I'm ROP gold, but using UA/MP miles for a *A award ticket on Thai: JFK-BKK. This flight is really difficult to get with a UA award -- literally one seat/day available per month or so, in each direction.

UA says there can be no changes except via UA. However, if I were to contact Thai directly to ask about moving my outbound flight earlier, is there any chance they would find a way to accommodate this? I'm hoping that my being ROP gold might incline them towards being helpful.