Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I was travelling back from Boston to DFW last night, got in late and didn't get a chance to check FT until this morning.

Well - it's Saturday morning here in Dallas - and you kind folks have given me a lot to consider before I ring up Amex on Monday to lock down my travel plans.

I'd forgotten about NRT and the ability to use my E-VIP's to upgrade to First, and getting 20K miles for the round trip is another plus to consider!

I'm wondering if my travel department is even aware of the Circle Pac fares... I noticed that the DIRC22 in First Ex-USA is $7900, still much less than the $15K our Corp website was quoting. If my team has budgeted $15K per trip every 8 weeks, I might be able to negotiate a return trip home more often - AND still save a few dollars for the firm.

Visions of QF First are bouncing in my head now... :-)

And - thanks to the warm welcome from everyone. I pop onto this board every once in a while - although I usually stay put on the AA forum. This is definitely a more cordial place to visit!

Enjoy your weekend folks!