$2000, for a plane ticket....only if I'm flying first class

A quick scouring of the online ticket systems and I discovered I maybe up shit's creek without a paddle.

I constantly check Air New Zealand online just to see if I can get a better deal than what my agent is offering. Well here's the sad thing....I'm not sure if my agent has booked on the earlier return flight from NZ ( one that will arrive at 10:25 am and allow me to make my connection back to NYC) or like me can only get seats on the later flight which arrives 1 hour after my flight back to the east coast has left the tarmac. Now I am currently left with 5 options

1. Hope and pray my student loan check comes in in the next 2 weeks so I can book with EST.
2. Call American and switch to a later LAX to JFK flight
3.Cancel my American Flight and see if I can get back my frequent flier miles and book with Air New Zealand round trip from JFK to Frisco to Auckland for about $300 bucks more than my current plan.
4. Book with Quantas Via American pay $400 extra and have to travel back via Sydney to LAX.

5. Put my bike and luggage on a raft, don the wetsuit and make a swim for it.

Well option 5 is out , option 4 forget it , so its either option 1,2, or 3 if the loan check doesn't come in the mail before Feb. 1, I'll book via Air NZ and try to get my hard earn AA advantage miles back, hopefully for an October Flight to the Big Island.

Well that's been my dose of travel drama for the day.

The Globetrotter
R.D.