I just got off the phone with
Virgin Atlantic to change my dummy return flight to my real return date and so now we are officially booked for Japan in FIRST class!

(Hint for anyone trying this in the future: the agent seemed confused and wasn't sure it would work to swap the origin and destination points. I asked her to please try anyway and it worked. So if your agent isn't sure this is possible, just tell them your friend Artygal90 did it in June 2020). Neither DH or I have ever EVER flown first class so this is a big deal! For two first-class direct flights to Tokyo in May of next year the total cost (not including CC fees) was $217. Next up is booking our hotels! Thank you Amex, Chase, and everyone here for such great advice!