"It is almost impossible to get award tickets from Continental or Northwest."

Really???

Just gifted two tix for Spring break xxx-DTW-FLL(NW) + return on DL in F at 47k & found availability out the wazoo for my Fri-Sat dates.
Yeah, a bit steep, but way better than the $800 V fares, and the look on the faces (for F) was priceless. ^

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