Are there any Citi AA cards that don't have a 3% forex fee? I know when I had a basic card with them a few years ago I did not use it outside the U.S. for that sole reason. Plenty of other non-AA cards that won't hit you with a forex fee (Hyatt and IHG come to mind).
I'd take a look at the earning chart for Qantas on the AA website and see what you might accrue:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/ea...nes/qantas.jsp
AA codeshares always bring in full miles.