can be extremely difficult finding any options on their own metal. This is a big reason why I ditched AA in the first place - I found they made it too difficult to enjoy the fruits of one's own labor, so to speak (even as an EXP, I had repeated experiences finding it difficult, if not impossible, to use their systemwide upgrades for any flights to Europe [the only longhaul flying I ever really do]). When using AA miles for award travel to Europe, BA is more often than not the only option given - so you use up your miles, and shell out surcharge money. This was the case not only on my preferred dates of travel, but even for weeks ahead of and following the dates I wanted. No other options given in this case, either (Iberia, Finnair, etc). So in my case, my frustrations are tempered a bit by my knowing I'm just using up my last AA miles to be done with em. If I was someone who'd busted their bum to score themselves a hard-earned, long sought after trip to Europe, though, I'd be even more the unhappy camper.