Sorry guys, newbie but hopefully someone can help. I'm trying to plan a trip from ORD-BKK next year and have a couple questions.

Is the best way to do it often a multi city, like ORD-TOKYO-BKK (with a same day connecting flight), or do one ways work better? Half the time one is better, half the time it's the other. It's super challenging bc of all the partners to actually find certain flight availability (for example, a connecting Narita-BKK rarely has available business) - doesn't seem as though JAL is on ExpertFlyer.

I also checked Cathay Pacific thru HKG (doesn't even show up) and would prefer not to fly Korean as they seem to have an inferior product.

Edit -- Lastly, is it a safe bet to wait and assume award space opens within 2 weeks? Thinking of just booking business as a placeholder and hoping that some F appears later - though now I'm noticing that ORD-TOKYO opens up 2 weeks in advance more widely whereas TOKYO-BKK opens up only far in advance... ugh!