A question about ff miles usage with UAL
 

When using ff miles for a flight can I request a Star alliance partner over UA itself if both are available on the same dates in question? I prefer the partner Asian carriers like ANA, Singapore or Asiana. Thank you.

Yes of course.

You can use your miles for any Star Alliance carrier that has availability. There are limited options when you book online so if you want to explore the full range of Asian partners you'll need to call United and pay the fee to book over the phone. There is no "preference" for United flights and frankly when redeeming miles (particularly in Business) I always try to fly on a partner.

I discovered that when using UA miles on a partner what appaeared on the website for availability of partner was not what was available to me using UA miles. I checked dates, business availability on Lufthansa for Boston-Europe. When I called to book, I was told that all the "United seats" were gone.

And when using the miles you need to speak to UA, not the partner in my 1 experience.

I'm on a FF ticket right now (as are DH and DS). I found the availability on the UA web site. When I called the 1K phone # to ask about a booking, the agent could not see what I saw. So, I booked on line!!! No brainer...

Thanks for the replies!