So, I'm sorry but I'm not going to answer pretty much any of your questions. If I have time later I'll try to help. Just one quick thought... you seem to be concerned about cost.

For the DONE5 it seems to me like to save money your side ticket (ORD//LAX) will probably be in Y, am I right? If that's the case, I would start and end the trip in JFK, not LAX. ORD//JFK is much shorter and more tolerable in Y (for a tall guy) than ORD//LAX. It works out the same, and then the DONE5 ends with LAX-JFK rather than starting with it.

I'm also confused why you say the DONE5 is $5,500 per person more and the Global Exp $5,500 less. More and less than each other? The OW website shows Global Exp 34k in D at $9,199 and the DONE5 at $10,400. That's a $1,200 difference per person.

And watch yourself... I've seen way better than 33,984/34,000.

P.S. Welcome to FT!