The CX pass is great if you want to see a lot of places (though China and Vietnam and, I think, a few others require additional surcharges) for one low price. However, if your wife and you are only visiting a few countries (say HKG and NRT, NRT and PEK/PVG, NRT and ICN, NRT and BKK, or NRT and SIN), then it may make more sense to take advantage of a cheap UA V r/t (or open-jaw) fare and try to upgrade the key segments to biz with SWUs. You get the miles and a more comfortable seat for about the just a little more out-of-pocket cash (While I am not encouraging this, you can "acquire" the SWUs via various sources -- email me if you need suggestions). Obviously, there are a lot of variables in terms of timing and destinations, but this is what I would do if I were going to Asia this week and primarily wanted to visit cities that UA services nonstop or via their NRT hub. If your wife already has some status miles this year with Star Alliance carriers, then a transpacific r/t would probably take her over one of the elite thresholds for next year (or make a huge dent on 2002 qualification).

Also, the CX pass requires you to fly from one of the gateway cities, JFK, LAX, SFO, YVZ or YVR. You pay the add-on fare yourself to get to those airports if you are not there already.