Should I go for Executive Platinum?

So, this is the first year I've even had elite status, and it's Platinum. I should hit Platinum Pro without any extra effort. Here's my situation:

EQDs:
Current: $7321
I should earn another ~$2k, so $9300 total

EQMs:
Current: 65,562
I should earn another ~8k, so 73,500 total

I have the Aviator Red card, so I can manufacture the necessary EQDs to get the full $12k, so that's "done." I just got the card a couple months ago, so I'm not sure if I can switch to Silver and get the 10k EQMs. Obviously, I'd fly one more time to get Plat Pro if needed, but should I find a way to make up the 25k extra EQMs? Any ideas how to do it easily?

On a side note, I have over 200k Amex points and AA is my airline for my business card and I still have the 50% point rebate, so I can "buy" tickets there and not burn actual cash if it makes sense to do so in order to get status.

Thanks for your input in advance!

I'd ask for your purpose? What's the ROI?

Do you have international travel a lot? Emerald status would be nice but its not a giant upgrade from business class lounges, but it's still an upgrade

Find a cheap mileage run to an Asian city. I saw some under $550 R/T recently to HKG.

If you fly intercontinental long haul, eVIPs are quite useful, even if you only get 4 of them these days. If you only pay for, or your employer only pays for, economy then that's 4 (assuming a good success rate, which isn't too hard transatlantic at least) less overnights in an economy seat. Worth a bit of a stretch to me at least.

In threads such as this one, I usually offer the same suggestion. Fly when you need to fly and let elite status fall where it may.

True. Was recently passing through SFO and LHR and was able to sample CX F and BA F lounges and wasn't really that impressed.

But it worked well indeed. Each time though there were a group of travelers trying to get into each F lounge but were being denied. So it felt good being told to go to F Lounge with no hesitations

EXP is not what it once was. Domestic upgrades are tougher, you get only 4 SWUs, they are harder to use, and the quality and flexibility of the EXP desk agents has diminished considerably. If I were you I'd watch for good MR opportunities and if any come up that will get you the 26,500 miles at a low CPM then go for it. But only if the right flights appear. Otherwise be content with Platinum Pro.

If you have a lot of spending you can do before year end ($40K or more) then you can get the AA Citi Executive Platinum card, which gives you 10K EQM after $40K spend, at a cost of $450 per year. You'll get Admirals Club membership too.

As a newly minted EXP, I’ve got to say the systemwides are worth it over PRO.

Now my biggest dilemma is seeing if I can find a cheap 15K EQM MR to get to 150K EQM. I just bought a AUS-DFW-HKG trip in J on Jan 1, so I could count the EQMs and more importantly EQDs to 2018 activity. If I don’t do any more trips, I’ll end the year at 135K EQMs.

Now I always wondered when I would make EXP, I guess having a spouse based in Asia gives me plenty of motivation to fly across the Pacific every other month 😁

For me it's a no-brainer, EXP is totally worth it. I am low on EQD so will be doing a MR on BA in W OSL-LHR-SFO-LHR next month. My systemwides were all used on flights over 10 hours this year, so EXP has been well worth it. The only time I've had difficulty getting upgrades is on DFW-LHR, so I know to avoid that routing now. LAX-HKG was even confirmed on booking.

The relevant comparison is not EXP today compared to EXP as "once was".
Its EXP today compared to Plat Pro today.

It's not gospel that this is true. I'm a low EQD EXP and I have cleared apx 88% of my domestic upgrades. I have never missed an SWU request as an EXP - used all 4 for mine on Y-->J longhuals by April of this year. As always, YMMV.

All that said, this is the answer to the OPs question, IMO:

Thanks for the advice! The thing is, if I'd done a better job at the beginning of the year crediting to AA instead of AS, I'd be there already or would be soon. So, that hurts a bit. I didn't think I'd get there regardless so I took the better miles.

I don't fly internationally a ton, and never for work, but I'll be going RT to India once a year. This time I paid for business class but I guess I could use upgrade certs on those next year if I were Ex Plat? That alone would be worth going the extra mile (pun intended) to get to 100k EQMs. It would save me $1000s, or more likely 100k+ credit card points.

You can only use the upgrade certs/SWU's for AA flights, and AA doesn't fly to India.

So if you're flying through LHR, you could use SWU's for the TA portion to LHR, but on BA you'd have to either sit in coach or pay for biz (although BA does frequently offer buy-ups if space is available).

This is why I'm here, thank you!

It looks like I can spend a few days crossing the US and going to Antigua twice to get there, all for about 30k MR points...which should be worth it if I want to put in that kind of time. Insider Fares+50% point rebate makes that kind of stuff really cheap. Might be better to spring for a trans-pacific deal, but I can't swallow the thought of being on one plane in economy for that long.

Any chance AA offers a paid upgrade for a flight from LAX to HKG or NRT? If so, any idea how much those run? If I can stay off Cathay, I should be able to make one RT and get there with that route.

I'd check out the mileage run forum for the latest deals. Even if it doesn't spell out your origin specifically, you can sometimes piece together a deal from some finds there:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mileage-run-deals-372/
When I do mileage runs, I prefer to actually go somewhere and turn it into a mini-vacation. Depending on the destination, 2-3 nights there, sometimes more.

I was offered an upgrade for a DFW-NRT segment once, when I checked in at a kiosk, for $600. If it isn't proactively offered to you, you can certainly ask at the check-in desk and/or at the gate. If you already have Plat status, you'd have lounge access, and those agents can definitely help with that.

There are some exit seats on the B777 in coach that have nearly unlimited legroom and aren't too horrible for that journey.