Originally Posted by Repooc17

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.