Bumping this for any new eyes that might have some connecting airlines suggestions that may allow me to use some of my friggin miles. I'm beyond frustrated with American these days. Now that all of their international flights have "Premium Economy" cabin, ExPlat SWU can only be used to move from Basic Economy seat up to "Premium Economy" where as last year it would have moved you straight to Business Class. Yet as you all know, you still cannot book a Premium Economy seat with miles.

So still looking for any workarounds on miles I can book. As far as I can tell from BA and other sites, the only OneWorld segments that would get me there are through Narita (NRT) or through Hong Kong (HKG). I'm okay paying for a non-oneworld airline to get me from XYZ airport over to Manila (MNL) if I can find it.....just can't think of any other airports that American partners fly from LAX into.

Any help would be great. I'm also continuously checking if AA opens up more seats....but trying to avoid flying 17 hours in basic economy if I can help it :-) Thanks!