Originally Posted by
cbrmanf4
I was only able to find the following Y awards:
Outbound: UA (SFO-AKL)
Return: UA (SYD-SFO), QF (SYD-LAX)
If I might make a small suggestion, and I know it is potentially a pain in terms planning, but you will often find more award inventory if you are not searching hub to hub. LAX-SYD, for example, is a major route for many carriers and what most people search, so inventory is often low and moves fast. Having a non-hub start or end point will often yield good results, especially to New Zealand.
I can search LAX-AKL for new years right now and come up with a giant nothing. But I can search LAX - Tauranga or Kansas City - AKL and come up with /some/ options. Not ideal, but the same points and it gets me there, which is better than not getting there at all. I've found over the years that AA in particular is quite good for this sort of thing.