OP is all set now, but there are several suggestions which apply generally:
1. Nothing is confirmed until you have an e-ticket confirmation for all segments of an itinerary. This is not an email confirming a reservation, it is an actual e-ticket confirmation (you will see an e-ticket # as opposed to a record locator for each segment).
2. Other carriers have 72 hours to confirm positive space. This may be antiquated in this day and age, but they do have it. Here, OP's AA reservation on Cathay initially failed, but Cathay apparently agreed to open up award space. This is all a series of manual operations and takes time, particularly given time differences.
3. Now that OP is ticketed, pay close attention to your bookings on each carrier's website. Do not rely on AA for non-AA segments. This is especially true of award bookings because reroutes can be very hard, particularly for 4 people, when changes in schedule occur.
Many of the trip points are not IT failures, they are intentional choke points maintained by carriers to require manual intervention.