I planned a trip to Argentina. Sent GP an email with a range of date in late Jan to late Feb - wanted to stay about 3 weeks. Got a reply next day that they had requested seats from TACA. Then in a day or two, got a confirmation code. Went to Distancia site and found the reservations with the Locator Code.
Called GP to pay for taxes and fees. They took info and said they would mail tickets within 2 weeks and email when done. Got email in 2 days that they had been sent with UPS Tracking number. Got tix from UPS on day stated.
Remember, keep your account active if you still have miles. I dont think they are willing to bend rules to re-activate account once you have gone 3(?)yrs. with no activity.
If you need a few miles to top off an account for an award, you can get some by buying their keychain on their WEB site.