Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Marco Polo vs. AAdvantage

Looks like I'll be moving back to HKG after 2 years in Miami. New job will require a fair amount of travel (40%) with intra-asia in Y and US and Australia in J.

Was MPC member in HKG as Gold but considering sticking with my AA account when I return:
1)Bonus miles
2)Lower threshold to reach next membership level (including advantage of Plat challenge and 100,00 miles to reach OW Emerald vs. 210,00 with CX! )

The advantage of going with MP that I can think of is:
1)One-way upgrades (not really something I will use)
2)Priority Op Up (never happened when I was Gold so nothing to lose and AA elites seem to get this frequently anyway)
3)Earning miles on discounted Y on CX (this is a valid advantage since I would pay disc Y when I flew for personal reasons but bonus miles on AA would make up for a large part of it).
4)Use HKG credit card to accrue miles. Something to consider!

Any thoughts?

5) Guaranteed availability in the cheapest published fare (or cheapest mileage-earning fare if you prefer) at 24 hours notice for Diamond, 72 hours for Gold. This is worth a lot to me for my personal flights.

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. I would stay with AAdvantage for the elite bonus miles and easier path to OW Emerald. In those situations where your fare doesn't earn you AA miles then switch to AM. You can also get a HK card and accrue miles with AM.

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. I would stay with AAdvantage for the elite bonus miles and easier path to OW Emerald. In those situations where your fare doesn't earn you AA miles then switch to AM. You can also get a HK card and accrue miles with AM.

Agreed, just trying to figure out which one would be my prinicpal one but think AAdvantage is the way to go. Also gives me 8 VIPOW so I can upgrade my parents when they fly Europe-US and I will most likely return to US one day so will have upgrades to use.

Is there any HK credit card e.g. Amex that permits me to transfer miles/points to AAdvantage?

Is there any HK credit card e.g. Amex that permits me to transfer miles/points to AAdvantage?

If you can while still in the U.S. get the Starwood Amex card. You can transfer points to just about any FFP at 20,000 points:25,000 miles. I personally feel this is the best credit card, period.

Again, there's no reason why you can't also apply for a HK credit card that earns miles in AM.

(AA) also gives me 8 VIPOW so I can upgrade my parents when they fly Europe-US and I will most likely return to US one day so will have upgrades to use.

Just want to make sure that you are aware the eVIP has a shelf-life of at most 14 months. You can of course use it for J-F upgrade on AA metal if you want to fly HKG-NRT-USA (and that is a big IF IMO).

Another thing, this year you can earn 2 more VIPs (total=10) if you fly at least 125,000 EQM/EQPs. :D ^

Just want to make sure that you are aware the eVIP has a shelf-life of at most 14 months.

Thanks for the info.

You can of course use it for J-F upgrade on AA metal if you want to fly HKG-NRT-USA (and that is a big IF IMO).

Yep. Or for personal flights Y-J upgrade HKG-NRT-USA.

Another thing, this year you can earn 2 more VIPs (total=10) if you fly at least 125,000 EQM/EQPs. :D ^

NICE!

Also be sure to factor in the different earn and burn rates on CX vs. AA; I did this analysis a few years ago, so it has changed since then, but while AA is generally more aadvantageous it isn't as big a gap as it looks. CX earns fewer miles but needs fewer miles for many awards (sometimes a lot less). It really depends on your specific routes. CX Diamond is worth more than EXP unless you really get good value out of those 8-10 eVIP upgrades. If I visited HKG more often or lived there I would pick CX Diamond without hesitation. I travel enough to have both, but for now have to have QF top-tier instead of CX (not that it is anywhere as good as CX, but needed for some QF activities).

Just want to make sure that you are aware the eVIP has a shelf-life of at most 14 months. You can of course use it for J-F upgrade on AA metal if you want to fly HKG-NRT-USA (and that is a big IF IMO).
To clarify the meaning of "a big IF" ... most would rate CX J transpacific as better than AA F to NRT. Probably the only time this upgrade routing is useful is if flying Y, then NRT-US in J on AA vs CX Y HKG-US makes it an easy choice (except for the travel time).

To clarify the meaning of "a big IF" ... most would rate CX J transpacific as better than AA F to NRT.
Yes, that's what I meant. I personally prefer CX-J (direct) over AA-F (via NRT). I would also go as far as saying CX-Y has a more consistent service than AA-J, sans the space, of course.

OT: to the OP, in addition to eVIPs, you will also have flown 90,000 miles between completing the PLT challenge and reaching EXP level. That translates to 36 sticker upgrades for domestic use (for upgrading companions). Unlike eVIPs, these stickers have no expiration date so you can still use them if you ever drop down to PLT again.