OK, finally, the winner is.....
Xiamen
Got a RT out of LAX for $530 cash equivalent where the FlexPoints covered all but $5.28 (they insist any overage, however small, be charged to their card). Am indeed in Atlanta so I'll once again need positioning flights...I booked the outbound on Frontier for $64 OW including one bag (their "perks" bundle at $20 including the bag was cheaper than $30 a la carte). Additionally, the 10:10 p.m. MF departure out of LAX helped greatly with connections. I still have to book the LAX-ATL return and may have to use a non-saver F9 award, as it's during the nasty late-March period.
The connections in XMN are about three hours on the outbound and five on the return, so hopefully there's no logjam with that much time. It's 787s on the transpac segments. The fare is S class and I plugged that into the WhereToCredit site and it came up with 0%s across the board (even Saudia, etc.). But if I read the bag policy correctly I get an extra bag (3 rather than 2) as a DL silver medallion, in case it's needed on the return. Maybe they'll recognize my status with a bite-size lead toy or something.
Had thought about booking Hong Kong Airlines but the reports on their finances were worrisome...if they shut down and I had a ticket bought with points, I'd probably just get the $5.28 back from the credit card company and told to find my own way back from BKK.
Anyway, anyone with experience with this is welcome (even encouraged) to point out where I messed up.