Just found out I need to be in Manila in the late spring for an event.

Clearly, there are a lot of ways to do this, but some insight/advice is always welcome. I've been on ORD-NRT on AA 787 "metal" and it was... OK.

Since I'd be in the area, I'd like to also stop by Hong Kong and Thailand for a couple of days each.

I'm gold - with spend for platinum, so maximizing miles to get me to platinum for 2020 would be nice. I tend to fly a whole lot of short segments.

I see Cathay Pacific has been added, but Qatar is questionable at this point? I've been on Qatar a few times, it's been fairly good.

Ideas/suggestions?