Earlier this year, I rang UA on their Oz number (from my home in SYD). I made a *A Circle Pacific reservation ex SFO and paid for it over the phone by quoting my CC number details. It was billed in USD which was converted to AUD through the CC bill. No mention of where I was located. At that stage, I think the USD price was cheaper than the AUD price. Best of all, it was the old price . UA did not seek scans of my CC - they were just happy with the number / expiry.

As for OW, I've consistently bought xONEx tickets in BKK (CX) and have done these in person. CX SYD have been happy to make the reservations but the most they have held these without ticketting was 3 weeks.