In this process of not being able to book the intra-Africa ET award with United I want to book, I haven't found any reasonable way to escalate/highlight this issue with United. Who knows how long this will be a thing!

Aeroplan is more miles and more $$$ to the point of being unattractive. I've avoided ever fumbling around with LifeMiles, but that seems like the best available alternative for booking ET awards right now.