You said that you're open to flying somewhere in Asia and buying a cheap ticket down to Sydney. Look into flying into Singapore from the USA on UA, SQ etc. From there, it's possible to get to Sydney return for under $400 USD. Check out http://www.tiss.com for cheap flights. At this stage, I think you'll have more choice of flights (therefore more chance of free ff seats) into Singapore rather than into Sydney directly. Hope this helps and let us know what you decide to do ...