Considering alternatives to my original return flight from Northern Italy in early November, I noticed a 45k AS mile plus ~$150 each for DE business MXP-FRA-EWR on November 1 (technically mixed cabin - main MXP-FRA, TATL on A330).
Although choosing a non-AS option, I decided to test adding a stopover to SAN 2 days later, which jacked the redemption to 110 miles; in other words, AS wanted more for the transcon (despite all F seats currently available) than DE TATL.