I recently booked an award for my parents that departed from their home--Charleston, South Carolina--to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We used a combination of their United miles and their Ultimate Rewards, transferred to United MileagePlus, to book the award in United Business Class.

I recently went to Patagonia with my friend from Hawaii.

I helped her book her trip with American Airlines and Singapore miles, and I learned some things along the way. Takeaways:

Days of the year with good award space
The only airline within the Americas with fuel surcharges
When to book and when to wait

The Plan
My friend and I wanted to see Chilean and Argentine Patagonia plus Buenos Aires.

Beginning October 5, 2017, LATAM will fly a Boeing 787-9 three times a week on its first non-stop route to Australia, between Santiago, Chile and Melbourne, Australia.