I have no experience redeeming miles, but I'm slowly learning. I have about 300K miles with Alaska and 400K with United and I am trying to take my family to Europe in business class (we will split up between airlines and pay for what we have to).

United Business Saver and Star Alliance partner fares (I'm searching these on United and Aeroplan) are hard to find from my airport (Portland). Should I be searching from a big hub city? And if so, what's the best way to attach my flight to get there from PDX?

I would be willing to go almost anywhere in Europe, is there a way to see good mileage deals?

Thank you to anyone in advance for helping me understand more about this process!