The quick answer is to book as soon as you see acceptable flights available. Once they are gone it is possible that additional awards may not become available: particularly for non-status pax and/or premium seats. In your case you should search multi-city as AMS-DXB/DXB-MEL with flexible dates and the options will show up. Try AUG16/17 to test.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...ure16044-a.jpg
Last edited by Granlor; Sep 22, 2017 at 4:18 pm