Im planning to take a multi-city trip with destinations in Asia, the US and Australia.
For the last leg of my trip, Im flying from JFK > SYD > MEL. Theres been a change of plans, and I now want to get off at Sydney instead and miss my connection to Melbourne. Its the last leg of my trip, so I wouldnt have any problems with cancellation of the rest of my itinerary. After some research, it seems like the safest way to miss a connecting flight is to not have any checked luggage. The alternative would be to change my flight, which costs around $100. Changing my flight also changes my fare class to one that doesnt allow me to choose my seat until check-in. For a 22 hour flight, that seems like a bad idea. With missing my SYD > MEL trip, my only worry is that my backpack might be oversized and I would be forced to check it in at the gate in JFK, which means my bag might be sent all the way to Melbourne. So my question is: should I just stick with my current plan and hope for the best? Or should I just pay the $100? Any other ideas would also be appreciated.