1. If you really want an eticket - you can drop 4 segments in ur itinerary and then pay the US$125 rerouting fee to 'restore' them later on when u've flown the first 4 segments. Just make sure that availability isn't tight on the 4 segments you choose to drop and that you'll have time to reissue the ticket etc.

2. Fare you pay is the higher of the country of departure vs country of payment.

3. AA NZ seems to be represented by QF. Their contact details are on the AA website: http://www.aa.com/content/aboutUs/wh...wZealand.jhtml

I expect that they'd just put on an "AA hat" and issue ur tickets on AA stock when you call that AA number and supply an AA reloc. I've no idea whether they'll accept payment and issue ur ticket over the phone, but if they expect you to be there physically you'll have to spend a day or 2 in AKL. Best to discuss payment with the issuing office ASAP after you've created ur reservation with the ATW desk in the US, as they'd be the ones who'd be willing to extend ur ticketing deadline for reasons above. Additionally you'll have a 2 week ticketing deadline for any CX segments.