Originally Posted by ATOBTTR

Bummer. Was just on pace to hit the mark I needed for two tickets this coming spring when the booking window would open for a trip to AUS/NZ in Spring 2017 (Fall in the southern hemisphere). Now needed an extra 60K miles will mean either
1) forking out over $2K in cash
2) convincing my wife to get a DL Gold AmEx with a 30-50K sign-up bonus, then transferring me those miles (would be cheaper than buying)
3) Buying a leg one-way in J on the same flight, which wouldn't be the worst thing, as it would at least mean MQMs for part of the journey, but might still be expensive and more than I want to spend depending on what it prices to.