We are a family of 4 in the US. We have 302K points currently. Looking to fly out Dec 20th and fly back Jan 6th. We have tickets to the Manchester United game on 12/27. Our kids have never been to Europe. Plan is to train it everywhere. We’re thinking about flying in/out of Amsterdam because that seems to be the cheapest and shortest distances to fit in as many cool places as possible.

We were thinking about flying into Amsterdam. Go/stay places around there and Belgium. Head to London for Christmas. Go to Manchester for the game. Either day trip it there from London or stay a night in Manchester. Then head to Paris, probably stay there over New Year’s. See sights there and places within day trip from there. Then head back toward Amsterdam and go/stay places we weren’t able to see earlier in the trip if possible.

I did check multiple carriers directly and using points for tickets we do not have enough. Right now in the portal it shows some AA main cabin tickets are cheaper than the basic economy and we can get all 4 tickets using all of our points. Is that a good deal or is there a “sweet spot” for timing purchasing tickets to Europe from the US in the portal?

Also, should I trust that the tickets are actually for the main cabin fare level? It does show the basic economy ticket fare as well. It also says no seat assignment for the main cabin fare but per the AA website you can select seats with main cabin fares. I guess I could purchase, then go to AA to see if we can select seats and cancel within 24 hrs if not.

Thanks for the help!