Originally Posted by
izzik
AA miles cannot be used as far in advance as BA and other partners, which puts one at a disadvantage when it comes to premium cabin long haul redemption.
While that's true, we don't know how far in advance
pianoperson typically books his redemption travel. From AKL, AA has several partner airlines. (And a couple from WLG.) AA itself offers seasonal service between AKL and the U.S.
Notably, AA does not collect carrier surcharges for award travel on any carrier
except BA and IB.