Hello to all,



First time trying to use AEROPLAN miles for my wife's and I 25th wedding anniversary. Mrs Oldguy has put up with my shenanigans for 25 years, so she deserves F class, but J class is what I have been looking at. This trip is a surprise, she knows when we are going but not WHERE we are going. I am just choosing 2 places she has always wanted to go.



I have read through a ton of posts, still a little confused about where to start, but thought I would ask a few questions and hopefully some peeps can help out.



In a perfect world I wanted to go from:

YYZ TO AUSTRALIA...with stops in between.



First route I was thinking was:

4 segment path:

YYZ NRT 329° (NW) 339° (N) 6,415 mi

NRT MEL 176° (S) 184° (S) 5,060 mi

MEL LAX 065° (NE) 054° (NE) 7,921 mi

LAX YYZ 060° (NE) 049° (NE) 2,175 mi

Total: 21,572 mi



We don't really care about where in Japan, and or where in Australia we land, but those were the 2 spots I was thinking Mrs. Oldguy would like to go.



Trip would look like:



YYZ to a nice city in Japan for 1 night (less than 24 hours so I don't need to spend an extra 5K in points) or 2 nights and 3 days in Japan. Toyko is preferred but other cities could work as well.

Start date would be Aug 1-3rd based on what work can be maximized for points. (I understand concept of dynamic pricing, but still really confused on what this trip is going to cost based on different city options I have to follow).



TYO to Australia would be the next stop. 7 days in Australia would be great. Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, etc. Melbourne and Adelaide are favoured as Mrs. Oldguy would love see some wineries, and also go to the Snowy River country for some horseback riding.



Couple of questions I have include:

1) how do I figure out the points being used for the different trips? I understand travel zones, and dynamic pricing, and partner airlines, but I don't know how to figure it all out.

2) i have been using cowtool site (was just using AC site, then stumbled on to flyertalk that suggested cowtool----thank the stars - great tool for this task) and I see that if I want to go from YYZ to NRT (stay 1 night, or 2 nights if I have to), then NRT to AUS (any airport in AUS) I have 545 combinations. If i organize by points it starts at 94k (3 flights - 2 in Y class - not that preferred remembering 'shenanigans') and if I want to put all flights in J class then the cost of points on cowtools says 300k+ per person. That's a far way from what I can spend...how do I get back? What is the best way to maximize points? Partner airlines at 8001+ miles in business say 100k points. AC starts at 95k and goes up to 900K for 1 person. Is there anyway to search without flying AC in cowtools?

3) I did find some great options on Wednesday, but they are now gone. YYZ to LAX, LAX to NRT was 93K points but I no longer see it today. In fact I cant see any AC787 or US32 flights available anymore. Do flights really go that quick? Each flight had 5+ seats available on Wednesday. I know its summer holidays, but man.



I feel like this is a long post and will leave it here.



Any guidance/suggestions are greatly appreciated.



thanks,

TOG66