MilesBuzz! - Booking strategy for LAX-CDG/AMS-LAX in June 2013

My girlfriend and I are currently planning a trip to Europe in June 2013. The plan is to fly LAX-CDG (currently looking at a Tuesday departure), train up to Amsterdam over 18 days, and then fly home AMS-LAX (Sunday departure). Just to note, this will be our first experience flying international premium class and our first time redeeming an international award.

Current mileage balances are as follows:
AA: 360k
UA: 50k
DL: 50k
UR: 100k

This is how I’m currently viewing things (and I have put a LOT of thought into this):

First choice: trade 150k AA miles on CC for 150k Amex MR points into my DL account, then book a J award LAX-CDG/AMS-CDG-LAX on AF/KL. The benefits of this are fourfold: direct flight LAX-CDG, J class both ways, liberates my somewhat useless 50k DL balance, and preserves my UA/UR balances. The one major drawback of this plan is that, since I have to book a round-trip, I cannot book this until at least 18 days after the booking period has opened for the outbound flight. This risks losing award seat availability for the outbound. AF does seem to have excellent availability on AF66 LAX-CDG on Tuesdays, and I have also consistently been finding space on AF/KL for the inbound flight on Sunday & Monday mornings. Executing the trade on CC in time to book an on-hold award is another risk, as is executing a trade without an award on hold and then being unable to book the award.

Second choice: AA J outbound/UA Y inbound (10k UR to UA to get to 60k). This preserves AA miles for a planned 2014 South America trip (where AA has a strong presence), avoids BA (don't need to explain that one), and generally helps break up the long Y-class voyage into more easily digestible parts since UA seems to like sending you through IAD or EWR, which is about as close to a halfway point as you can get.

Third choice: AA J outbound and BA/IB Y inbound. I don’t like this because of the nearly $900 in taxes/YQ it will cost for two people to transit LHR via BA, and I have heard nightmare stories about Y class on IB. But, it would preserve UA and UR points, which would be nice for diversification.

Fourth choice: UA J outbound/UA Y inbound. Lie-flat product on the outbound, but uses up entire cache of UA miles and UR points.

So as you can see that are lots of competing priorities and I was hoping the more experienced redemption artists could help guide me in balancing all of them. Choice #1 is far and away my favorite, so I’d really like to make that work if possible, but having never redeemed for an international award I want to make sure I’m not leaving out any important details that could potentially throw a wrench in my plans.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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TN outbound LAX-CDG nonstop; AA or 9W from BRU to North American gateway (with or without a stopover); then AA from gateway to LAX.

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TN outbound LAX-CDG nonstop; AA or 9W from BRU to North American gateway (with or without a stopover); then AA from gateway to LAX.
I thought about TN but I've read their J-class is a recliner, and I'm a side sleeper. Also supposedly difficult to get 2 J seats.

As for AA ex-BRU, we will be passing through BRU on our way to AMS. Seems silly to double back when there are options ex-AMS, but I am open to suggestions as to why that would be a better option. :)

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BRU is a better option because you can avoid YQ, and, in addition to AA's BRU-JFK flight, 9W flies nonstop to JFK, EWR, and YYZ. (You'd have to check, though, to see if any or all of those routings would let you continue on to LAX on AA.) I think that BRU Airport can be pretty easily reached by train from AMS.

There have been some rumors here on FT that TN will be upgrading its J seat; I don't know whether that's true, and if so, when the upgrade is likely to occur.

If you are not DL elite and go for your first choice, I think you can trade 120k DL miles from "others' account" for < 120k AA miles.

If you are not DL elite and go for your first choice, I think you can trade 120k DL miles from "others' account" for < 120k AA miles.
Not sure what you're saying here... Maybe that AA miles are generally worth more than DL miles? If so I wouldn't argue with you there, but I need the miles in my account, so it's gotta be MR points.

I would skip the all that and just book a cheap flight from AMS-LAX on Arke Fky for next to nothing.

http://www.arkefly.nl/default.aspx

Find somebody DL rich on CC and:

1) Trade 50k AX->DL for your 50k AA
-->Book one award ticket using your own DL miles
2) Trade 100k DL for 60k AA miles(+maybe 10k UR transfered into their acct) and have somebody book the other one.

Or you might be able to find the same partner for this trade is somebody has 50k AX and 100k DL, you could trade them ~120k AA?

That way you get your non-stops on AF/KL in J, wipe out your SkyPesos, and you're out 110k AA and 10k UR or 120k UR (better than being out 150k AA).

I would try as hard as possible to find a partner that allows you to wipe out your DL miles since you have half of a ticket there given the rumored devaluation coming.

Find somebody DL rich on CC and:

1) Trade 50k AX->DL for your 50k AA
-->Book one award ticket using your own DL miles
2) Trade 100k DL for 60k AA miles(+maybe 10k UR transfered into their acct) and have somebody book the other one.

Or you might be able to find the same partner for this trade is somebody has 50k AX and 100k DL, you could trade them ~120k AA?

That way you get your non-stops on AF/KL in J, wipe out your SkyPesos, and you're out 110k AA and 10k UR or 120k UR (better than being out 150k AA).

I would try as hard as possible to find a partner that allows you to wipe out your DL miles since you have half of a ticket there given the rumored devaluation coming.
You must be a broker. :p Thanks for the suggestion! I would probably be able to pull it off but the thought of having one ticket booked and possibly not being able to get the other is, admittedly, a little scary. I'm still new at this whole thing... but being able to keep 30-40k more miles is definitely something I'll have to consider.