I fly to Europe every year. In the past I have used miles to upgrade, but that has become cumbersome. "C" bucket seats sell out shortly after the flight is loaded. The last time I upgraded with miles was in 2018. I got my tickets in January for an October flight, then all kinds of chaos happened in my personal and business life that made me regret locking into tickets so far in advance. I then changed strategies.

Now I just pay for BC a few months ahead of travel when my schedule is more stable and predictable.

What do I do with my miles? Give them to deserving good friends. All tickets are given freely to long-term genuine friends with no compensation other than intangible good feelings from helping someone who needed to travel and could not otherwise afford to buy a ticket. (Eg: College student with no family resources going to a job interview.) (He got the job.) Coach tickets are fairly easy to get with miles, even at very short term.