Read a tip on another board that AA's website sucks for searching inventory for Cathay and Japan flights from US to Asia, but that BA's website is great for that purpose (all on One World).

Since I am building a war chest of AA miles and want to use them for trips from LAX to SE Asia, I signed up for BA Exec Club (but don't see myself flying BA anytime soon).

Do I need to have at least 1 mile posted to my BA account before I can start searching? I thought I saw on their website that they won't send my membership card until I accumulate at least 1 mile.

If that IS the case, I noticed their "mall" feature -- has anyone used it to buy a song (or 2) on iTunes for a small mileage credit? Looks like 2 miles per dollar, so 1 song should get my membership card in the mail.

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but I'm relatively new to the game and still trying to figure it all out (though based on tips from this site, I'll get about 140,000 bonus AA miles soon!)