pop-mia-stl. I just spoke with an AA agent and a supervisor who confirmed that there was no availability pop-stl but that there was availability on each individual segment. Listening to them both trying to explain this was laughable; however, I did get the feeling after the call ended that they both started with a scripted answer. In effect they are saying there are no awards available in the pop-stl market even though both components are clearly available.
My take is that they have some way of determining when an award gives the customer to high of value for their points.
Interestingly enough for 25k I can book business pop-mia with a coach downgrade on mia-stl which is actually the leg I would want in business
That's a weird one, I've never seen it where the segments are available on their own but not together as a connection.
What about trying for POP-MIA-STL-somewhere else? Add on a STL-ORD or STL-DFW etc segment the following day. If you were able to get it on hold or ticketed, you could then call AA and see about dropping the segment, which is sometimes easier that combining or adding to a reservation. If that didn't work, then just no-show for it.