Just a brainstorm, but is there any chance this is similar to the issue AA has had with booking award flights on Etihad metal. That ended up being an Amadeus vs. Sabre issue, where agents could see mutual space but the space would disappear when they went to book it, as the two airlines were using two different software systems. For AA redemptions, the workaround for that came by calling AA customer service numbers for Australia and NZ, where Sabre was being used, which aligned with Etihad. They could book the space that the USA agents could see but not grab. Is there any chance this is the same issue? I'm less familiar with VS (and am only here with the hope of transferring from a card to book ANA J in a few weeks), but do their Aus/NZ (or anywhere else) telephone numbers get different results? Has anyone tried a different country call center?