Thanks to everyone for the input. I opted to book J on AA though LAX. I had a ton of MR points that helped defray the cost substantially...and bonus, I get EQM and EQD! I'm really looking forward to the trip and I think I'd rather start it in style. [Side note, I did not see the significant difference in pricing between QF and AA as noted up thread. It was more like <$400 on QF.]

I'm taking a GPU gamble on UA on the return from MEL. Fingers crossed!