How to get to Fiji and New Zealand.....cheap!

A client asked me this week if I could help her get to Fiji and New Zealand in October. My first response, of course, was "why did you wait so long to plan?" Remember the #1 rule of almostfreefamilytravel is to plan early. Airlines open reservations 330 days before the travel date and that's the best time to use your miles because you have the best options available.
But let's work with what we have. My friend has 53,000 American Airlines miles available.
So we start the research by asking basic questions:
1. Who flies to Fiji and New Zealand? Fiji Airways and New Zealand Airline
2. Are the airlines partners with American? Fiji Airways is a partner
3. How many miles is an airline ticket to Fiji and New Zealand? Economy tickets are 40,000 each way
4. Are there any seats available on the flights? Yes!!! Woohoo
5. Does the airline offer a stopover in Fiji? Yes, Fiji Airways appears to offer stopovers on the way to Auckland.
6. Since my friend has limited miles, whats the cost of a one way ticket? One way tickets cost the same as round trip. Oh no, this puts a wrench in our plan.
7. Can we use miles for a ticket from Fiji to Auckland? Yes, one way is 17,500 miles.
8. 53,000 miles would get us 3 one way tickets, so how much does it cost to buy 17,000 miles to purchase the last one way ticket? American just started a 40% off promotion so it's around $500 for 17,000 miles, I'm not a fan of buying miles, but in this case, it may be worth it depending on the price of the one way. Or you could buy the one way ticket or you could spend 35,000 miles for 1 round trip and then buy the other for $600.
8. How much does it cost to buy a plane ticket from San Diego to Fiji? $899 per person round trip

So the best plan from this research would be to buy 2 round trip tickets on your Barclays Arrival Plus credit card which would get you close to the minimum spend of $3,000 and then return you $500 cash back on the plane tickets. Use 35,000 miles for 1 round trip Fiji to Auckland. Then either use miles for one way ticket Fiji to Auckland and buy the other one way OR buy 17,000 miles to purchase the second round trip for miles. Just depends on the rates when you are ready to buy. Anything you buy, charge to the Barclays card to help you reach your minimum spend.
This is how we do it on short notice! With a little more advance planning, my friend could have purchased all these flights with miles and that's how we do almostfreefamilytravel.