Originally Posted by
moondog
AA miles (as opposed to UA, DL, BA, etc) are the most logical, by far, currency for the OP, and we're only talking about 4 credit card SUBs to get from zero to around 300k.
To pull off the entire drill economy class, we're looking at 280k
He requires 360k in order to book all four passengers in premium economy in both directions.
Meanwhile, business class (that most of us aim for) is 70k pp in each direction, or 560k, in total.
AA could certainly change its pricing and/or availability at any time, but the above numbers are correct.
If the OP wants to utilize some of those Amex/Chase points, I would explore the Finnair Plus FFP. For travel on AA North America to Asia, Finnair charges just 34,000 Avios (no extra charge for necessary connections). Although Finnair Plus is not an Amex/Chase transfer partner, BA is, and Avios can now been transferred from BAEC to Finnair Plus. But the OP would have to investigate whether there are any carrier surcharges on a Finnair Plus redemption on AA LAX-DFW-PVG, as well as possible telephone-booking and cancellation/change fees. If those things prove not to be problematic, then the OP might be able to make this roundtrip without signing up for any AA credit cards.