1. the best thing i found out about was the aa ttbns posting. i'm in ny so, i would have been ool.
2. rtw trip pricing. biz class rtw with 20-smoething stops for the same as a rt biz class from ny to europe is unbelievable. before this i wouldn't ever spend more than $700 on any airline ticket. come on 1w, give me a reason to do this again!!
3. mexicana hilton deal. i never maximize opportunities in hotel programs, so this seems like a good conversion deal. this may actually allow me to start flying *a again.

and in the best deals i knew of but never took advantage of...

tll-syd for $300 or cns-gum-lax for $400. this was way too many q-miles to fool around with, and i fooled around long enough not to get either of them.