Originally Posted by
schley
My first thought is why be married to UA on this route? Albeit more expensive for using a star alliance carrier, the point of the alliance is to cast a large net and use pooling for more options. Not sure what your priority is, flying UA for lower miles (which may not happen now that you are in everyday awards territory) or getting there on that day with other options.
LH for example opens up F 14 days before departure for example.
IME UA releases more inventory if not packed already, so that is something I always watch. Set up expert flyer to send you an alert.
I'm using Chase points to go to Stockholm, and United seems to be the cheapest at 30k along with allowing for open jaws. Doesn't seem like other Chase airline partners have any better deals unless I missed anything?