Airline Miles Conversion tips and advice

Hi I have the Metrobank Travel Signature Visa and this is my first miles card. I currently have about 40k+ redeemable miles to PAL, Cathay, or Singapore Airlines. I have a couple of questions below

• I heard that PAL has sales where you can get flights for 50% in miles, is there an exact date for this and is it only once a year?
• Does Cathay or SA have anything similar?
• I was looking at routes using Cathay or SA, and saw that most of their flights have layovers to their base country from the Philippines, is this the usual or do they have other routes that are more direct? Is there any reason to choose this over the more direct flights of PAL?
• If I redeem in SA, can I chose other Star Alliance airlines as well? Are there any recommended airlines that have the best value for miles for Economy class seats?
• Hows the process of redeeming your points for miles, is it instant or does it take some days for processing?
• How much are the usual fees that you have to pay for when redeeming flights? (Something like PAL economy round trip to Japan)
• Any other advice would be appreciated!