So I called the AA plat line for my first time ever and found them to be extremely helpful. First off, they answered immediately, unlike the BA number I've called in the past that I almost always have to wait 20 minutes to speak with someone. The woman was knowledgeable and really "quick" (spoke fast, but not in a rude way, and was able pull up flight details and availability much faster than any BA agent I've ever spoken to).

Anyway...I've got a trip on hold now for 5 days that is HKT > HKG (on dragonair) on 12/25 which gives me 1.5 hours in HKG before we take a direct flight back to JFK in First class. The total cost is around $50 and 67,500 miles per person . Considering I can't find any other flights, and the woman told me that I'd be paying 35,000 miles to do the trip in economy, I think I'm going to pull the trigger.

Few things I've learned from this trip....AAdvantage miles are much more valuable than BA miles. Why is that? I would think that for the same alliance, they would both allow me to book the same award ticket, but that does not seem to be the case. Also, it's better to book early, because you can cancel your ticket if need be. The flight I have booked on points from JFK > HKG > HAN can be canceled up to 72 hrs before the flight for only $70. That's an amazing value to me to only be on the hook for $70 for a trip like that should anything happen and we have to cancel the trip.

Thank you guys for your help along the way.

- JP