Five minimum level award tickets is a tall order on most carriers and if you have a specific week that you have to hit -- and probably specific DAYS for travel -- then you might not have the luxury of being able to wait around to see if your seats open up. You might be better served to shop for good fares for some of you and then be prepared to bite the bullet with the higher point requirement seats if you want to hold out for a couple of them. (This assumes you will have the points to cover that by the time you need to pull the trigger.)