AirborneLocksmith

I'm planning to fly from the US to New Zealand, and I'm trying to figure out whether to use miles or if it is worth buying a revenue ticket.
All AA flights except for WLG-SYD on QF on the way home.
The actual flown distance would be about 17k NM.

After doing the math, here are the options:
- Award ticket cost 80k miles + $100 in taxes.
- Revenue ticket: $1,750, out of which $1,600 is the fare and $150 in taxes. As a Platinum I'd earn 8x RDM + LP (and another 2x RDM + LP if I use my AA credit card to pay). I'd earn about 17k RDM + LP.

The difference between the options is about 97k RDMs (earning 17k instead of spending 80k), 17k LP, and $1,650 in cash, which works out to be 1.7 cents per RDM.
Earning 17k LP would help requalification for next year, but it's not super important.

So, what say you? Revenue or award ticket? I feel like I'd be better off using the award miles for business class tickets, but as we all know, finding awards seats can be a pain.