Advice: BOS - Thailand using miles
Hello,
I'm a newbie to Flyertalk and I am looking for some advice. I would like to travel to Thailand in mid-November for a much needed vacation. I am hoping to do an open jaw and fly into Chang Mai and out of Phuket (or do the reverse). I plan to see Bangkok as well. I also hope to have a stopver (under 24 hrs okay) on the way. I haven't done much international travel and I have never been to Asia. I have some flexibility and I am traveling alone, so these miles are for one coach ticket.
UA - 11K
US - 88K
AA - 67K
Avios - 68K
UR - 54K
MR - 77K
I'm not sure if I have any choice, but to use USAirways miles for a coach ticket (80K miles) and possibly stop in Zurich or Istanbul, if possible for a few hours. If I keep the stopover under 24 hours, I believe it will be allowed. Do you think it would be better/more availability to try to earn enough to fly on AA (I would only need 3K more for coach)?
I am working toward building up more miles, so I can fly business class for future intl flights.
Thank you so much for any advice you can give me!