Thanks so much Pandaperth – that sounds a similar fare to what I was getting when I was able to get the planner to work. If you remember from my postings last year, I have waited until closer to my proposed departure date for finalization and as foreshadowed, our circumstances have changed a little in that we will soon have a son living in London as well as the daughter in New York, thus necessitating a change in the itinerary.

Our plan is now to fly one-way to London in September to spend a week with the son & daughter, then spend some 6 weeks in the Greek Islands, Turkey and Jordan, before “commencing” our DONE4 in Cairo in November.

We plan to fly from Cairo to Japan for a week then home to Sydney for a few months (incorporating side trips to Noumea and New Zealand in that time) before commencing the second half of the RTW in May 2015. Our plan is to rack up some miles in the US for a month, seeing a few places on our bucket list before heading back over to London, then down to Rome for a few weeks before finishing the trip back in Amman as per the previous itinerary.
On mileage monkey that comes out at around 40,000 miles I think.

My queries are:

Is the itinerary as previously described the best way I can rack up miles in the US sectors (tried to get all 16 sectors in there….)?

When I book the itinerary, I ring the AA desk and have the bookings done over the phone, then I have to find a travel agent in Cairo who will take payment via credit card over the phone?

With this itinerary, together with the separate flight to London on either American Airlines or Oneworld Partner airline Qantas, would I have enough points to qualify for a flight back given the miles are earned in BC (F in North America). Or would it be better to just buy a return ticket and apply for an upgrade on the way home?

Can I commence an AA challenge on the flight over to begin qualifying for platinum status?

And if I can qualify for Platinum status with American Airlines on the above flights, does that mean that for the period that I am on Platinum, if I pay for a full-fare economy ticket to JFK or LHR, the chances are good that I will be able to get an upgrade to business when requested? (Thinking of all the extra travelling required with both kids OS).

Are there any other tips I should be aware of re booking flights on an itinerary of this scale?

Thanks in advance – apologies for any obviously silly questions from a learner.