Hi all,

I booked my family ORD-CLT-LHR-BCN in business class with AAdvantage miles. The first two segments are in AA metal, and the last segment with BA. Due to lack of miles, I had to book mine later and there was no availability of the same flight. So I booked ORD-CLT-LHR-OPO instead, and called to change the last segment of the flight to BCN. The agent said there was no availability for LHR-BCN award. I then asked if I could drop the last segment of the flight, thinking I'd just book the connection myself. The agent's answer is that it cannot be done, as the reservation would become "Flight Award". My questions are:

1) Is the agent right in that I cannot simply drop the last segment of the itinerary? Or should I HUCA?
2) From the reading I've done, it seems that changes to the AA partner award can be done if the change does not involve the AA segments (which is my scenario). Is that correct? Does this mean if/once a BA flight LHR-BCN becomes available on AA, I can call to change the last segment?
3) Can I just abandon this last segment and buy a separate ticket to BCN?

Thank you!