QF rules for OW awards are considerably more restrictive than AA rules for the same award, as a consequence I would never use QF miles for this purpose but instead use AA miles. The rules for awards are spelled out quite clearly on the Qantas web site, which will answer your questions fully in less time than I can type it (also it doesn't much matter what I think the rules are, rather what QF thinks the rules are). See http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/...Points/flights and more importantly http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/program/terms

The rule that causes you grief is unique to QF (oneway charged as round trip; on AA it can be oneway for OW awards); however this applies to the entire trip, you are allowed up to 5 stopovers at intermediate points on QF awards. See rule "10.4.3 One way bookings will be charged as a return trip. Itineraries finishing in a port other than the originating port must include the distance to return directly to the port of origin when calculating the number of Points required to redeem the Flight Award and the maximum distance for the itinerary"