DTW-MNL rulebuster in the middle of December
MNL-DTW standard at the beginning of January

Note that USA-MNL traffic is quite notorious on December/January. Even their deeply discounted J/C/Z class fares are blacked out from the middle of December onwards.

In my situation, I waitlisted for DTW-MNL for the standard award. Had something opened up, I would have had to pay a $35-$50 redeposit/reissue fee, but I would have saved a lot of miles.

- Pat