Contrary to Gregory's advice (which is right on for most), we book our frequent flier trips very early. We fly United. Last year we used 50,000 frequent flier miles to fly San Francisco to Toronto. This year we are using 100,000 frequent flier miles to fly from San Francisco to Vienna. United has been very cooperative. Early booking works for us.

Bob and Lynn Wolff Walnut Creek, CA and Kihei, Maui, HI