I just redeemed some Asiamiles for AA travel on the phone (US toll free) and immediately Googled this topic. After a few busy signals, I got connected and the first surprise was that somebody answered immediately. Second surprise was the accent. Coming from the Philippines myself, it sounded familiar. Anyway, the entire call took about 17 minutes, including a couple of times on hold. Not too bad. Previously, waiting to get someone to answer took far longer than the call itself. The emailed PDF itinerary did indicate Manila as the place of issuance.