Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
You need 61,205 EQP, which at 1.5 EQP/Mi in J or F means around 41K BIS Mi.
Here's one possible itinerary that gets you there -
LAX AA xLHR AA MCT BA LHR AY HEL AY CDG CX HKG CX BKK CX HKG CX SIN AA xNRT AA DFW AA SJU AA DFW AA BOS AA MIA AA LAX.
That comes to almost 44K miles, good for almost 66K EQP, so you could edit it a little and still be safe.
For mileage earning, you'd want to use the AA codeshare on LHR-MCT, AY to and from HEL, and the AA code on the JL flight between SIN and NRT, in order to keep your 100% plat bonus, which isn't granted on BA or JL flight numbers. Doing so along with cabin bonus should net you right around 100,000 spendable miles for the trip.
Remember no more than 2 stopovers in the continent of origin, and you can't leave the US once you return (hence the SJU run instead of some longer segs to Central America.) Also don't forget the advance purchase requirement and the minimum travel time (10 days from first to last international segment.)
The rule limiting "stopovers" to no more than two in N America (in this case) is going to mean some fairly hectic flying around the US. Please remember, though, that a stopover for these purposes is defined as a departure
more than 24 hours after arrival. The 24 hours maximum gives you at least a chance to get a bit of a break between flights. (It's not like the 6 hour rule that I have heard about for some awards.)
The itin. that
Gardyloo has suggested maximizes the segments that can be used on a DONE3 ticket, which costs $8,600 + taxes & fuel fines. If you pay another $500 for a DONE4, you can go to a fourth continent and avoid the hectic US mileage run. Your taxes might even be lower as you'd have fewer AA flights and hence fewer fuel surcharges. (AA don't charge fuel surcharges on other carriers flights.) Downside is that you might earn fewer spendable miles.
As an example
LAX-LHR-MCT-LHR-HEL-CDG-HKG-SIN-NRT-DPS-HKG-SYD-PER-ADL-BNE-SYD-LAX is over 48,000 actual miles, and could be more valuable if the SIN-NRT-DPS sectors on JL/JO were changed to segments flown by CX or KA. My understanding is that AA codeshares or AY/QF/CX flights are preferable to BA or JL when it comes to earning.
Instead of going via Australia, you could possibly rearrange it to get a trip to S Africa and on to HKG, although you wouldn't be able to get the AA codeshare on LHR-JNB/CPT and would have to use the BA flight no.