Michele says...
You’re not alone. I spent the better part of a day trying to get two business class tickets to London with my Aeroplan points. I managed to do it, but it meant being flexible with dates and itineraries. Flights have limited seats available for point and mile redeemers, so booking in advance—as much as a year or more for popular routes—is necessary. Though there’s a fee (usually $20 to $30), you may want to get an airline customer service rep to do the digging for an open flight. It helps to be creative, too: It may be easier to book the hotel portion of your trip, instead of your flight, on points. In our house, we redeem air miles for gift cards for hotels or for stores we’ll visit during a trip.

A travel writer extraordinaire, Michele Sponagle has visited more than 40 countries around the world. Send her your travel questions here.