Forgive my novice status here. I am just trying to get a quick answer without sifting through a plethora of noise online, plus I'm just a total noob...

I was just playing around on the AA booking system and was looking at flights from AUS to ROM (either airport) and there were plenty of options. The problem is that the associated fees are astronomical.

What's with that? Is this the case for most international award bookings? Are AA miles pretty much only best used for domestic travel?

Any other info on this would be great or ways to get around paying hefty fees when making such bookings would be great.

Thanks

Neil