Elite mileagerunner crankyusi planted this idea in my head once upon a time a long time ago...

Anyway, coincidentally, I have been spending the past week planning this exact itinerary for a friend.

I have not been able to find the sub-$400 fares on SQ between SIN and SYD/MEL/BNE that some folks have mentioned though. Also, it is pretty clear on the SQ site that some of these fares DO NOT accrue miles on SQ's FFP. The best fare I have been finding has been on Qantas' S'pore site for just under $500 (USD). They are currently running a "Visit Australia Fare" promotion (must buy tix by March 31). QF flies to more destinations from SIN to Australia (including CNS), but I'm under the impression that SQ is better than QF in coach. Since SIN-Australia is a 7-8 nonstop journey, consider breaking it up with a real stop-over in SIN, not this camping-out-at-the-airport-hotel or take-a-taxi-to-a-hawker-center foolishness that I keep reading about in this forum

Another site I have been checking for prices has been www.chanbrothers.com.sg, one of the leading travel agencies in SIN. Their booking engine is not the greatest and I think they charge a processing fee for tickets. There are undoubtedly other travel agents in SIN (the area around Queens Road comes to mind and Little India) who can probably issue some good fares as well. And if you ever wanted to say you visited Brunei, Royal Brunei is offering a dirt-cheap fare to Brisbane through the end of March. Visit www.asiatravel.com for more info....

As a complete aside, my friend asked me this question and I couldn't answer...is an HK-49 confirmable for more than one segment, or is it a one-segment upgrade kinda a thing (and how tough would it be to upgrade HNL-SFO/LAX-ORD/MIA/ETC)? Thanks.