THanks Darren for your response. I will indeed already be in BKK. I want to take JAL because I've never experienced their trans-pac business, and I have experienced Cathay. THat said, I am not wedded to a stop in HKG or Tokyo. I've been to Tokyo (but have friends there), never been to HKG (other than to change planes). So I'd stop in Tokyo to see friends and get a ride on JAL, HKG to see the city.


I wouldn't want to push to First as First would only be available on 1 of my segments (HKG-LAX or NRT-LAX depending on what I choose). But I would like to hold to 130K miles. I know that starting in NYC and ending in LAX brings it close to 18,600miles BUT I've had an experience with AA and my last OW award where their mileage came out differently than the Great Circle Calculator and I ended up finding my own way from ORD-DCA!

Any other thoughts on how to shore up at the 130K level?

Thanks for all of the help!