So the glitch – to be able to do this with miles meant a ticket to Sydney and a separate ticket to get to the flight to Sydney. When I left Philly this morning they said they could only check my suitcase to LA. Despite awesome efforts from ^AD at United Social Care and Edina at O’Hare (both rock stars), it looks like I’ll have to claim my bag in LA then re-check it to Sydney. Annoying only because my connection will be one gate apart – but I get more steps in before sitting for 15 hours. 🙂