Originally Posted by
bescobar
I've found with award travel being "dynamic" that 400,000 miles to work with is insufficient for award D1 travel to Asia.. You are traveling over the Xmas holiday season so fares will be elevated using real money or Skymiles. If you want to enjoy the vacation you are planning, select a location and shop for fares across many airlines and book the travel that fits your budget. I've been a loyal Delta customer for decades, 2 Million Miler etc....I've recently come to the decision that chasing the accrual of Skymiles is not my best travel choice.
For example, I tried to find business class award space in July from USA west coast to BKK. Noting available with the 500000 Skymiles I have to work with. Delta had fares around $4100 in business class, Japan Airlines had business class seats I was able to buy for $2850. Guess which airline got my business? I need to make there same trip over the Xmas holiday and Delta/Korean Air fares are now in the $6000 range. I hope you find fares and a location for your vacation.
This, this, and this x1000.
OP, awards are released anywhere between 330 days and 1 year out, and closer to departure. Those are the best times to find adequate spaces. You also need to be flexible.
As more and more airlines are using dynamic pricing for awards, it is best to rely on those still with fixed chart. I would recommend looking into Alaska (AS) - it's not with any type of alliance but has partnerships with airlines across all three major alliances. For example, I was able to redeem Japan Airlines (JL) trip to Japan for only 60,000 on way in business through AS. Last year, I redeemed the same amount to India via Japan.
Good luck.